The Biden administration has taken a major step on a proposed oil drilling project in Alaska’s North Slope by releasing a draft of an environmental impact statement (EIS), much to the dismay of climate advocates, CNN reported. The ConocoPhillips project, known as Willow, would release tons of carbon dioxide emissions and spell disaster for the […]
By Jessica Corbett Conservationists, local tribes, and commercial fishers celebrated on Thursday the Biden administration’s move to permanently protect Alaska’s Bristol Bay watershed from the proposed Pebble Mine and similarly destructive projects. “Placing a massive mine at the headwaters of the world’s greatest, most productive wild sockeye salmon fishery has been a terrible idea from […]
By Julia Conley Conservation and climate action groups on Thursday applauded the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s announcement of far-reaching new protections for Alaska’s Tongass National Forest as well as a restoration of a key rule that former President Donald Trump rescinded three months before leaving office in a bid to open millions of acres to […]
The Department of the Interior on Tuesday suspended oil and gas leases in Alaska‘s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge until a comprehensive analysis can determine the environmental impact of drilling in the area. A review “identified defects in the underlying record of decision supporting the leases, including the lack of analysis of a reasonable range of […]
By Jake Johnson The Biden administration is facing backlash from climate activists and scientists after filing a court brief Wednesday in defense of a major Trump-era Alaska drilling project that’s expected to produce up to 160,000 barrels of oil a day over a 30-year period — a plan that runs directly counter to the White […]
By Hannah Thomasy From 2014 to 2016, the Gulf of Alaska experienced the worst marine heat wave of the decade. From single-celled organisms to top predators, practically no level of the ecosystem was left unscathed. During the Pacific marine heat wave, tens of thousands of dead seabirds washed up on beaches, unusually low numbers of […]
By Jessie Creamean and Thomas Hill The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work. The Big Idea Permafrost – frozen soil in the far north – is thawing, releasing greenhouse gases and long-lost microbes. But one thing that scientists have not studied extensively is whether permafrost contains certain kinds of particles that […]
The oil industry responded to the controversial and last-minute sale of oil leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge with a collective ‘meh’ on Wednesday. The federal government received bids on just 11 of the 22 leasing tracts on offer, and nine of those were purchased at the legal minimum price of per acre by […]
By Jessica Corbett President-elect Joe Biden is facing renewed pressure to deliver on his promise of a bold climate agenda after a federal judge ruled that the Trump administration could move forward with a Wednesday auction of fossil fuel drilling leases for federally protected lands in Alaska. After decades of national debate over oil and […]