Alaska and Hawaii

"When Kodiak Island's elderberries started ripening earlier, its icon bears changed their diet. It's another ecological shift amid climate change, scientists say. "

"Each summer, the shallow freshwater streams of Kodiak Island, Alaska, are so thick with sockeye salmon, you literally cannot cross the waterways without stepping on the brightly colored fish. With the salmon come brown bears, often dozens of grizzlies per stream, hauling the fish onto nearby banks for an easy meal.

"The trend could spell disaster for caribou (and more nasty bites for humans)."

"The US government’s withdrawal from dealing with, or even acknowledging, climate change may have provoked widespread opprobrium, but for Alaskan communities at risk of toppling into the sea, the risks are rather more personal."

"They were called 'frequent flyers,' children flown from their village homes to the hospital in Anchorage for treatment for coughs, wheezes and trouble breathing, then sent back home — only to return again with the same symptoms."

"Sen. Lisa Murkowski said today that a tense phone conversation with President Trump earlier this week led to yesterday's call from Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, who reportedly told both Alaska GOP senators that the Energy and Natural Resources chairwoman's vote against the motion to proceed to the health care debate would influence the administration's resource development policies in the Last Frontier State."

"The House [Thursday] approved a land exchange that paves the way for a long-contested road through Alaska's Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, rejecting arguments by Democrats that the road will harm sensitive wildlife and open other refuges to development."

"Global warming may be unleashing new sources of heat-trapping methane from layers of oil and gas that have been buried deep beneath Arctic permafrost for millennia. As the Earth's frozen crust thaws, some of that gas appears to be finding new paths to the surface through permafrost that's starting to resemble Swiss cheese in some areas, scientists said."

"Making good on its promise to jump-start Arctic offshore drilling, the Trump administration gave Italian oil company Eni a quick green light on Wednesday to drill exploratory wells off the coast of Alaska."

"The Trump administration has taken a key step toward paving the way for a controversial gold, copper and molybdenum mine in Alaska’s Bristol Bay watershed, marking a sharp reversal from President Barack Obama’s opposition to the project."