As Alaska’s climate team floats carbon pricing, not everyone jumps on board
Governor Bill Walker’s Climate Action Leadership Team met yesterday in Anchorage to discuss its draft climate action plan, which recommends Alaska consider a carbon tax. But the plan is not a consensus document, and not every member of the team thinks pricing carbon is a good idea. Listen now
New roads in the Tongass? Forest service signs off on state’s ask
On Thursday, the U.S. Forest Service announced it signed an agreement with the state -- officially kicking off that process. Listen now
Six Y-K Delta communities clean up household waste with help from Donlin Gold
This is the first time that the Green Star program has helped out in the Y-K Delta. Before then, villages stored household waste in a container and waited for the barges to come in the spring. Listen now
Alaska’s draft climate action plan includes carbon tax on page 43
Governor Bill Walker’s Climate Action Leadership Team has been discussing a robust draft plan to tackle climate change. Listen now
Experiments in Northern Alaska seek to improve projections for a changing Arctic
"What we’re trying to do is make better predictions so that we can basically provide policy-makers with more useful, actionable information." Listen now
Using data as a carrot, Alaska hopes to entice interest in oil lease sale
The state of Alaska is offering oil companies a sneak preview on three North Slope areas it’s putting up for bid at this year’s oil and gas lease sale. Listen now
Science program tries to make amends after sending mixed signals to native youth in Y-K Delta
Last year, Jasmine Gil, a young scientist from Bethel who participated in Polaris, said that the group marginalized her project because it relied on traditional knowledge. Now, the organization is trying to make amends. Listen now
BLM projects ‘insignificant’ impact from seismic work in ANWR
Officials from the Bureau of Land Management expect "no significant impact" from a 3d seismic survey in the Arctic Refuge. They expect to approve the request in time for work to begin this winter. Enviros say the work could disturb denning polar bears. Listen now
Did ‘the blob’ heat the Bering Sea enough to threaten your fish sticks?
The blob is gone now, but warm water remains to the north in the Bering Sea. Scientists are pondering potential effects on fish like pollock, which are processed into things like fish sticks and McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish sandwiches. Listen now
As lands uplift, a wetland refuge in Juneau is losing ground
The land right outside Rue’s house is fairly new. And there’s a geologic explanation for why the view has changed so much since his kids were small. Listen now
The Big Thaw: Fishermen in Kodiak cope with record low cod numbers
The cod population in the Gulf of Alaska is at its lowest level on record. The culprit is a warm water mass called "the blob" that churned in the Pacific Ocean between 2013 and 2017. Listen now
Utqiaġvik barbecue connects people to scientific research next door
A science presentation may seem like a hard sell on a Saturday night… but less so if you turn it into a chance to eat and see friends. Listen now
More Y-K Delta tribes protest Donlin Mine as permitting process progresses
Six tribes have passed resolutions against the proposed mine in the past two months; and eight have spoken out against it in the last two years. Listen now
Inuit Circumpolar Council signs guide for Arctic action for the next four years
The meeting concluded with the signing of the Utqiaġvik Declaration, which will guide the ICC’s work for the next four years. Listen now
AK: The journey of Alaska’s go-to man in China
It took a lot of work for Alaska to break into the Chinese market. One man has been at it for decades: Yingdi Wang, the Chinese-born, American citizen who is the state’s go-to guy in China. Listen now
Endangered Species Act overhaul could put Alaska’s polar bears in crosshairs
The Trump administration announced revisions to the Endangered Species Act to make it easier for developers to navigate the law. Environmental groups criticized the proposal. Listen now
How bold? Governor’s climate action team talks emissions reduction goals and education
Governor Bill Walker’s Climate Action Task Force met Wednesday to discuss a draft document that could influence the state’s climate change policy in the future. Listen now
Feds request public input on National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska oil leasing
The federal government is asking the public for input on this year's oil and gas lease sale in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A), an Indiana-sized area of land on the North Slope. Listen now
Arctic without borders: Inuit Circumpolar Council meets in Utqiaġvik
This week, indigenous people from all over the Arctic are gathered in Utqiaġvik for the Inuit Circumpolar Council’s 2018 General Assembly. Listen now
Here’s how a planeload of salmon gets from Cook Inlet to customers in Anchorage
It’s been a tough start to Alaska’s fishing season this year. But now the sockeye run is heating up. We followed a single plane-load of sockeye – from its catch site across Cook Inlet to the backdoor of a downtown Anchorage restaurant. Listen now