Before you do anything else, you must watch this magnificent storytelling of the annual flooding from the Mendenhall Glacier…

Alaska

ALASKA

Alaska was purchased from Russia in 1867 but only became a state in 1959, just months before Hawaii. It’s awe-inspiring and rugged terrain stretches over 570,000 miles and is inhabited by 731,000 people making it the largest state in the US by land mass and 49th by population. Almost one third of the state sits in the Arctic Circle and 4.5% of it is covered by 100,000 glaciers covering 29,000 square miles. The state boasts more coastline than the rest of the country combined and the nation’s two largest forests. Wildlife in this last frontier is diverse and abundant.

Alaska has warmed twice as fast as the rest of the country and with that warming, its permafrost has begun to melt. Permafrost is ground with a temperature that remains at or below freezing, and it provides a stable foundation for much of Alaska’s infrastructure— found beneath 85% of the state. As permafrost melts, the ground sags and infrastructure like roads and buildings deteriorate or collapse. Also a carbon store house, permafrost poses a global threat when it melts, beyond the immediate costs to Alaskan communities and dangers to both humans and wildlife. As frozen plants and animals in the permafrost warm and decompose, greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere. The amount of carbon now released by the world’s permafrost is nearly equal to the emissions of all of Japan.

Alaska’s Native communities will most directly bare the brunt of these changes. 87% of these communities are experiencing erosion and some are facing relocation. Many of the most remote communities rely on subsistence farming and are faced with threatened food supplies. In a rapidly-warming Alaska, wildlife also faces devastating consequences. For example, multiple mass bird die-offs have occurred since 2014, as warming seas have disrupted ecosystems and broken the food change on which they depend to survive.

Alaska is also a major producer of petroleum, exporting over $500 million in petroleum products in 2020. In December of 2020, the Trump Administration sought to increase oil production in the state by opening up part of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas exploration. The lease auction took place in early January of 2021, just two weeks before President Biden was sworn into office. However, the auction ended with a win for those who opposed the sale. Over half the auctions had no bidder, and the vast majority of the auctions won were by the state of Alaska itself. This was likely due to a combination of low oil prices, the coronavirus, and pressure from environmental protectionist groups.

While renewables currently contribute to a very small percentage of Alaska’s energy use, the state has a nonbinding commitment to generate 50% of its energy from renewables by 2050. In May of 2020, the state government enacted a bill to integrate electrical utilities, increasing energy efficiency and paving a path for the transition to renewables. Anchorage, the state’s largest city, enacted a Climate Action Plan in May of 2019 which focuses on reducing greenhouse gas emissions while preparing for the impacts of climate change.

Alaska Climate Change: Glaciers shrink as average temperatures go up

CREDIT: TRT World

CURRENT NEWS

Climb aboard four fishing boats with us to see how America’s warming waters are changing

By Trevor Hughes 10/30/23
Alaskan fisherman Garrett Kavanaugh anxiously awaits the first catch of the season, hoping the Dungeness crabs he's chasing haven't suffered the same fate as the vanished snow crabs.
Read more

Climate Change Is Pushing Salmon North in Alaska, Scientists Say

By Will Sullivan 10/26/23
Chum salmon, the second-largest Pacific salmon species, can be found throughout the northern coastal regions of North America and Asia. But now, as the climate warms, the fish are laying eggs even farther north—in Alaska…
Read more

Later frosts could make new crops possible in Alaska. But climate change brings challenges, too.

By Anna Canny 10/25/23
In October, fall gives way to winter for much of Alaska. But each year, the first frost is arriving later and later. That could be a boon for Alaska farmers.
Read more

Alaska firefighters experiment with targeting blazes to save carbon

By Alexandra Heal 09/08/23
A pilot program in Alaska lets firefighters tackle deep woods fires that burn carbon and speed climate change and don’t just threaten homes and lives....
Read more

Biden Approved a Big Oil Project. Now, He’s Cracking Down on Drilling.

By Lisa Friedman 09/07/23
President Biden’s decision on Wednesday to block drilling on millions of acres of Alaskan tundra was the latest in a series of aggressive actions recently taken by the administration to curtail fossil fuel extraction on…
Read more

‘Savvy’ cat reunited with owners weeks after floods destroyed Alaska home

By Kelly Kasulis Cho 09/07/23
Elizabeth Wilkins and her partner were on a mountain biking trip in Oregon when she heard that their two-story home in Juneau, Alaska, had collapsed into a nearby river. A glacial outburst had flooded the…
Read more

Biden to block oil drilling in ‘irreplaceable’ Alaskan wildlands

By Timothy Puko 09/06/23
President Biden moved Wednesday to protect more than 10 million acres of Alaska’s North Slope from development, barring oil drilling across giant swaths and canceling leases in the iconic Arctic National Wildlife Refuge issued under…
Read more

Environmental groups mount legal challenge to Alaska natural gas export approval

By Yereth Rosen 08/11/23
Two environmental groups on Friday asked a federal appeals court to overturn the Biden administration’s approval of exports from Alaska’s yet-unbuilt project that would ship natural gas from the North Slope.
Read more

Torrent of Water From Alaska Glacier Floods Juneau

By Claire Moses 08/08/23
Residents in Alaska’s capital, Juneau, were urged on Monday to stay away from the Mendenhall River after flooding from a glacier destroyed two buildings and eroded riverbanks in the city over the weekend. Local officials…
Read more

Record glacial flooding swept away two homes in Alaska’s capital

By Ben Brasch 08/06/23
Unprecedented glacial flooding over the weekend swept away two homes and severely damaged others in Alaska’s capital, officials said Sunday.
Read more

Alaska’s newest gold rush: Seaweed

By Juliet Eilperin 07/31/23
Dune Lankard piloted the gleaming gill-net fishing boat to Simpson Bay, where eight buoys bobbed in the sunlight. The bright orange inflatables, connected by lines and spread out across five acres, provided the only indication…
Read more

Federal Government Evades Responsibility for Cleaning up Alaska Native Lands

07/18/23
Today, Federal District Court Judge Holland dismissed the State of Alaska and the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)’s case against the United States for the Department of Interior (DOI)’s failure to clean up Alaska…
Read more

PLANS TO ACCELERATE RENEWABLES

Alaska’s big shift to renewable energy appears stalled, as future access to natural gas in doubt

05/18/23
Anchorage and the rest of urban Alaska are facing a natural gas supply shortage, and fears are rising about how the region will secure reliable access to fuel to heat homes and generate electricity.

Alaska House follows Senate to pass bill authorizing sale of carbon credits from state land

05/16/23
The Alaska House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a bill that would allow the state to set up a system for using state land to sell carbon-offset credits. The House action amounted to final passage…

As natural gas shortage looms, Alaska utilities and advocates feud over renewable power bill

05/12/23
The two sides agree on the need to wean Alaska’s power grid from its deep dependence on natural gas, but they disagree sharply about how quickly the transition should happen

Alaska Senate, following House, passes measure to extend renewable energy program

04/29/23
A program that has distributed almost $300 million to renewable energy projects in Alaska since 2008 would be made permanent under legislation that passed the state Senate without dissent on Friday.

State agency recommends funding for 27 renewable-energy projects

04/12/23
The Alaska Energy Authority has recommended that the state provide more than $25 million to help develop 27 proposed renewable-energy projects around the state. They include a Golden Valley Electric Association request for funding for…

Governor Introduces Legislation Creating the Alaska Energy Independence Fund

04/05/23
This morning, Governor Mike Dunleavy introduced legislation creating the Alaska Energy Independence Fund to increase Alaska’s energy independence and security.

Framingham renewable energy firm to improve Alaska cross-country skiing center

03/23/23
Ameresco, Inc. of Framingham has partnered with Alaska Pacific University to design and upgrade infrastructure at the university's Thomas Training Center on Eagle Glacier, which houses the school’s Nordic Ski Center for Winter Olympic athletes…

In its first bill this year, Alaska House votes to allow environmentally friendly refrigerants

03/02/23
The Alaska House of Representatives voted almost unanimously Wednesday to allow the use of environmentally friendly refrigerants even if they are not specifically allowed by the state building code.

This Road Could Save the Planet—and Carve Up Alaskan Wilderness

02/27/23
The remote Ambler Mining District contains massive lodes of minerals essential to cleantech, but extracting them will likely make an ecological mess.

Kotzebue residents discuss more clean energy projects

02/23/23
Inspired by the recent "Solarize" projects in Anchorage and Kenai, Energy Project Manager at the Native Village of Kotzebue Chad Nordlum said he created the Kotzebue Clean Energy Coalition in January to "foster grassroots involvement…

ICYMI: Murkowski Delivers 2023 Address to Alaska State Legislature

02/23/23
During her remarks, Senator Murkowski spoke to how she’s delivering for Alaska, noting accomplishments of the 117th Congress, including advancing the bipartisan infrastructure law which has already invested $3.2 billion in Alaska, directing funding through…

Dunleavy creates new task force to develop plan for energy produced and delivered within Alaska

02/23/23
Gov. Mike Dunleavy on Thursday launched a new task force to help craft the state’s overall energy policies.

Carbon credits in Alaska: A new strategy to fight climate change?

02/16/23
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy has proposed to leverage the state’s expertise in oil and gas to tap into carbon storage. Environmentalists are skeptical about the plan and say the state should be investing in renewable…

Governor Dunleavy’s Budget Amendments Strengthen the Public Defender Agency, the Office of Public Advocacy, and the Ferry System

02/15/23
Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy introduced $117 million in total Undesignated General Fund (UGF) Amendments as part of a package of budget amendments introduced to the Legislature today.

5 new state bills that could shape the future of energy in Alaska

02/01/23
The state’s legislative session has just begun. Here are the bills climate activists are watching.

Alaskan Native tribal non-profit wins $1.5 m grant for geothermal project

03/21/22
Several tribal communities around the U.S. have received a total of $9 million in federal grant funding for renewable projects, as announced by the U.S. Department of Energy today. Kawerak, Inc., a tribal non-profit in…

Governor’s alternative energy agenda would move state toward goal of 80 percent goal for renewable power

By Tim Bradner 03/03/22
Gov. Mike Dunleavy has embraced an aggressive alternative energy agenda with several bills introduced last year and one of the potentially most far-reaching of the proposals, to set renewable energy portfolio standards for electric utilities,…

Tesla deploys big 37-Megapack project in Alaska to replace gas turbines

03/01/22
Homer Electric, a member-owned electric utility cooperative based in Alaska, announced the project based in Kenai Peninsula back in 2019 – shortly after Tesla first unveiled the Megapack.

Renewable energy initiative projects in the works for rural and urban Alaska

02/18/22
Rural communities are broken down into micro-grids, which essentially means that unlike areas on an interconnected grid such as Anchorage, energy cannot be pulled from other providers if there is an outage in the community.…

Preparing for Climate Change in Alaska

08/13/20
This page provides an overview of the steps Alaska is taking to prepare for the impacts of climate change.

Alaska Climate Change Action Plan Recommendations To The Governor

04/01/20
The climate action leadership team’s (calt) climate change action plan is a compilation of numerous ideas drawn from team members, public comment, and the expert and technical panels convened under the calt’s auspices. This action…

Anchorage Climate Action Plan

04/01/20
In collaboration with the University of Alaska, the Municipality of Anchorage has created a Climate Action Plan that focuses on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and preparing for the impacts of climate change.

KEY RESOURCES

Hidden Water: The Suicide Basin Outburst Flood

08/10/23
On a sunny day in July 2011, the Mendenhall River in Juneau, Alaska began to flood. The water inundated roads, backyards, and a nearby campground, taking the community by surprise.

Alaska State Profile and Energy Estimates

09/24/21
Alaska, the largest U.S. state, is one-fifth the size of the Lower 48 states, and, with its Aleutian Island chain, is as wide as the Lower 48 states from east to west. It is the…

Energy State Bill Tracking Database

09/10/21
The searchable Energy Storage Legislation Database displays information in interactive maps and charts, tracking state activity from 2017 to the present.

Addressing Links Between Climate and Public Health in Alaska Native Villages

08/11/21
As emissions of heat-trapping bases accumulate in our atmosphere, Earth's polar regions are warming more quickly than at lower latitudes. The rapid environmental changes that result from this warming can have a significant impact on…

The First National Flood Risk Assessment

10/06/20
The First Street Foundation Flood Model represents the culmination of decades of research and development made possible by building upon existing knowledge and frameworks regularly referenced in the identification of flood risk.

The Impacts of Climate Change and the Trump Administration’s Anti-Environmental Agenda in Alaska

09/19/20
In 2019, Alaska experienced a wildfire season with 720 fires, making it among the biggest fire seasons on record for the state. The damages of the season led to losses of at least $300 million.

State-by-State: Alaska

07/31/20
Alaska is Extremely Vulnerable to Climate Change

Climate Change In Alaska

04/01/20
Every new day brings with it new evidence of climate change in Alaskan communities – warmer, record breaking temperatures have resulted in thawing permafrost, thinning sea ice, and increasing wildfires.

Building climate change resilience

04/01/20
Climate change is altering life in Alaska, for wildlife and humans alike.

New report highlights Alaska’s last five years of dramatic climate change

04/01/20
Vast, remote, and largely still wild, Alaska stirs wonder in the hundreds of thousands who visit each year. With a land area of more than 570,000 square miles, and the longest coastline of any state,…

Adapt Alaska

04/01/20
Start here to help your community build resilience in a changing climate.

Adapting To Climate Change

04/01/20
Alaska accounts for about 20% of the total U.S. landmass, twice that of Texas. It is the only U.S. Arctic region, with lands on both sides of the Arctic Circle. Projected higher temperatures and more…

Climate Change In Alaska

04/01/20
DEC's Climate Change in Alaska archived website and 2009 Climate Change Advisory Group Reports.

MORE NEWS

Alaska Governor Dunleavy Turns to Courts to Compel Feds to Address Contaminated Lands Conveyed under ANCSA

07/15/23  
Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy said Alaska has exhausted all options before filing a complaint today in U.S. District Court to compel the U.S. government to take responsibility for and address contaminated sites that it conveyed…
Read more

The Snow Crab Vanishes

By Julia O' Malley   07/15/23  
My small turboprop plane whirred low through thick clouds. Below me, St. Paul Island cut a golden, angular shape in the shadow-dark Bering Sea. I saw a lone island village—a grid of houses, a small…
Read more

U.S. Military Sees Growing Threat in Thawing Permafrost

By Daniel Cusick   05/24/23  
Fox, Alaska, is a tiny town, but on Monday it hosted one of the Pentagon’s senior officials for a unique tour. Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks was there to see 360-foot-long tunnel that military engineers…
Read more

Chugach Electric board election wraps up with renewable energy at the center

By Kavitha George   05/19/23  
Friday is the last day of the Chugach Electric Utility board election. The annual election usually passes under the radar, but this year it’s been a fierce race, with nine candidates vying for three seats…
Read more

Deputy Defense Secretary Departs This Weekend for Alaska

By C. Todd Lopez   05/18/23  
Due to rising global temperatures, ice in the Arctic is melting faster than it ever has. This change affects the security environment in the region.
Read more

Despite decades of warning, looming natural gas shortage threatens to drive up Alaska energy prices

By Sabine Poux   05/18/23  
Perched high above Kachemak Bay, Scott Waterman’s house in Homer is a museum of energy-efficient technology. A heat pump hangs on the side of his garage. Out front, a hulking row of blue solar panels…
Read more

Federal Agency Lawfully Approved $39 Billion Alaska LNG Project

By Samantha Hawkins   05/16/23  
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission lawfully authorized a liquefied natural gas project in Alaska, the D.C. Circuit ruled Tuesday—denying environmental groups’ petition to review the decision.
Read more

Wildfires in Anchorage? Climate change sparks disaster fears

By Mark Thiessen   04/30/23  
Research on a flat spot for air evacuation....
Read more

How does climate change alter Alaska’s boreal forest?

By Andrei Ionescu   04/28/23  
While ecological memory stored in a landscape can usually help ecosystems recover from disturbances such as fires or disease outbreaks, when climate change significantly alters these disturbance patterns – as it happens today – such…
Read more

In pristine Alaska, an oil giant prepares to drill for decades

By Lisa Friedman and Clifford Krauss   04/06/23  
Scientists say nations must stop new oil and gas projects to avoid climate catastrophe. But after the Biden administration greenlit the $8 billion Willow project, ConocoPhillips is racing ahead....
Read more

With Construction Days Away, Groups Ask Court to Halt Massive Willow Oil Project

By Andy McGlashen   03/22/23  
Before long the cheeps and honks of returning birdlife will enliven the wetlands and tundra just west of Nuiqsut, Alaska. But even before spring’s immense flocks of shorebirds and waterfowl arrive, the silence of the…
Read more

Governor Dunleavy Announces Energy Security Task Force Members

03/22/23  
Today, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy revised the Alaska Energy Security Task Force and announced its members. The Governor issued Administrative Order 344 on February 23, 2023, establishing the task force. The task force has been…
Read more

The Alaska Oil Project Will Be Obsolete Before It’s Finished

By Emma Marris   03/13/23  
The world might not have enough renewable energy to power everything by 2029, but we’ll have more than enough to keep the lights on without additional drilling.
Read more

Biden administration approves huge Alaska oil project

By Lisa Friedman   03/13/23  
The administration also announced new limits on Arctic drilling in an apparent effort to temper criticism over the $8 billion Willow oil project, which has faced sharp opposition.
Read more

Biden will approve Alaska oil project, alongside Arctic protections

By Maxine Joselow and Timothy Puko   03/12/23  
The administration will approve three pads for the Willow drilling project, according to people familiar with the matter. The move comes after announcing a new ban on U.S. oil and gas leasing in the Arctic…
Read more

Alaska can fuel American clean energy

By A.J. Roan   03/11/23  
Gathering together leaders, decision-makers, and experts toward the common goal of understanding the value of Alaska's mineral endowment and how to unlock it for America's net-zero emission goals, the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of…
Read more

The Willow Project Would Be a Public Health Crisis for Alaska

By Yessenia Funes   03/06/23  
Siqiniq Maupin, an Iñupiaq person born in Alaska’s North Slope city of Utqiagvik but raised in Fairbanks, has known too many people whose lives were cut short by cancer or suicide. Across the state, Alaska…
Read more

What’s the Willow project? An explainer on the battle over the major Alaska oil proposal

By The Associated Press   03/03/23  
The Biden administration is weighing approval of a major oil project on Alaska’s petroleum-rich North Slope that supporters say represents an economic lifeline for Indigenous communities in the region but environmentalists say is counter to…
Read more

Climate change and its effect on Alaskan Natives

By Bridget Maxwell   03/01/23  
Climate change is affecting everyone in some way or another.
Read more

The EV Revolution Brings Environmental Uncertainty at Every Turn

By Tim Lydon   02/27/23  
As demand for electric vehicles ramps up, environmental stumbling blocks have emerged. The post The EV Revolution Brings Environmental Uncertainty at Every Turn appeared first on EcoWatch. ...
Read more

The Iditarod changes alongside Alaska’s climate

By Victoria Petersen   02/27/23  
Mushers and sled dogs adapt to warmer temperatures and worse trail conditions at the world-famous race.
Read more

EPA announces nearly $4 million in grant funding to research cumulative health impacts of climate change in underserved communities in Alaska and Washington

02/27/23  
Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced over $3.9 million in grant funding to the University of Washington, University of Alaska, and Iowa State University for community-based research to examine how climate change compounds adverse…
Read more

Kenai Peninsula analysts say looking to renewable energy options is crucial amid Cook Inlet natural gas decline

By Simon Lopez   02/27/23  
The available gas supply from Cook Inlet — which electrifies and heats Alaska’s Railbelt — is declining.
Read more

Alaska House votes unanimously to support Willow oil project

By James Brooks and Alaska Beacon   02/21/23  
The Alaska House of Representatives voted unanimously Monday to support Alaska’s largest potential oil and gas development in decades.
Read more

U.S. Arctic research goals put more emphasis on Indigenous issues and climate change response

By Yereth Rosen   02/20/23  
Arctic research in the United States over the next two years should include a greater focus on Indigenous knowledge and needs, a report from a government agency said.
Read more

Heat Pumps Sell Like Hotcakes on America’s Oil-Rich Frontier

By Chris Baraniuk   02/20/23  
In Alaska, people are flocking to buy electric appliances instead of fuel-guzzling furnaces, as oil prices soar and temperatures plummet.
Read more

Climate change takes back seat in Alaska’s bycatch showdown

By Emmanuel Samoglou   02/07/23  
A debate over the potential impact of climate change in a rapid deterioration of Alaska’s crab fisheries is taking a back seat to a clash over the issue of bycatch.
Read more

Climate activists hold rally near the Capitol

By Clarise Larson   02/03/23  
Climate activists from around Alaska held a rally near the Alaska State Capitol Friday afternoon in support of legislative action to improve Alaska’s renewable energy development and future sustainability.
Read more

Melting Alaska wants to drill more oil

By Bill McKibben   02/01/23  
If you wanted an example of the reason we’re still losing the fight to slow the earth’s heating, the proposed Willow oil project in Alaska should suffice. This should be the no-brainer of all time.…
Read more

EPA vetoes Alaska mine to protect salmon in win for environmentalists

By Associated Press   01/31/23  
The US Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday in effect vetoed a proposed copper and gold mine in a remote region of south-west Alaska that is coveted by mining interests but that also supports the world’s…
Read more

EPA may have dealt final ‘nail in the coffin’ to Alaska’s Pebble Mine

By Timothy Puko   01/31/23  
A contentious gold and copper mine project in Alaska may now be off the table after the Biden administration formally restricted mining in the area to protect one of the world’s biggest salmon spawning grounds.
Read more

A Huge Win for Alaska’s Salmon: EPA Says No to Pebble Mine in Bristol Bay

01/31/23  
The world’s greatest sockeye salmon run is in Bristol Bay, Alaska. Now, after more than a decade of advocacy by Tribes, local residents, fishers, environmental organizations, businesses, and many others, the EPA has moved to…
Read more

Biden protects vast wilderness area in Minnesota from mining

By Timothy Puko   01/26/23  
The Biden administration is banning mining for 20 years in a giant watershed near Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, the president’s latest effort to deliver on conservation pledges that would shape the future of…
Read more

Biden bans logging roads in much of America’s largest national forest

By Timothy Puko   01/25/23  
The Biden administration on Wednesday restored protections for more than half of Alaska’s Tongass National Forest, safeguarding one of the world’s largest intact temperate rainforests from new roads and logging.
Read more

Alaska’s northernmost city posts warmest winter temperature on record

By Ian Livingston and  Jacob Feuerstein     12/06/22  
At the northern tip of Alaska, the city of Utqiagvik on Monday reached its warmest temperature ever observed between November and March, when the mercury shot up to 40 degrees — 36 degrees above the…
Read more

Strongest storm in decades set to barrel into Alaska

By Zach Rosenthal and Jacob Feuerstein   09/16/22  
A near-perfect storm is set to bring hurricane-force winds and a massive storm surge into vulnerable communities in coastal Alaska.
Read more

Extreme lightning sparks more Alaska wildfires in already historic season

By Jacob Feuerstein and Joshua Partlow   07/06/22  
An unusual spate of lightning has ignited more than 50 new wildfires in Alaska, worsening air quality, spurring communities to prepare to evacuate and exacerbating an already historic fire season in the state.
Read more

Alaska’s June wildfires break records, fueled by hot, dry weather

By Jacob Feuerstein and Others   06/23/22  
A record number of acres have burned this month in Alaska, forcing Indigenous people from their homes, compromising air quality and stretching firefighting resources thin.
Read more

Once eager to drill, oil companies exit leases in Arctic refuge

By Steven Mufson and Others   06/02/22  
The exits make it far less likely that drilling will take place soon in a vast, unspoiled landscape that has achieved iconic status among environmentalists and has been fought over for half a century. An…
Read more

Jimmy Carter, at 97, Steps Into a Big Fight Over a Small Road in Alaska

By Henry Fountain   05/25/22  
By Alaskan standards, the gravel road that an isolated community near the Aleutian Islands wants to build to connect to an airport is not a huge project. But because it would be cut through a…
Read more

Biden Administration, Settling a Long Fight, Plans to Block a Mine in Alaska

By Coral Davenport   05/25/22  
The Biden administration on Wednesday took a major legal step toward protecting Bristol Bay in Alaska, one of the world’s most valuable sockeye salmon fisheries that also sits atop enormous copper and gold deposits long…
Read more

Research shows climate change may enable Alaska to grow more of its own food

By Taylor Burke   03/31/22  
Farmers in Alaska know that it can be hard to grow in the state’s climate, but as the climate rapidly warms in the far north, that could change. Climate change could enable Alaska to grow…
Read more

A greener Arctic is not a climate change solution

By Donatella Zona   03/30/22  
Some theories suggest that this “Arctic greening” will help counteract climate change. The idea is that since plants take up carbon dioxide as they grow, rising temperatures will mean Arctic vegetation will absorb more carbon…
Read more

Salmon travel deep into the Pacific. As it warms, many ‘don’t come back.’

By Joshua Partlow   03/29/22  
During a typical fall, almost a million chum salmon pour into Alaska’s Yukon River, a torrent of wild fish that has sustained the economy and Indigenous culture in the far north for generations. Last year,…
Read more

Sens. Sullivan, cramer, lummis urge biden administration to implement “american energy, jobs & climate plan”

03/28/22  
U.S. Senators Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), and Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) today urged the Biden administration to fully commit to implementing the “American Energy, Jobs & Climate Plan.” With last week’s announcement that the…
Read more

Alaska air pollution holds clues for other Arctic climates

By Mark Thiessen   03/25/22  
In the pristine expanse of Alaska’s interior lies a dirty secret: some of the most polluted winter air in the United States can be found in and around Fairbanks. The Fairbanks North Star Borough, which…
Read more

Study of Alaska’s Air Pollution Could Hold Clues for Best Practices in Planning for Arctic Climate Change

By Mark Thiessen   03/25/22  
In the pristine expanse of Alaska’s interior lies a dirty secret: some of the most polluted winter air in the United States can be found in and around Fairbanks. The Fairbanks North Star Borough, which…
Read more

Alaska Climate Scientists Offer Tool to Help Prepare for Warmer Farming Future

By KDLL Jenny Neyman   03/24/22  
There’s a lot of uncertainty in gardening. How will this variety of seeds work? Are the aphids — or the moose — going to kill my crop? Do I have enough fertilizer? Do I have…
Read more

A new study gives many Alaska communities their first look at how fast erosion is approaching

By Greg Kim and Kyuk - Bethel   03/16/22  
Erosion is threatening coastal communities around the state, but until now it hasn’t been clear to what extent. A study published in November 2021 by the state’s coastal hazards program forecasts how much land erosion…
Read more

Expanded Alaska Habitat Protections Sought for World’s Most Endangered Whale

03/10/22  
Conservationists filed a formal petition today urging the federal government to expand the critical habitat designation in Alaska for North Pacific right whales — the most endangered whale population in the world. Today’s petition to…
Read more