Time to take a stand on climate change? 01/10/2010
Alaska legislators want information to determine a strategy on responding to climate change actions and the use of the ESA in AK
The stakes are high and the rhetoric climbing in the debate between those who want to apply the Endangered Species Act for the protection of wildlife potentially threatened by a warming climate, and t...

Gas could be answer in warming fight 01/03/2010
Utilities looking at natural gas because it emits half as much carbon as coal when burned to generate same amount of electricity
An unlikely source of energy has emerged to meet international demands that the United States do more to fight global warming: It's cleaner than coal, cheaper than oil and a 90-year supply is under ou...

Arctic sea ice all but gone 12/06/2009
A leading Canadian ice scientist has challenged studies claiming Arctic sea ice is making a modest comeback from an unprecedented retreat in 2007. David Barber, research chair in Arctic System Science...

Climate change legal impacts heat up 12/06/2009
U.S. legislation, regulation and litigation will all have far-reaching impacts on the Alaska oil and gas industry in coming years
In one sense it makes no difference who is right and who is wrong in the debate over the effect of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases on the Earth's climate: The legal fallout from a broad view...

Melt could cost trillions 12/06/2009
Pipelines, roads, buildings threatened by extreme temperature swings in Arctic
A meltdown in northern Canada is endangering pipelines, roads and buildings - including C$5 trillion worth of aging infrastructure - if climate change continues unabated in the decades ahead, says a r...

Mining News: Anti-coal groups descend on Utah to rally against Alaska's Chuitna Coal Project 11/22/2009
Sierra Club Alaska has joined several other environmental and anti-coal groups to hold a Nov. 12 rally in opposition to developing a coal mine at the Chuitna Project in Southcentral Alaska. Richard "...

Mining News: Greens threaten Seward coal dust suit 11/22/2009
Environmental groups' law firm plans to sue Usibelli affiliate and Alaska railroad for alleged clean water violations in Seward
Three environmental groups – Sierra Club Alaska Chapter, Alaska Center for the Environment and Alaska Community Action on Toxics – have threatened to file a lawsuit against Alaska Railroad Corp. and U...

Surface permafrost may vanish in Alaska 11/15/2009
Alaska probably will see most of its surface permafrost vanish by the end of this century, but researchers believe vast areas of frozen soil will remain deeper underground even as air temperatures inc...

Oil Patch Insider: TransCanada on Arctic gas; RDC conference Nov. 18-19; Buffett cash to build Alaska gas line? 11/15/2009
TransCanada, with a financial stake in the Mackenzie Gas Project and the prospect of operating the main gas pipeline to southern markets, but no ownership position, is ideally situated to tell it stra...

Canada's GHG plans: Where the buck stops 11/08/2009
Provinces respond sharply to case made by study that greenhouse gas reduction goals would be met by transferring wealth regionally
Leaders of Western Canada's petroleum-fueled provinces and the Canadian government have wasted no time shredding the most detailed estimate yet of how much it will cost to meet climate-change targets....

Wins and losses for sands sector 11/01/2009
Industry gets boost from study estimating employment, economic spinoffs; runs afoul of chemical producers, who demand single standard
The Alberta oil sands, as is so often the case, are being pulled in opposite directions, quietly ramping up production, while unease builds as the sector awaits greenhouse gas regulations from the Oba...

Americans cooling on global warming 11/01/2009
In April 2008, 44% viewed global warming as a serious problem; latest Pew survey says that number appears to be down to 35%
There has been a sharp decline over the past year in the percentage of Americans who believe there is solid evidence that global temperatures are rising. And fewer also see global warming as a very se...

EPA moves to regulate smokestack gases 10/11/2009
Industrial plants emitting at least 25,000 tons would have to use best available technology with new builds, significant changes
The Environmental Protection Agency took steps Sept. 30 to control the emissions blamed for global warming from power plants, factories and refineries for the first time. The EPA proposal would requi...

DOI sends polar bear rule to White House 10/11/2009
The U.S. Department of the Interior has sent its proposed rule for the protection of polar bear habitat to the White House Office of Management and Budget, Greenwire has reported, according to a New Y...

Railbelt crossroads 10/11/2009
Gas-dependent SC Alaska tries to determine how to meet energy needs
As the Municipality of Anchorage prepares for the possibility of natural gas shortages during the cold of the coming winter, shortages that would cause the electric utilities to activate contingency p...

Arctic Directory: PDC Harris Group: Engineering alliance provides innovative solutions for customers 09/20/2009
PDC Harris Group LLC alliance provides seamless access to combined talents, resources of both firms
Q. What do you most want people to know about your company? A. PDC Harris Group LLC is an Anchorage engineering-design firm, and an Alaska limited liability corporation founded in 2002 by PDC Inc....

Arctic Directory: Investing in the Arctic 09/20/2009
Big resource, big opportunity, big challenge in Far North outrank many hot spots
The Arctic is said to outrank many of the globe's current exploration hot spots, including Brazil and West Africa. But don't expect companies to flock to the Far North anytime soon, especially at a ti...

Commerce approves Arctic fisheries plan 08/30/2009
The nation's secretary of commerce has approved a plan that would prohibit an expansion of commercial fishing in the Arctic, at least until more is known about the area. Secretary of Commerce Gary Loc...

The winds of change in Arctic Alaska 08/30/2009
Politicians seek views on future Arctic policies in the face of climate change, industrial development and environmental protection
As the Arctic warms, the summer sea ice retreats and evolving weather patterns disrupt communities in northern Alaska, opinions on how to respond to the changes sweeping across the northernmost part o...

Two views of US national interest 08/30/2009
State Department issues permit for pipeline from Alberta oil sands, citing 'strategic' interests; environmentalists file challenges
The ingredients are there for what could be one of the pivotal test cases involving the future of exports from the Alberta oil sands to the United States. No sooner had the U.S. State Department issue...

Begich introduces Arctic bills in Senate 08/09/2009
Calls for investment in science, coordinated research; cites costs of replacing public infrastructure; asks for treaty ratification
Alaska Sen. Mark Begich used his maiden speech Aug. 3 to call for addressing changes in the Arctic brought on by global warming. The freshman senator announced the introduction of seven bills aimed a...

Investing in the Arctic 06/14/2009
Big resource, big opportunity, big challenge in Far North outrank many hot spots
The Arctic is said to outrank many of the globe's current exploration hot spots, including Brazil and West Africa. But don't expect companies to flock to the Far North anytime soon, especially at a...

Theory and practice in CCS technology 06/07/2009
There's a huge worldwide drive towards the use of carbon capture and sequestration, but broad implementation faces several hurdles
Widely blamed for an acceleration in global warming, man-made carbon dioxide has become something of a symbol for human-induced environmental degradation. And in the debate about how to minimize futur...

Canada's government: After you, U.S.A. 06/07/2009
Environment Minister Prentice says regulations need to be harmonized; backs off having regs by fall with 2010 implementation date
Forget about "Made in Canada." Let's go with "Made in the U.S.A." That seems to be the thinking of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Canadian government as it ponders delaying implementation of rules li...

Not free-for-all land grab 05/31/2009
Stephen de Boer: Continental shelf claims following orderly legal process
Contrary to popular opinion, the current flurry of activity around offshore continental shelf claims under the international Convention on the Law of the Sea is an orderly legal process, and not some...