On April 26th, the US Geological Survey (USGS), a division of the US Department of the Interior, published an article that noted the following: “In the far north of Alaska, near the giant Prudhoe Bay oil field, an international research consortium has been studying the potential of an altogether different energy source. In late December of 2018, drilling operations confirmed the existence of two high-quality reservoirs that were fully saturated with a potential alternative fuel source: gas hydrate.” What exactly are gas hydrates, and why should Americans care about them?  The USGS has a thorough explanation here: “Gas hydrate forms naturally…

As you and I get ready to enjoy the grandeur of our great state this summer, let’s not forget that most of what we’re going to do involves the oil and gas and mining industries. How, you might ask? If you take a second to think about it, pretty much every Alaskan recreation activity is tied to oil, gas, or mining in some way or another. First, let’s start with fishing.  Those boats, graphite rods, aluminum and titanium reels, waders, boots, QuikFish, nets, hooks, and even fishing lines – those are all products of responsible resource development. They require energy…

While Power The Future normally focuses its efforts on energy creation and responsible natural resource extraction in Alaska, the cruise industry deserves some attention today. Princess began its 50th year in the Alaska market when it had the first cruise ship of the season dock in Ketchikan on April 27th.  Its Ruby Princess is one of seven ships that will routinely visit Alaska’s waters this summer. Another is its Royal Princess, the first of its Medallion Class ships to navigate Alaska’s Inside Passage. Cruising is a key economic contributor to the state, bringing in $319 million in2017. With a record-setting 1.3+ million visitors…

Power The Future’s Alaska State Director, Rick Whitbeck, recently saw a presentation on a $17 billion megaproject that piqued his interest. The Alberta to Alaska Railway is the vision of a development company that hopes to design, permit, build and manage a railway from northern Alberta to Alaska tidewater. Per its website, the route “will allow transportation of commodities, people and data both inland and around the globe, connecting North America to the world marketplace.” Recently, there has been a great deal of controversy in Canada related to bringing oil and gas from Alberta and elsewhere to refineries and ports…

Dear 2020 Democratic Presidential Candidates: Alaska is blessed with natural beauty – mountains, rivers, meadows, inlets, plains and forests – unmatched anywhere in the United States. Its 730,000 residents live here, in spite of temperature extremes of over 150 degrees between normal winter lows and summer highs, because of their love of the outdoors and their desire for open spaces and the less hectic pace of life, compared to the major metropolitan areas in the “Lower 48.” Alaska also has a rich history of responsible resource development. With dozens of corporations employing tens of thousands of Alaskans across the state,…