Ravenna Koenig, Alaska's Energy Desk - Fairbanks
As sea ice changes in a warming Arctic, new challenges for polar bear research
“There’s probably going to be a greater amount of uncertainty with some of the information that we’re able to provide, because it’s simply not going to be as precise as it used to be,” said wildlife biologist Todd Atwood.
Village of Igiugig one step closer to replacing diesel electricity with hydrokinetic system
“One year from now, we’ll know whether the community would like to own this device,” says IVC President AlexAnna Salmon. “If it really is going to prove itself to be an effective option for providing power.”
‘Pretty unbelievable,’ says Kotlik hunter who helped document recent spike in seal deaths
Harold Okitkun counted 18 dead seals north of Kotlik — a number he says he’s never seen or heard of other people in the village seeing.
Unusually high number of seal deaths reported along the coast of the Bering and Chukchi Seas
“We don’t know if it’s lack of sea ice, or if there was a harmful algal bloom,” said Julie Speegle with NOAA Fisheries. “There’s quite a range of factors.”
Goat yoga? In Fairbanks, there’s a new animal to flow with: reindeer
“You’ll see the reindeer getting into these amazing poses,” said Jane Atkinson, owner of Running Reindeer Ranch. “And it’s like wow…. Look at this little yoga move that they do!”
Can the youth climate lawsuit go to trial? A federal appeals court will rule.
“The courts’ view of it is that the case is unusual enough and novel enough that it would be wise to resolve some of the legal uncertainty before trial rather than after,” said environmental law professor Sean Hecht.
Remove your rings and get out your card blanket: A table-side view of one of Utqiaġvik’s most animated card games
In Utqiaġvik, snerts is one of the most popular games in town. Die-hard enthusiasts play on a regular basis, and there’s even an annual spring tournament.
To get a count on bowhead whales, North Slope scientists head out onto the sea ice
“They’re just so graceful and beautiful. Every time I see a whale I get excited,” said biologist Craig George. “I’ve seen thousands and thousands. It’s always like seeing a bowhead for the first time.”
In Utqiaġvik, learning about climate change includes studying your backyard
In Alaska’s northernmost town, eighth grade students study climate change in a way that encompasses the global picture, but pays particular attention to what’s going on in their own backyard.
In Utqiaġvik, temperatures are warmer, and the ice is changing. What does that mean for whalers?
“I think it was a little more stable, and there was a little bit more assurance that the ice you were on was not going to disintegrate on you that easy,” said whaling captain Gordon Brower.
Marie Adams Carroll became a ‘folk hero’ fighting for Iñupiat whaling rights. Now she’s in the Alaska Women’s Hall of Fame.
On Tuesday, 10 women were inducted into the Alaska Women’s Hall of Fame. One of them was Marie Adams Carroll from Utqiaġvik, who stepped into a leadership role as a young woman on the North Slope during a time of crisis — when subsistence activities were threatened — and has been involved in public life ever since.
Meet Alice Qannik Glenn, the podcaster who’s trying to get more young Alaska Native voices on the mic
If you look at the stories being told in the world, and you don’t see your perspective reflected in those stories, what do you do? For one young Iñupiaq woman, the answer to that question was: make a podcast.
State petitions federal government to delist Arctic ringed seals under Endangered Species Act
In the latest chapter of an ongoing debate over the status of Arctic ringed seals, the state of Alaska has petitioned the federal government to take them off the list of threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.
For one petroleum engineering student, oil prices change but the dream stays the same
“I saw it as: I’m in a cyclic industry,” said Sydney Deering, who will be graduating this year with a B.S. in petroleum engineering. “I’m coming in in the trough. Hopefully it’s only up from here.”
As Trump administration contemplates drilling in Arctic waters, North Slope organizations stress need to protect subsistence resources
In public comments made available on a federal site, most North Slope institutions didn’t express outright opposition to the plan. But they did voice concern for subsistence resources and hunters’ continued access to them.
Cash-strapped state of Alaska takes aim at North Slope government’s oil money
A proposal by Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy would strip the North Slope Borough of its power to collect nearly $400 million in property taxes from oil companies each year. The idea gets at a longstanding question: How much money from oil should stay in the North Slope, where it’s pumped from the ground?
Prospect of commercial fishing in central Arctic Ocean poses big questions for science
The first legally-binding, multilateral agreement to prevent commercial fishing in the central Arctic Ocean was signed last year. A key part of that agreement is collaboration on scientific research, which could underpin a management plan later.
AK: Taking a ride with the last dog team left in Utqiaġvik
In Utqiaġvik, there’s still one dog team left, and their musher has been getting around the tundra by dogsled for more than 30 years.
ASRC, after backing Dunleavy’s campaign, blasts his oil tax redistribution plan
ASRC president and CEO Rex Rock Sr. said: “Trying to balance a state budget on the backs of the Iñupiat people across the Arctic Slope is a wrongsided attack on our region.”
With winter snow trails, North Slope Borough hopes to offer residents a safe path over tundra
“Near-deaths and freezing, running out of gas are some of the issues surrounding being able to go between communities,” said Gordon Brower, director of the North Slope Borough’s Planning and Community Services Department.