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…
Oyster Roundup! Guns, Money and Cheese…
~Thick and fast they came at last, and more, and more, and more! Pass the Bree Hey, remember when Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan “favorited” a porn star on Twitter last year? It was quite an entertaining tale, and you can refresh your memory HERE. Little did we know that the story would have a Chapter 2, and become more entertaining still. You see, it turns out that Mayor Sullivan’s favoritest porn star has now shed her porn name, and become (are you sitting down?) one of Charlie Sheen’s two “goddesses.” That’s right boys and girls… Sully’s Bree Olson is now…
Alaska Governor Sean Parnell’s Big Oil Bailout
~Senator Bill Wielechowski explains ACES *ATTENTION BLOGGERS – If you have a blog, and would like to repost this article in its entirety including links, photos, and attribution, please feel free to do so. This is important information, and it’s never easy going against the well-funded falsehoods continually pushed forward by the oil companies. Often, the truth is free and the lies cost a lot of money. So, help yourself and pass it on. You can also post the link in your Facebook page, or post the link in a Tweet. Thanks! By Thomas Dewar and Jeanne Devon “Each…
Exxon Denies Long Term Environmental Damage to Prince William Sound – A Day in Court
~Oil sheen from the Exxon Valdez spill fills a footprint on the beach 21 years later in July of 2010 Tomorrow will be a historic day. After 22 years, the final word will be had on the long-term environmental damage from the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Last summer, I traveled to Knight Island in Prince William Sound. The point of landing was “Diesel Beach.” As you can imagine, this is a post-1989 name. You can read my post Walking With the Ghost of Exxon HERE. The long-term impact on Prince William Sound has been significant. With resident orca populations expected…
Voices from the Flats – Orwellian Juneau and Sean Parnell’s $2B Oil Tax Rollback
By Rep. Les Gara (D-Anchorage) The slick oil tax ads are starting. And when political ads begin, you start to wonder whether telling a fib is cheaper than telling the truth. Well, because political ads cost lots of money, and they tend to be more fib than truth. So, fibbing must be cheaper than telling the truth, right? Or, maybe in politics it’s just more effective to mislead people. Nah. No one would ever do that. Not when billions in state oil revenue are at stake. As you know, the governor has proposed the biggest oil company tax rollback in…
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! Chuitna Coal Comment Period Extended The comment period for the petition to make the Chuit River and its tributaries declared unsuitable for coal strip mining has been extended! That means if you had all the best intentions of emailing and saying, “I think it’s a really bad idea to dig up 11 miles of productive salmon stream for your crappy coal mine” and just didn’t get around to it, you have another chance! The new deadline is tomorrow, February 2, at 5pm so click HERE and jot…
Oyster Roundup!
~Thick and fast they came at last, and more, and more and more! (Click titles for links to full stories) Farewell to Alaska’s First First Lady Neva Egan, Alaska’s very first First Lady, died Wednesday night in Juneau at the age of 96. Wife of Governor Bill Egan, she came to Alaska to settle in Valdez as a teacher in 1937. She is survived by her son Dennis Egan (D), State Senator from Juneau and his family. Who Shills for Shell on the Chukchi Sea Shore? Alaska Democratic Sen. Mark Begich today said oil and gas exploration in the Beaufort…
Chuitna Coal Hearing in Kenai Draws a Crowd (updated*)
*A little episode of premature posting. All photos are now here. The “Magic Bus” pulled out of the parking lot in midtown Anchorage packed to the gunwales. People came out on a weekday evening, with the threat of an impending blizzard in Turnagain Pass, knowing they wouldn’t be home until well after midnight, to give public testimony on an issue that will impact every Alaskan, and that most have never heard of. Despite the fact that the specific project addressed by this petition is across Cook Inlet, and local residents of the area only amount to a couple hundred, the ramifications…
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: russell.kirkham@alaska.gov 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…