Alaskans deserve an appropriate statement if the EPA was to move forward with a ruling against the Pebble Mine. Yesterday, the EPA officially tasked both the Army Corps of Engineers and the Pebble Limited Partnership to provide additional information to “demonstrate that no unacceptable adverse effects to fishery areas would result from discharges associated with mining the Pebble deposit, or that actions could be taken to prevent unacceptable adverse effects.” This action is part of EPA’s process to determine if the proposed copper, gold, molybdenum and rhenium mine – which would bring billions of dollars in state and local revenues…

Regardless of the guaranteed outcry from the wildlife-above-human-life crowd, the Alaska Railroad should be making plans to significantly increase its footprint across our state. More roads should be on the menu too. Additional roads and railroad routes will open our state’s mineral wealth for responsible development.  According to the Fraser Institute’s 2020 Annual Survey of Mining Companies, only 41% of respondents felt any level of confidence that Alaska had adequate infrastructure to encourage investment in future mining opportunities.  Even enviros who struggle with math know that means nearly 60% of respondents feel bearish about their ability to count on access…

Quick!  Someone get the eco-left the lyrics to Bobby McFerrin’s “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” Reading through a plethora of emails from this week, courtesy of Alaska’s leading environmental organizations, paints a picture that is downright depressing.  In each of the six, the words ‘dread’, ‘worry’, ‘concern’ and ‘alarm’ were prevalent.  What’s happening to Alaska’s wildlife is ‘a crisis,’ they allege, brought on by the impact to the climate from extractive activities.  Without action, Alaska will ‘disintegrate before our eyes’, and let’s not overlook the fact that Alaskans everywhere are ‘hurting’, ‘in pain’, ‘crying for help’, and my personal favorite, ‘nearing…

Within hours after his inauguration, President Joe Biden had killed the hopes, dreams and income streams of tens of thousands of Americans. Cancelling the Keystone XL pipeline, and the 11,000-plus jobs helping to build it, was a crushing blow to workers up and down the Midwestern states.  Less discussed nationally were the potential jobs associated with the safe development of the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) on Alaska’s North Slope.  With one executive action and stroke of the President’s pen, he placed a moratorium on any extractive activities there. One pro-development organization notes that full development…

After 30 months and four rescheduled dates, the Alaska Oil and Gas Association held an in-person conference.  It was the first time most attendees had the opportunity to see friends and colleagues who advocate for responsible resource development across Alaska since the COVID outbreaks began in late 2019. After the chance to exchange hugs and handshakes, the 300 or so attendees spent the day hearing from a wide variety of panelists on topics pertinent and related to the day’s theme, “Progress and Pathways”.  Kicking off the conference was a discussion on how the industry is using technology to decrease its…

The Biden administration has decided to return to Obama-era regulations in the vast National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska on the North Slope that prohibit potential oil and gas leasing on an additional 7 million acres of reserve. The next time the Biden Administration claims they are powerless to stop high gas prices, remember this decision. For generations, the people of Alaska have done their part to deliver affordable and reliable energy to our nation, and the decision by the Interior Department not only hurts jobs and our economy but also provides another nail in the coffin of American energy independence. Alaska and America can…

Alaska.  Our nation’s 49th state.  The Great Land.  The Last Frontier.  The Mining Capital of America? While fossil fuel use and extraction of oil, gas, coal and other traditional energy sources will remain for decades, that isn’t going to stop the calls to halt production sooner. If the radical environmentalists who demand a rapid transition from fossil fuels to ‘green’ energy solutions are serious about their desires and aren’t just using their talking points for fundraising efforts, then they should be embracing Alaska as the U.S.’s leading source of rare earths and critical minerals. Alaska has nearly a dozen known…

They say that March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb.  The first week of January certainly seemed “March-esque”, as intense storms throughout Alaska brought massive snowfall, drenching rain and hurricane-force winds to parts of the state. Throughout Southcentral Alaska, nearly three days of sustained, 50 mph winds – with wind gusts of over 100 mph not uncommon – tore roofs off buildings, shattered windows, overturned semis and sent sheds skittering off of their foundations and across roadways.  This happened while temperatures were near (or below) zero, creating hazardous conditions throughout the most populated portions of the…

We say it all the time: radical environmental organizations believe that wildlife is more important than human life.  It is a fundamental conviction; one that runs counter to logic for most rational thinkers.  The latest example of this flawed reasoning broke earlier this week when attorneys for the Center for Biological Diversity (“Center”) filed a Notice of Intent to Sue Interior and Bureau of Land Management officials over alleged Endangered Species Act violations.  The object of their scorn? An already-approved exploration drilling project in the federally set-aside resource-rich area known as the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. 88 Energy is developing the…

Reading through the year-end fundraising emails from various ENGOs this month would make you think the writers believe we should all be completely depressed about life.  Here is a sampling of some of their “best” work: “This past year has certainly been difficult, upsetting and unclear…” “If you told me on January 20th I’d still have a sense of dread in December on the direction of our country, I’d have never believed it; yet, here it is, and yes, I do…” “In spite of new, climate-focused leadership in Washington, our planet still is headed for a tipping point we’ll never…