Alaska and Hawaii

Oil Rig off Alaska Is Damaged but Not Leaking: Shell, Coast Guard Say

"A Shell Oil drilling rig that ran aground in the Gulf of Alaska has incurred water damage to its deck and electrical systems but is otherwise stable, officials with the response team handling the accident said Thursday."

Source: NY Times, 01/04/2013

Toxic Winter Air From Wood Smoke Threatens Health of Fairbanks, AK

"FAIRBANKS -- Longtime Fairbanks-area resident Suzanne Fenner doesn't have to check the borough's air quality monitoring website to see whether or not pollution is high. She just looks out the front door. When she sees smoke rolling through, she knows she'll be coughing soon enough."

"Fenner, who's lived in Fairbanks since 1986, was shocked to learn recently she'd developed asthma. After being sick off and on for months, her doctor told her the asthma was a direct result of air pollution. ...

Source: Alaska Dispatch, 12/21/2012

Opponents Cry Foul Over of Pebble Mine's Scientific Review

"ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The group aiming to develop a giant copper and gold mine in the Bristol Bay area is vetting the scientific studies that underlay its work, turning to a Colorado-based non-profit with expertise in environmental conflict resolution. But critics of the proposed Pebble mine are having little of it."

Source: Anchorage Daily News, 10/04/2012

"Avian Malaria in Alaska: The Climate Change Connection"

"A team of biologists has just announced the first documented case of bird-to-bird malaria transmission in Alaska. Writing in the journal PLOS ONE, they've shown that this frequently fatal avian illness, which is normally associated with the tropics and temperate areas, may be expanding its range. Fortunately, avian malaria doesn't affect humans, co-author Ravinder Sehgal of San Francisco State University said, but the findings are particularly significant from a bird conservation as well as a climate change standpoint."

Source: Climate Central, 09/21/2012

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