The U.S. Coast Guard today announced that the Cutter Healy would moor in Seward, AK on Aug. 10 following a 39-day “groundbreaking” science expedition in the Chukchi Sea that included 46 researchers from NOAA and the University of Alaska-Anchorage. Among other things, the mission included the discovery of new species of jellyfish in the Chukchi Borderlands, the collection […]
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U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, MD (LA), Lisa Murkowski (AK), Tim Scott (SC), Dan Sullivan (AK), Thom Tillis (NC), and David Vitter (LA) today announced the introduction of a bill (American Energy and Conservation Act of 2016) that among other things would allow Alaska to receive a share of federal revenue generated by offshore conventional and renewable energy leasing and development activity in the […]
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On today’s Morning Edition program, NPR discussed how “a new Cold War is brewing in the Arctic” amid a Russian military buildup in the region that it says “could become the next crisis zone between Russia and the West.” NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly reported from Murmansk on Russian efforts to build new docks to accommodate […]
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A group of 16 national security and foreign policy experts have urged the Obama administration to maintain the Arctic in the 2017-2022 offshore oil and gas leasing program. Signatories including former U.S. Defense Sec. William Cohen, former Coast Guard Commandants James Winnefeld, Jr. and James Loy, and former Supreme Allied Commanders (Europe/NATO) Gen. Joseph Ralston and Adm. James […]
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In a letter sent today to the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the State of Alaska’s Department of Natural Resources called on the federal government to finalize a 2017-2022 offshore oil and natural gas leasing program that “ensures timely and predictable access to Alaska’s highly prospective OCS lands.” Among other things, the letter voices […]
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In a letter sent to the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) today, the U.S. Energy Department (DOE) conveyed its support for including the Alaskan Arctic (Beaufort and Chukchi Seas) and Cook Inlet in the 2017-2022 offshore leasing program. Among other things, DOE noted that the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System flow “is at risk of declining below […]
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Anchorage NBC affiliate KTUU-TV today reported on how six Arctic communities in Alaska are preparing for the launch of high-speed Internet service and “a flood of new technological potential.” Anticipated to break ground this summer with service commencing in mid-2017, the fiber optic cable will extend from Fairbanks to Nome. Northwest Arctic Borough Chief of Staff Eugene Smith […]
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The Alaska Dispatch News today reported that the Coast Guard icebreaker Healy left Seattle earlier this week for a 4-month research assignment in the Arctic that will focus on the biology, chemistry, geology, and physics of the Arctic Ocean and its ecosystems as well as sonar mapping of the Extended Continental Shelf. The Healy crew will be joined […]
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The Coast Guard today announced that it is hosting the June 7-10 Arctic Coast Guard Principals Forum Meeting in Boston, MA. The meeting, which features the coast guard heads from Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Russia, and the United States, is being convened for the purpose of signing a joint statement establishing frameworks the detail the […]
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The U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee today held a hearing on the development of the Interior Department’s 2017-2022 OCS oil and gas leasing program. Themes included the importance of a robust leasing program that includes Alaska. Committee Chair Lisa Murkowski (AK) voiced concern with the “chaotic federal regulatory regime” and limited program proposed […]