Alaska's Energy Desk

Alaska’s Energy Desk is a collaboration between KTOO-FM in Juneau, Alaska Public Media in Anchorage, KUCB in Unalaska, Fairbanks Daily News-Miner in Fairbanks, KBRW in Utqiaġvik and KYUK in Bethel. Each week we produce in-depth coverage of energy issues in Alaska for radio, video and web. From the state budget to personal energy use, resource development to Arctic life, we cover how energy issues impact Alaskan lives and landscapes. Alaska’s Energy Desk is a Regional Journalism Collaboration, launched in 2016 with a supporting grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

A white and grey seal on the ice

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.

Trump administration appeals ruling that blocked Arctic offshore drilling

The Trump administration Tuesday appealed a federal court decision that blocked plans to re-open vast portions of Alaska's Arctic waters to oil drilling.

Point Lay sees earliest walrus haul out ever

It's the earliest walrus haul out since it began happening in 2007, according to the federal agency. The haul outs are associated with declining sea ice due to climate change. Paragraph

BLM responds to tribes’ criticism over planning process for draft resource management plan

The Orutsararmiut Native Council is calling the federal planning process for how 13 million acres of public land is managed in the region “woefully inadequate.” BLM says that they are taking more steps to reach out.

Sea ice begins to recede as Northwest Alaska cold snap dies down

The cold snap helped the sea ice form in the Chukchi and Bering Seas, but the recent shift is slowing it down.

Dunleavy urges calm as a volatile economy and tourism warnings add to Alaska coronavirus anxiety

As the coronavirus continued to cause havoc for the global economy Monday in ways that threaten the stability of Alaska's budget, the Permanent Fund and tourism, Governor Mike Dunleavy called a news conference to soothe Alaskans' anxiety.

BP Alaska is donating the code for a new online program to track workers’ health

The oil and gas company says it wanted to create a new way to keep tabs on employees’ temperatures and any symptoms that could be consistent with the coronavirus, so it partnered with Resource Data to create a digital hub.
Quonset huts in the middle of a sprucy wetlands

In the wake of Pebble Tapes, scrutiny for state involvement in wetlands mitigation plan

Pebble says it will meet the deadline for a plan to offset damages to wetlands in the Koktuli River watershed, but the "Pebble Tapes" have triggered additional scrutiny about the state’s apparent assistance with the plan.
Some ice bergs in a dusky night

Warming Pacific waters likely adding to Arctic sea ice loss, study finds

For the past decade, scientists have observed several years of abnormally low sea ice extent. While most of the cause has been attributed to a warming Arctic climate, a new study suggests warming waters outside of the Arctic are impacting sea ice as well.

On methane, Alaska tells feds to clean up their act first

The Interior Department has proposed new rules aimed at reducing methane emissions from the oil and gas industry. Download Audio

Before and after photos of Bogoslof Island show big changes after recent eruption

New photos show the dramatic effect of volcanic explosions on Bogoslof Island. The Eastern Aleutian island is home to a volcano that has been erupting since mid-December. Now, the tiny island is even smaller and it’s shaped like a hook. Listen now

Ask a Climatologist: Arctic sea ice drives climate around the globe

Arctic sea ice extent hit a new record low in March for the third year in a row. That sea ice, or lack of it, drives climate patterns around the globe. But how? Listen now

Ask a Climatologist: Remembering the record breaking July snow

Back in 1970 on July 19, it snowed 9.7 inches at the Summit weather station just south of Cantwell on the Parks Highway. Listen now

Investigation shows BP Alaska reckoning with multiple accidents and leaks

BP isn't disputing that the incidents took place. The company has already taken extreme steps to address the issue. Listen now

It’s hurry up and wait for state gasline corporation’s federal permitting schedule

Alaska’s gasline corporation has filed tens of thousands of pages of documents for their federal permit. Now it's waiting for the commission to make a decision on if, and when, the state can get to work on its massive liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project. Listen now

Walker asks legislature to divert funds from studying ANWR into public safety

Walker also wants to split $1.5 million between the Department of Revenue and the Department of Natural Resources to do legal and financial work on the Alaska LNG project. Listen now

Two Alaska projects selected for federal marine energy innovation grant funds

The grant money comes from the Department of Energy and is part of a larger award to support innovation in marine energy generation. Listen now

Decades-old federal policy placed Newtok in the path of climate change

Some advocates say it’s largely because of federal policy that some of these villages are so vulnerable to climate change in the first place. Listen now

For methane researcher, golf course bubbles are a first

“It’s an area that I and some other colleagues have started thinking about: can you get methane forming in terrestrial environments? But it’s a very new area of science,” carbon scientist Katey Walter Anthony said. Listen now

State and police investigating accident that led to North Slope worker’s death

According to the North Slope Borough chief of police Jeffrey Brown, Shawn Huber died in an accident at the Milne Point facility on Friday, December 7. Huber was 36.