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Beth Kerttula, former Alaska State Representative and past Director of the National Oceans Council under President Barack Obama, takes a question at the Mendenhall Valley Glacier Visitor Center for a Fireside Lecture, Jan. 25, 2019. (Ben Hohenstatt | Capital City Weekly)

Former Rep calls attention to ‘frightening’ state of oceans

The messenger was warmly received, the disconcerting message not so much.

Beth Kerttula, former Alaska State Representative and past Director of the National Oceans Council under President Barack Obama, takes a question at the Mendenhall Valley Glacier Visitor Center for a Fireside Lecture, Jan. 25, 2019. (Ben Hohenstatt | Capital City Weekly)
Scientists ID another possible threat to orcas: pink salmon

Scientists ID another possible threat to orcas: pink salmon

Officials say orcas are on the brink of extinction.

Scientists ID another possible threat to orcas: pink salmon
British Columbia, Canada. (Unsplash)

Operations suspended at Canada’s Mount Polly mine

Declining copper prices are to blame.

British Columbia, Canada. (Unsplash)
Opinion: NASA’s mission is four billion miles off course

Opinion: NASA’s mission is four billion miles off course

Scientists must shift focus to climate change, not outer space.

Opinion: NASA’s mission is four billion miles off course
Warmer temperatures could cost Alaska up to $700 million

Warmer temperatures could cost Alaska up to $700 million

The effects of climate change could be costly.

Warmer temperatures could cost Alaska up to $700 million
Doug Woodby, co-chair of climate action group @350 Juneau, speaks to the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation’s Board of Trustees during its quarterly meeting in Juneau on Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2018. The local chapter of the national environmental group has been asking the trustees to divest from fossil fuel investments.

What does the Alaska Permanent Fund have to do with climate change? This group will tell you.

‘This is an investment ecology where slow moving fish get eaten.’

Doug Woodby, co-chair of climate action group @350 Juneau, speaks to the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation’s Board of Trustees during its quarterly meeting in Juneau on Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2018. The local chapter of the national environmental group has been asking the trustees to divest from fossil fuel investments.
Moss covers old-growth trees along Auke Lake on Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Court invalidates four timber sales in Tongass National Forest

Environmental groups get the win.

Moss covers old-growth trees along Auke Lake on Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Opinion: Energy production is a boon for Alaska and all Americans

Opinion: Energy production is a boon for Alaska and all Americans

Environmentalists need not worry.

Opinion: Energy production is a boon for Alaska and all Americans
The Mendenhall Glacier. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Alaska judge dismisses youth climate lawsuit

An appeal would go to the Alaska Supreme Court.

The Mendenhall Glacier. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Acid contaminated water runs from the entrance of the Tulsequah Chief Mine in Canada. (Courtesy photo)

Governor ‘frustrated’ by long-polluting Canadian mine

Runoff from the mine has been flowing for more than 60 years.

Acid contaminated water runs from the entrance of the Tulsequah Chief Mine in Canada. (Courtesy photo)
The Holland America Line ship Amsterdam sits at port in Juneau on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2018. The Amsterdam is one of nine ships that have received Notice of Violations for air opacity issued by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Alaska negotiating settlements with cruise companies over air, water violations

Closed-door meetings decide how much cruises will pay for summer violations.

The Holland America Line ship Amsterdam sits at port in Juneau on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2018. The Amsterdam is one of nine ships that have received Notice of Violations for air opacity issued by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Andrea Odell, an undergraduate student in the University of Washington School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, tosses dead sockeye salmon onto the bank of Hansen Creek in southwest Alaska in August 2018 while other researchers record data and look for salmon in the stream. (Courtesy Photo | Dan DiNicola via University of Washington)

Researchers threw salmon carcasses on one side of a creek for 20 years. Here’s what happened.

New study proves something Alaskans always knew.

Andrea Odell, an undergraduate student in the University of Washington School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, tosses dead sockeye salmon onto the bank of Hansen Creek in southwest Alaska in August 2018 while other researchers record data and look for salmon in the stream. (Courtesy Photo | Dan DiNicola via University of Washington)
Juneau Empire file. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Analysis: Minor permits under Ballot Measure 1

Ballot Measure 1, up for a vote during the statewide election Nov. 6, provides three tracks for development projects on salmon habitat in Alaska. Some… Continue reading

Juneau Empire file. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Seine boats wait in line to set their nets at Amalga Harbor in July. (Kevin Gullufsen | Juneau Empire)

West Coast fishermen back ballot measure

The largest commercial fishing trade organization on the West Coast announced Monday its support for Ballot Measure 1, which would change how the State of… Continue reading

Seine boats wait in line to set their nets at Amalga Harbor in July. (Kevin Gullufsen | Juneau Empire)

Opinion: Tulsequah Chief, all over again

Alaskans are worried Red Chris could go the same way.

George Edwardson, board member for Inuit Circumpolar Council-Alaska and President of the Inupiat Community of the Arctic Slope (ICAS) stands in front of the UK HQ of cruise industry giant Carnival Corporation. (Courtesy Photo | Jiri Rezac via Stand.earth)

Alaskans travel to UK to protest cruise’s heavy oils

Alaska indigenous leaders traveled to the United Kingdom this week to deliver a petition asking a cruise industry giant to stop using inexpensive fuel believed… Continue reading

George Edwardson, board member for Inuit Circumpolar Council-Alaska and President of the Inupiat Community of the Arctic Slope (ICAS) stands in front of the UK HQ of cruise industry giant Carnival Corporation. (Courtesy Photo | Jiri Rezac via Stand.earth)
The small Southeast town of Gustavus borders Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. Like several Alaska sites, well water near the Gustavus Airport has been found to contain a harmful chemical, leaving a few residents reliant on bottled water provided by the state. (Courtesy Photo | National Park Service)

‘Emerging’ pollutant contaminates Gustavus well water

Some residents of the small town of Gustavus, near Glacier Bay National Park, are relying on state-provided drinking water after testing of private wells showed… Continue reading

The small Southeast town of Gustavus borders Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. Like several Alaska sites, well water near the Gustavus Airport has been found to contain a harmful chemical, leaving a few residents reliant on bottled water provided by the state. (Courtesy Photo | National Park Service)
A king salmon during the 67th annual Golden North Salmon Derby at the Don D. Statter Memorial Boat Harbor in August 2013. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Alaska scientists pen letter backing salmon measure

Former scientists and fisheries managers are taking sides over Ballot Measure 1.

A king salmon during the 67th annual Golden North Salmon Derby at the Don D. Statter Memorial Boat Harbor in August 2013. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Sonia Nagorski, assistant professor of Geology Arts and Sciences at the University of Alaska Southeast, investigates the broken oxbow along the Mendenhall River on Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2018. The river cut through the meander bend just north of the Brotherhood Bridge last this summer. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

How a breakthrough in the Mendenhall River changes erosion near Brotherhood Bridge

It’s mid-morning at an oxbow on the Mendenhall River, and signs of change are all around. A handful of spruce trees, felled by river erosion,… Continue reading

Sonia Nagorski, assistant professor of Geology Arts and Sciences at the University of Alaska Southeast, investigates the broken oxbow along the Mendenhall River on Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2018. The river cut through the meander bend just north of the Brotherhood Bridge last this summer. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
In this Empire file photo from 2012, Laurent Dick photographs the Mendenhall Wetlands State Game Refuge. A professor who studies coastal zone management will give a talk today at the University of Alaska Southeast. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Visiting professor to talk education innovation at UAS lecture

Sean Anderson, Ph.D., thinks universities should be doing business differently. Undergraduate science students should be in the field collecting data for long-term research projects, not… Continue reading

In this Empire file photo from 2012, Laurent Dick photographs the Mendenhall Wetlands State Game Refuge. A professor who studies coastal zone management will give a talk today at the University of Alaska Southeast. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)