Voices from the Flats – The BP Gulf Disaster Taught Us Lessons We Already Knew
By Hal Shepherd, Acting Executive Director, Kachemak Bay Conservation Society Homer, Alaska The BP Oil Disaster in the Gulf of Mexico last year should serve as a stark reminder to Alaskans just how vulnerable our fisheries and the families they support are to spilled oil. Alaska is no stranger to such events. Cook Inlet, which supports one of the state’s premier commercial and sport fishing economies, is a clear example of what we have to lose if an uncontrollable well blowout occurs here. Such an incident is not so difficult to imagine. Right now, two independent oil companies, Houston-based Escopeta…
Voices from the Flats – Iditarod 2011
By Jim Wright The following story of the Iditarod Sled Dog Race first appeared on Stonekettle Station in 2009. With this week’s kickoff of the Last Great Race, and my well known passion for it, a number of folks have asked about the origins of the event. Here’s the story: AN EPIDEMIC OF DIPHTHERIA IS ALMOST INEVITABLE HERE STOP I AM IN URGENT NEED OF ONE MILLION UNITS OF DIPTHERIA ANTITOXIN STOP MAIL IS ONLY FORM OF TRANSPORTATION STOP … Those lines were part of a message sent by Curtis Welch, MD, on January 22nd, 1925 via radio telegram from…
Voices from the Flats – Rogue Grizzly (post contains graphic image)
WARNING – This post is not for the faint of heart and contains a graphic image. It deals with the difficult issue of predator control. When we think of predator control in Alaska, many who have not had much personal experience might think of Sarah Palin shooting wolves out of a helicopter for fun. That’s the image that pops into the minds of many in the Lower 48. But, as with most things, the deeper you look the more complicated they get. Issues such as this are never black and white. Rural Alaskans face challenges that most others can’t…
Senator Mark Begich Fights for Flight
Alaska is different. It’s said a lot, and it’s true. Things that work in the contiguous 48 states don’t necessarily work here. The lack of understanding by those “Outside” of this phenomenon contributes to Alaskans’ slightly xenophobic, and more than slight libertarian bent. “Get off my tundra, you meddlesome kids.” Nothing defines Alaska quite so much as the gigantic size and small population. We are far flung, and disconnected. When 1500 miles separates two towns, it’s hard to remember you’re supposed to be in the same state. Alaska is larger than many countries, and pretty darn empty when it comes…
EPA to Review Proposed Pebble Mine Project. Thanks, Feds! (we think…)
“We don’t need no stinkin’ feds telling us what to do!” Ah, the mantra of the 49th state. It’s true that there are many great points to support local governance. Communities themselves are often the best at determining what the needs of their residents are – especially in areas that don’t fit the “norm” of the country. In towns with no indoor plumbing, fuel at more than $10 a gallon, and communities where schools can be hundreds of miles apart, it’s understandable that Alaskans find it difficult sometimes to “go with the flow” and let those bureaucrats in DC legislate…
Oyster Roundup!
~Thick and fast they came at last and more, and more, and more! The Magic Bus Yes, that’s really the name of the bus that will be taking people to Kenai tomorrow to testify at the one and only public hearing regarding the proposed Pac-Rim Chuitna coal project. For those not going on the bus (leaving Midtown Sagaya at 1:15pm), you can submit your comments to: [email protected] but it MUST be done by 5pm on Wednesday, January 19. You don’t need to know every little detail to make your feelings known. All you have to know is that there ought to be…
Voices from the Flats – Citizens Speak Out for Salmon Over Coal
~The mouth of the Chuitna River where 7 million gallons/day of mine waste would pour into Cook Inlet every day, right across from Anchorage, if the Chuitna Coal project goes through. By Bill Sherwonit I wish to add my voice, again, to the many and diverse Alaskans who oppose the destruction of a Cook Inlet salmon stream for the sake of a coal mine. And I urge other Alaskans to join the effort to stop the proposed Chuitna coal strip mine, by either attending a public hearing in Kenai on Jan. 19, or by sending comments to the state’s Department…
Broken Promises – YOU Can Help Tell the Story of the Yukon (VIDEO)
~Filmmaker Dennis Zaki & the Mudflats Moose at the top of the world – Barrow, Alaska. next to the famous whale bone arch. Mudflatters may remember our friend and filmmaker Dennis Zaki. We, and other progressive Alaskan blogs raised money to help send Dennis to the Yukon River village of Emmonak. Dennis flew to Emmonak to record a story. It was a story of how the Native people of the area were suffering a very difficult winter. Record cold temperatures froze the Yukon early, keeping scheduled shipments of fuel from reaching their destination. The resulting soaring prices in heating oil…
Last-Minute Holiday Gifts That Truly Show You Care
by Linda Kellen Biegel I received a secretive email from a friend of mine yesterday, telling me to search my “spam email filter” because she thinks that’s where a “special gift from Santa” may have ended up. So, I perused through the array of offers in my 97 unread “spam emails” to try and determine which gift Santa was bringing me. As it turns out, my friend gave me probably the coolest Christmas gift I’ve ever recieved. It was an e-gift card for a website called DonorsChoose.org where the card recipients can choose which education project(s) at schools across the…
Cookies for Cholera? Sarah Palin Travels to Haiti.
Haven’t they suffered enough? Sarah Palin will be putting her little-used passport to work, traveling to Haiti. Yes, her old buddy Franklin Graham will accompany her on her trip. You all may remember the last time this dynamic duo visited the less-fortunate, they traveled to Western Alaska on Graham’s private jet with a one-time delivery of food boxes, stuffed with religious leaflets. And not only that, but Sarah herself brought a plate of home-baked cookies, in response to a crisis in which residents of rural communities had been left to make the horrible choice of whether they would keep their…