The coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge ranks as one of the most controversial chunks of land in Alaska. Since Congress set it aside for more study in 1980, environmental groups, politicians and industry have battled over whether to explore for oil there or to protect the wilderness forever. As the Trump administration gets ready to take the White House in January, the debate will likely flare up again. But even though the fight’s dragged on for decades, there’s still a lot we don’t know about what lies beneath the refuge.
Alaska's Energy Desk
State moves to update its petroleum spill guidelines
At least 80 percent of the Department of Environmental Conservation’s contaminated sites contain petroleum.
Mysterious sea lion decline persists in western Alaska
The farther west you go, the worse it looks for Alaska’s Steller sea lions. At the end of the Aleutian chain, the population is dropping about 7 percent a year.
Plugging in could be cheaper for Juneau’s electric vehicle owners in 2017
The city’s privately-owned electric utility is trying to expand a program, aimed at shifting when those drivers juice their cars.
Charting new courses: student mariners prepare to navigate a warmer Arctic
As temperatures rise, Arctic ice is retreating, making trips through the Northwest passage – from Alaska to Maine – a new summer reality. But until now, mariners navigating Arctic ice have had limited formal training. A professor at Maine Maritime Academy is working to change that.
State unemployment data shows the bleak reality of an oil crash
A state economist said the oil and gas industry is shrinking fast, but it could bottom out soon.
From rotten ice to wildfires: hunting and fishing becomes complicated in a changing Alaska
Researchers say it appears the biggest effects right now are on people’s ability to travel across the landscape.
BlueCrest gets a break from the state on $30 million loan
After loss of tax credit payments from the state and construction delays, a Cook Inlet oil company asks for help.
Alaska’s leaders don’t want a fight over oil taxes this year, but they might get one anyway
Alaska’s leaders are getting ready for tough negotiations over how the state will deal with its multibillion-dollar budget hole. How much the oil and gas industry should help fill that hole will be an especially controversial question for the legislature this session.
Video: As glaciers melt, landslide risk increases
One of North America’s biggest landslides occurred in Icy Bay, Alaska in 2015. The slide, and subsequent tsunami were a direct result of the shrinking glaciers in the region.