en-us Copyright Sightline Daily - all rights reserved newsfeeds@sightline.org newsfeeds@sightline.org Most recent Alaska headlines from Sightline Daily, the Northwest news that matters http://daily.sightline.org Plone http://daily.sightline.org/logo.gif 427 69 The Interior Department on Wednesday made 2.6 million acres of potentially oil-rich territory in northern Alaska available for energy exploration. At the same time, it deferred for a decade any decision to open 600,000 acres of land north of Teshekpuk Lake that is the summer home of thousands of migrating caribou and millions of waterfowl. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/17/us/17alaska.html?_r=2&emc=tnt&tntemail0=y&oref=slogin&oref=slogin Energy Environment Alaska 07/24/2008 New York Times The Western Climate Initiative on Wednesday released an initial design of its proposed regulatory framework for a cap-and-trade system of carbon emissions. The plan as proposed would cover only sources that emit 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide a year, meaning only about 60 entities in Oregon would be subject to regulation, according to an estimate from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2008/07/21/daily34.html?ana=from_rss Cap and Trade Climate Economy Policy Alaska British Columbia California Montana Oregon Washington 07/23/2008 Business Journal Seven Western states are joining four Canadian provinces to propose a plan to limit greenhouse gas emissions through use of a "cap and trade" system. The draft plan, made public Wednesday by Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski's office, is aimed at gradually reducing carbon emissions across Oregon, Arizona, California, Montana, New Mexico, Utah and Washington. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008070020_apgreenhousegases.html?syndication=rss Cap and Trade Climate Alaska British Columbia California Montana Oregon Washington 07/24/2008 Seattle Times Members of the House of Representatives voted late Tuesday to approve an exclusive state license for a Canadian energy company proposing to build a natural gas pipeline down the Alaska Highway to Alberta. The 24-16 vote supports the license for Calgary-based TransCanada Corp., one of the continent's biggest gas pipeline operators. http://www.adn.com/front/story/472490.html Energy Alaska 07/23/2008 Anchorage Daily News A mysterious 30-year-long increase in breast cancer rates among Alaska Native women may finally be leveling off - after tripling between 1969 and 1998. At least that's the hope, said Janet Kelly, an epidemiologist with the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, addressing a local cancer symposium Tuesday. http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/472317.html Human Health Native Peoples Alaska 07/22/2008 Anchorage Daily News U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann says the United States needs to tap its energy reserves and that only Congress is standing in the way of making a dent in rising fuel costs. She says Congress should open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling, and allow for the expansion of oil exploration in other areas including Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota and off the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf of Mexico coasts. http://newsminer.com/news/2008/jul/22/minnesota-congresswoman-calls-more-oil-drilling-us/ Energy Environment Policy Alaska United States 07/22/2008 Fairbanks Daily News Miner The Alaska State House of Representatives has approved a state license for a Canadian company to pursue a natural gas pipeline project that could unlock 4.5 billion cubic feet of North Slope gas reserves daily. The House backed the plan on a 24-16 vote Tuesday. A reconsideration vote is planned Wednesday, but that's usually a formality. If approved then, the bill will go to the state Senate, which must approve or reject it before Aug. 2. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2008065330_apalaskagaspipeline.html?syndication=rss Energy Alaska 07/23/2008 Seattle Times The friends and foes of Ballot Measure 4, the proposed state law seeking tougher pollution standards for large, new mines, can't seem to find much to agree on. Not only do they disagree about the effects of the initiative -- its sponsors say it won't hurt any projects except Pebble, but the mining industry and its supporters say it could shut down many Alaska mines -- they can't agree on basic matters about the mining industry. http://www.adn.com/money/industries/mining/story/471358.html Economy Environment Policy Alaska 07/22/2008 Anchorage Daily News For the first time in decades, federal officials allowed drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge this summer. It wasn't for oil, though. The drillers were targeting ice buried deep in a glacier high in the Brooks Range. Their goal is to learn about the region's past climate and search for clues about the region's future. http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/072208/sta_307860654.shtml Climate Environment Alaska 07/22/2008 Juneau Empire