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Palin wants to give residents $100 a month to use for energy costs
Anchorage Daily News
05/16/2008
Gov. Sarah Palin is proposing an energy cost relief plan to give Alaskans $100-a-month debit cards and pour state dollars into electric utilities so they'll slash their bills to ratepayers.
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Alaska Gas Average Price 1st to Pass $4
Anchorage Daily News
05/15/2008
The average price for regular unleaded gasoline in Alaska rose above $4 a gallon Wednesday, making it the first state in the nation to pass that mark.
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Salmon Caught in the Carbon Net
Seattle Weekly
05/14/2008
Our mania for wild, fresh boutique fish comes at a high environmental cost. While the famed Copper River salmon are wild, fresh and organic, the miles they travel to get to Washington buyers may not be worth it.
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Views: Alaska Needs Housing Help
Anchorage Daily News
05/15/2008
Last week the U.S. House voted 266-154 for legislation to help American homeowners stay out of foreclosure. Alaska Rep. Don Young voted no. It was the wrong call.
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Views: Alaska EPA Guidelines for Mineral Pollution Flawed
Anchorage Daily News
05/15/2008
Quick question: What is the most polluted state in the union?
Answer: Alaska -- or at least that is the answer you will get if you consult the EPA Toxic Release Inventory figures.
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Alaskan Fishermen Want Federal Fuel Assistance
Alaska Public Radio Network
05/15/2008
Alaska commercial fishermen are petitioning Congress to help them with their high diesel bills. Organizers say fuel costs are keeping fishermen closer to home — in some cases tied up at the docks.
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Alaska Officials Condemn Polar Bear Listing
Juneau Empire
05/15/2008
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said she's disappointed by a federal decision to list polar bears as a threatened species but relieved by the conclusion that the cause was not petroleum development, the mainstay of Alaska's economy.
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Rural Alaskans Are Leaving the Village
Anchorage Daily News
05/14/2008
The migration of rural Alaskans from village to city has accelerated in the last two years, though the reasons are complex and cannot be easily linked to higher energy costs, a new university study says.
What makes the numbers stand out, said ISER interim director Steve Colt, is that the birth rate in rural Alaska has declined as well.
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Juneau is Cooler, Dimmer and Proving a Point
New York Times
05/14/2008
Here in Alaska, where melting arctic ice and eroding coastlines have made global warming an urgent threat, this little city has cut its electricity use by more than 30 percent in a matter of weeks, instantly establishing itself as a role model for how to go green, and fast.
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'Bike to Work Day' in Anchorage
Anchorage Daily News
05/14/2008
Be ready for a spike in bikes come Thursday.
Anchorage has proclaimed the day "Bike to Work Day," and more than 700 people have e-mailed the city saying they plan to participate -- a tip-of-the-iceberg number, based on last year's figures.
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Views: Anchorage Wants More Trees, Please
Anchorage Daily News
05/14/2008
Anchorage may take good care of some trees, but less wholesale clear-cutting for new development would be nice.
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The Need for 'Cruise' Control
Crosscut
05/14/2008
Why better federal regulations are needed to police polluters among the world's fleet of cruise ships: State and local authorities can only do so much. Over six months this year, Puget Sound will see 211 big ships bearing 835,000 passengers call on Seattle.
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Small-Business Energy Loans in Juneau
Juneau Empire
05/14/2008
A city-funded loan program to cover part of businesses' electric bills may be in place by the end of this week - though businesses will have to be denied a conventional bank loan before they are eligible.
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Alaska Offers Energy Makeover
Alaska Public Radio Network
05/13/2008
Alaskans facing high energy prices can take part in a state program going into effect this week to help lower fuel expenses. The Home Energy Rebate program is designed to make everyone’s life a little more comfortable.
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Alaska Lawmakers to Revisit Energy Relief
Anchorage Daily News
05/13/2008
Gov. Sarah Palin will call the Legislature into a special session this summer meant to provide Alaskans some relief from the soaring cost of energy.
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Alaska Developer Fined for River Threat
Anchorage Daily News
05/13/2008
A local doctor whose subdivision roads risked washing dirt into a tributary of the Anchor River will pay a $27,600 fine, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Monday.
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Views: Fair Pay, Fair Play
Anchorage Daily News
05/13/2008
Equal pay for equal work should be bedrock principle of American life. Alaskan legislators should give us legislation to get there.
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Proposed Energy Cash for Alaskans
Alaska Public Radio Network
05/13/2008
Alaska House Speaker John Harris is asking Governor Palin to expand the special legislative session next month to allow lawmakers time to develop a direct energy assistance plan to help all Alaskans immediately pay their high fuel bills. Proposed bills might make payments to residents or directly to utilities.
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Alaska Turns Down Clean Water Initiative
Juneau Empire
05/13/2008
The Juneau Assembly on Monday passed a resolution 7 to 2 opposing a statewide ballot initiative seeking to protect Alaska waters from the effects of new large-scale metallic mines.
The resolution, offered by Mayor Bruce Botelho and Assembly member David Stone, explains that if passed by voters the citizen-based law "would establish new water quality standards and discharge limits for new large metallic mines in Alaska."
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Alaska Pledges Millions To Coastal Erosion
Juneau Empire
05/13/2008
The state is committing millions of dollars to erosion control projects to help protect some of Alaska's coastal villages.
State officials say they are ready to take a leadership role to protect coastal villages threatened by the sea.
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Views: New Opportunity for Forest Service
Juneau Empire
05/13/2008
The old way the Forest Service did business must come to an end. Our forest can no longer support massive, subsidized, controversial clear-cuts. The small sales at Couverden and Tenakee Springs, the HCFP and the Roundtable all represent new ways of living and working in our forest.
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Enemy of Pebble also an investor in mining firm
Anchorage Daily News
05/10/2008
Over the past year, the firm owned by one of the biggest enemies of Pebble -- a huge copper and gold prospect -- has been investing millions of dollars in an international mining firm that wants to develop the controversial project in Southwest Alaska.
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Eagle Survivor of Valdez Spill Dies
Anchorage Daily News
05/08/2008
The bald eagle known as One Wing, the Exxon Valdez oil spill survivor that became a mascot and symbol of hope for the Bird Treatment and Learning Center, has died. One Wing, who lived nearly 20 years longer than anyone would have imagined, was found dead in his mew at the center.
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Cruise-Ship Pollution Monitors Swing Into Action
Alaska Public Radio Network
05/08/2008
Alaska’s first Ocean Rangers are in action. The cruise-ship pollution monitors began their work when the first large vessel arrived in Alaska waters late last month. Program managers say they are having no trouble recruiting rangers. But so far, they haven’t hired any Alaskans.
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Alaska Hydro Project Stirs Dissent
Anchorage Daily News
05/07/2008
A $4 million hydroelectric project proposed for Hatcher Pass is getting re-energized but is facing questions about its impact on a premier salmon stream in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough.
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