Alaska and Hawaii

High Rates Of Methane Spewing From Permian Oilfield Operations: Report

"Methane continues to escape at a high rate from oil and gas operations in the Permian Basin, according to an aerial survey released Tuesday that detected major methane plumes from 40% of 900 sites that were measured. The latest research conducted by the Environmental Defense Fund via helicopter during the first two weeks of November found that 14% of those plumes were the result of malfunctioning flares."

Source: Reuters, 12/15/2021

"Darwin In A Lab: Coral Evolution Tweaked For Global Warming"

"On a moonless summer night in Hawaii, krill, fish and crabs swirl through a beam of light as two researchers peer into the water above a vibrant reef. Minutes later, like clockwork, they see eggs and sperm from spawning coral drifting past their boat. They scoop up the fishy-smelling blobs and put them in test tubes."

Source: AP, 12/10/2021

Honolulu Shuts Down Largest Well Due To Navy Oil Contamination

Honolulu's Board of Water Supply (BWS) shut down the Halawa Shaft, Oahu's largest water source, on Thursday after the Navy said it found "a likely source of the contamination," the Navy said in a virtual town hall meeting."

Source: CNN, 12/06/2021

Secretive Texas Company Owns Largest Share of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline

"Hilcorp Energy Co. has a spotty pipeline safety record and refuses to make its financial records public. Can it safeguard the pipeline from climate change?"

"Environmental organizations and pipeline experts continue expressing concerns about a secretive Texas petroleum company with a spotty safety record that acquired the largest share of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline last year as thawing permafrost and flooding linked to climate change threatened the massive oil conduit.

Source: Inside Climate News, 11/24/2021

Biden USFS To Propose Road Ban On Much Of Alaska Tongass National Forest

"For two decades, Republicans and Democrats have fought over whether to ban roads on more than 9 million acres of Alaska’s Tongass National Forest. Now, the Biden administration aims to settle the question once and for all."

Source: Washington Post, 11/19/2021

Climate Change at Core of Beat Reporters’ Award-Winning Coverage

Beat reporters Hal Bernton and Mark Kaufman both found the dramatic changes wrought by climate change to be at the center of their coverage — as their work was elevated to prize-winning heights. Bernton, covering climate impacts in northwestern Alaska at a large newspaper, and Kaufman, covering CO2 globally for a digital platform, talk about the lessons of their recent beat coverage with SEJournal’s Inside Story.

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