Why Your Well-Intended Comments Won’t Work
Editor’s Note: The deadline looms for submitting comments to the EPA about the proposed Pebble Mine. You may be thinking that you’ve already done that. But your comments may be off the mark. It’s not too late to save your opinion from the scrap heap. Here’s what you can do. And do it BEFORE SUNDAY! In the upcoming days, you will see a frantic flurry of e-blasts, Tweets and Facebook posts urging you to tell the EPA to stop the Pebble Mine, to “help save jobs” in the commercial fishing industry. But these calls for action are not what the…
Another One Bites the Dust
Well, there’s one less big, awesome, incredible animal in the world to worry about. Thanks, humans. Apparently the last time this magnificent creature was spotted in the wild, and not mounted on someone’s wall was in 2006. Africa’s western black rhino is now officially extinct according to the world’s largest conservation network – the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which maintains a Red List of Threatened Species. There is both good and bad news for other animals under the watchful eye of the IUCN. Africa’s northern white rhino, and Asia’s Java rhino are teetering on the brink of extinction also. “In…
Shills Get Physical
If you wait long enough you’ll have agreed and disagreed with just about everyone. I’m no different. I’ve found myself defending people I wouldn’t walk across the street to slap on a good day when it came to certain issues. It’s just what happens. This time, I’m walking across the street. The same Alaska GOP that subverted the will of Alaskans through an illegal gerrymandering of the state Legislature and brazen attempts to prevent Alaska Natives from voting apparently now has a new tack for undermining the public will: paid hacks are verbally and physically interfering with Alaskans who are…
Wild Tigers For Sale
You may remember in Ohio, in October 2011 dozens of wild animals escaped (or were released) from a private zoo. Local police had to go on a suburban game hunt – killing among others 18 Bengal Tigers. Stories like that may become more and more frequent – as a petition from the World Wildlife Foundation warns. The WWF says that currently there are more tigers in private ownership – as in pets – than there are in the wild. “One of the world’s largest populations of tigers exists not in the wild—but in captivity in the United States. With an…
Pebble Mine – Got Plans?
What’s for dinner? “No plans.” Really? You sure have been looking at that menu a long time. “NO plans.” Um. Alright. “Stop asking me questions.” So no plans for dinner? “No. Absolutely not. But we’ll be feeding 2500 people dinner for five years. The tax and tip will be ballparked between $136 million and $180 million – and that would be on top of the $1.2 billion per year for groceries.” How do you know all the particulars with no plans for dinner? “Shut up. I said we don’t have a plan.” Really. That’s what the Pebble Partnership is telling…
Alaskans March Against Monsanto (PHOTOS)
More than 300 demonstrators turned out on a beautiful Memorial Day weekend to join groups across the world marching in protest against Monsanto, and genetically modified foods. For an issue that crosses political boundaries, the enthusiasm was clear and loud. Local activists organized the event to bring attention to threats to our food supply,to support local Alaska farmers, and to raise general awareness about the effects of genetically modified foods on farmers, and our health. Marchers also carried signs warning against genetically modified “frankenfish,” a salmon-eel hybrid that could damage wild stocks. “We want safer food, we want to know…
Photos from Oklahoma by Marcus DiPaola
Last week, friend and colleague Marcus DiPaola called in to The Shannyn Moore Show to give his report from the ground in Oklahoma in the hours after the devastating tornados hit. You can listen to the podcast of that night’s show here. Marcus DiPaola is a photo-journalist with the Xinhua News Agency, based on the east coast You’ve probably seen his photos as he’s been published on internationally on Buzzfeed, Charlotte Observer, Latino Times, Forbes, The Star-Ledger, dozens of Chinese papers, and on The Discovery and Weather Channels. Below are a handful of heart-breaking shots he shared with us.
Facts: They’re Just My Opinion
A few months ago a listener to my radio show delivered a fresh new conspiracy/scandal. He was certain that President Obama had orchestrated the Sandy Hook school shooting to help get himself re-elected. Really. When I pointed out to the caller that the president had been reelected more than a month before the shooting, he responded, “That’s just your opinion.” So, now actual historical events are JUST MY OPINION because they don’t fit into the narrative that Obama wants to take your guns so badly he’ll send a Manchurian nut-job to shoot up a school. OK, so this guy may…
‘Global Warning My Gluteus Maximus’ Says Palin
You knew this was coming. Alaska is experiencing insane weather anomalies. Last year Southcentral Alaska had its snowiest winter on record. This year, it’s the longest snow season, at 231 days and counting. So it’s not surprising some idiot on Facebook is going to pipe up and say, “Still believe in ‘global warming?’” But I actually didn’t expect to hear it from Sarah Palin, even though she’s repeatedly earned the title of Alaska’s newest village idiot. Palin, you see, during her very brief tenure as Alaska’s governor, not only acknowledged climate change, but actually tried to do something about it….
Family of Explorers
When a mutual friend notified me yesterday that Alaska adventurers Bretwood “Hig” Higman and Erin McKittrick might be looking for some transportation while visiting Anchorage, I jumped at the opportunity to meet them. Erin and Hig, as they are known, are the founders of the organization Ground Truth Trekking which provides a unique education on Alaska’s resource issues through hands-on exploration. Erin and Hig, along with the other organization members, combine their travels with exhaustive research, offering comprehensive, science-based coverage of issues like mining, climate change, Alaska fisheries management, energy options, etc…They frequently debunk myths on both sides of the…