Youth around Alaska have been at the forefront of recent actions: over 300 people in Fairbanks joined 4 million people globally as part of the youth climate strikes and sixteen young Alaskans are suing the state for contributing to climate change. Young people are mobilizing at unprecedented scales to fight for our futures. Here in Fairbanks, we have drafted seventeen …
Alaskans Taking the lead for renewable future
E2’s latest Clean Jobs America report states that in 2018 3.26 million Americans were employed by the clean energy economy with an expected growth rate to be 6 percent at the end of this year. Those are huge numbers nationally and are making even bigger impacts at state and local levels. The transition to clean energy continues to build the …
Alaskan youth take part in global climate action strike
Activists say millions around the world are taking part in a global climate strike Friday. And some young people in Alaska are joining in. Alaska Youth for Environmental Action has teamed up with several other climate action advocacy groups and organized a climate strike at the Cuddy Family Midtown Park in Anchorage. The event comes ahead of the U.N.’s Climate …
First big local politics forum draws 18 of 28 candidates
Candidates for local office agreed Tuesday that people have the right to unionize, to drink clean water and breathe clean air. They agreed there’s a need to better address suicide, that first responders need more de-escalation training and that major factors associated with climate change are human caused. They disagreed on issues such as whether transgender students may use the bathroom …
Ready or not, candidate forums signal municipal election season
A political candidate forum at noon today at the Carlson Center will focus on business and the economy. A second larger forum tonight at the JP Jones Community Development Center will spotlight issues such as climate change and equal rights. The two events kick off a series of forums involving candidates for Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly, the Board of …
It’s time to act on climate change
You can’t live in Fairbanks for more than two years and not feel the impacts of climate change. Sleeting storms, excessive snowfall, intense forest fires, thawing permafrost, increasing humidity, high winds, sinking roads, flooding, fishing closures. For 19 years, I’ve seen these “rare incidents” become the norm, and I’ve seen and felt how these impacts threaten our homes, jobs and …
Stand up. Get counted. Be heard.
The decennial U.S. census will shape decisions and structures in our country for the next ten years. Among its many impacts, the census determines electoral districts, funding for services, and civil rights enforcement, making it critical that the people in this country are accurately accounted for. We are already seeing tactics from this administration ― like defunding the census effort …
Opinion: Stand up for equality and support House Bill 82
Celebrating Pride is just as important today as it was in 1969. Fifty years ago, bricks thrown at Stonewall Inn in Manhattan sparked a riot that ignited a global liberation movement. We have trans women of color at Stonewall like Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera to thank for responding to police violence with direct action, and making it possible …
Press Statement: Corrupt Permitting Process Threatens Bristol Bay and Silences Alaskans
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 2, 2019 ANCHORAGE, AK – The official comment period for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed Pebble Mine closed yesterday and Alaskans from around the state fear their voices are not being heard. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a memo last week announcing that it would resume the process for revoking the Proposed …
Alaskans Ask Sen.Murkowski to Deliver on Her Promises With Delivery of 14,000 Pebbles
ANCHORAGE – On June 26, at Senator Murkowski’s office in Downtown Anchorage over 150 community members gathered to demand action on Pebble Mine. Though Sen. Murkowski’s spokesperson was a no show for the meeting scheduled weeks ago, 8 stakeholders still delivered 14,000 pebbles to symbolize the potential loss of 14,000 jobs. The pebble deliverers represented a broad swath of communities, …