“There’s no such thing as safe drilling in the Arctic Ocean, and that’s why it should never, never happen… Having these very stringent rules and regulations to protect the Arctic and avoid catastrophe is the bare minimum.” - Cooper Freeman, Alaska director for the Center for Biological Diversity.
(Getty images)
By James Brooks
A New York-based child welfare advocacy group has dropped a lawsuit against the Alaska Office of Children’s Services that alleged widespread misconduct by the state’s foster care system.
A Better Childhood, which represented 5 foster care children in the federal suit, told the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals last week that it was seeking to voluntarily dismiss the case.
The firm’s motion was accepted by the court on July 31.
Cloud patterns and the midnight sun reflect over the Chukchi Sea, where the summer sea ice floats in large slabs. The Trump administration wants to conduct several lease sales in the Chukchi and other offshore Arctic areas, and it is now proposing to relax safety rules put in place by the Obama administration. (Photo by Lisa Hupp/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
By Yereth Rosen
The Trump administration is proposing to loosen the regulation of offshore Arctic oil drilling by revoking several safety regulations put in place during the Obama administration.
The U.S. Department of the Interior announced on Monday that it will propose a new rule to change what it called “a burdensome regulatory framework” imposed a decade ago on oil development in federal Arctic waters.
In a statement, Interior officials said the move would encourage oil development in the region.
Caribou graze on the tundra within the National Petroleum Reserve – Alaska. (Bob Waldrop)
By Nathaniel Herz, Northern Journal - Anchorage Press
This spring, ExxonMobil made big news in Alaska.
For years, the multinational oil giant had ignored the periodic auctions for drilling rights on public land in the state, instead investing in projects in other parts of the world like the South American nation of Guyana. Other big companies like Shell and BP had also walked away from holdings in the state — raising fears that Alaska’s oil industry was on the decline.
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Commentary - The future of Alaska’s pollinators | Timothy Bundy
As Alaska’s U.S. Senate campaign heats up, super PACs boost out-of-state candidates| Nathaniel Herz, Northern Journal - Anchorage Press
After Halong: Return and recovery | Katie Baldwin Basile, Anchorage Press
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