zz Alaska's Energy Desk

Three electric utilities serving the Anchorage area — Chugach Electric Association, Municipal Light & Power and Matanuska Electric Association– on Monday (Jan. 30) announced a preliminary agreement to work together to provide lower-cost power. Listen now

When writer John McPhee arrived on the Yukon River in the mid-1970s, he encountered men and women living as far from civilization as they could manage. He profiled many of these people in the third section of his book, “Coming into the Country.” One of the people McPhee met during this time was Steve Ulvi. For a decade beginning in 1974, Ulvi and his soon-to-be wife Lynette Roberts lived hundreds of miles from the nearest city in a cabin they built near the Yukon River. Listen now

The ingredients for picture perfect snowflakes came together in Southcentral Alaska this past weekend. Climatologist Brian Brettschneider said the snowflakes that fell in were especially large and piled up quickly. Listen now

One afternoon in the mid-1970s, journalist John McPhee and an influential Alaska Native politician Willie Hensley took off from Anchorage in a de Havilland Otter and flew deep into the Alaska range, looking for a new state capitol. Later, in his book “Coming into the Country,” McPhee introduced the rest of the nation to one of the most prominent, young Alaska Native leaders in the state. Hensley was instrumental in forcing the state and the federal government to settle land claims with its 60,000 Alaska Native residents.Listen now

The Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (AOGCC) is proposing a ten-day comment period for applications to use hydraulic fracturing on an oil or gas well. The proposal falls in between what environmental groups and the industry say is sufficient opportunity for public input before a well can be fracked in Alaska. Listen now

Northern fur seal pup production on St. Paul Island has hit its lowest level since 1915. Listen now

John McPhee’s book Coming into the Country starts with a river trip: six men, nine days- floating nearly the entire length of the Salmon river in northwest Alaska. The 26 year old leading the trip was Pat Pourchot, a recent Alaska transplant who had the job of a lifetime with the Interior Department. Listen now

“Coming into the Country,” John McPhee’s book about Alaska, was published in 1977, introducing readers across the country to a wild place, less than 20 years into its statehood. The book quickly became a best-seller and is still popular with tourists and Alaska residents alike. Listen now

For a long time, scientists thought reindeer would be big losers in climate change, but the reindeer on St. Paul Island are challenging that theory. Listen now

"Coming into the Country" likely inspired countless young people to venture to Alaska. Many stayed. Alaska’s Energy Desk has been highlighting their stories and on the next Talk of Alaska, we’ll hear from the legendary author about the unexpected impact his book has had through the decades. Listen Now

President Barack Obama has turned down a request from the western Alaska village of Newtok for a disaster declaration. Listen now

It was -50 degrees today in Fairbanks. Anchorage hit -15 degrees. Much of the state is enduring the coldest temperatures in nearly five years. Listen now

Yellow cedar trees grow from the top of California, all the way to Alaska, and according to a recent study, the Southeast part of the state could be the hardest hit with yellow cedar’s decline, due to the planet heating up. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been petitioned to put yellow cedar on the endangered species list. The wood is commercially valuable. It’s culturally valuable, too. Listen now

The last person John McPhee talks to in his book Coming into the Country is a man who calls himself River Wind. At the time, River Wind was 32 years old, about to head down the Yukon in a 15 foot aluminum canoe to find a place to live. Forty years later, he goes by his given name, David Cornberg and spends most of the year in Fairbanks. Listen now

On Jan. 13, ConocoPhillips announced a major oil find in the National Petroleum-Reserve Alaska (NPR-A). The company is calling it the Willow Discovery. Experts say coupled with several other recent big discoveries in the region, it could portend a new wave of oil development on the North Slope. If developed, it could go a long ways toward replenishing the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. Listen now

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said warming ocean temperatures, due to climate change, could slow the growth of some Alaska coral. In a study released Thursday, scientists warned about the potential impact to fish, which take refuge in thickets of coral. Listen now

It may be called the “National Petroleum Reserve,” but the 23-million-acre chunk of federal land on the North Slope didn’t see a full-scale oil development until 2015. As this new era begins, the Bureau of Land Management is adding another layer of protection to this vast, sensitive area. Listen now

Geologic changes typically move slow. But one glacier in Denali National Park and Preserve could be moving at a decidedly un-glacial pace. Scientists think it’s doing something only a small amount of glaciers do, an event called “surging.” Listen now

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

Thousands of Alaskans lost their jobs in 2016, and in the forecast for 2017, it doesn’t look like the economy is going to stop shrinking anytime soon. Listen now