Commentary
Letter from Yakutat: Deep cuts on the Lost Coast
Centuries ago, a few dozen Alaska Natives left their home on an epic migration. They were of Ahtna descent, and their trip began in Alaska’s Interior, in the Copper River watershed. They passed through some of the most rugged terrain in the world, and for a period of years, the group lived in the vicinity […]
China violated international laws and standards with its surveillance balloon
The United States recently shot down a Chinese high-altitude balloon after it apparently travelled from China and flew over Alaska and British Columbia. Its first public sighting was over Montana where it was seen to “hang out for a longer period of time” over military installations where nuclear missiles are located. Panic bells sounded, and […]
Atmospheric rivers are hitting the Arctic more often, and increasingly melting its sea ice
Atmospheric rivers, those long, powerful streams of moisture in the sky, are becoming more frequent in the Arctic, and they’re helping to drive dramatic shrinking of the Arctic’s sea ice cover. While less ice might have some benefits – it would allow more shipping in winter and access to minerals – sea ice loss also […]
Native Americans have experienced a dramatic decline in life expectancy during the pandemic
Six and one-half years. That’s the decline in life expectancy that the COVID-19 pandemic wrought upon American Indians and Alaska Natives, based on an August 2022 report from the National Center for Health Statistics. This astounding figure translates to an overall drop in average living years from 71.8 years in 2019 to 65.2 by the […]
Alaska’s environmental standards are not some of the best
Readers of the Alaska Beacon know that Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s tough remarks about flaring made during his State of the State speech were basically nothing but hot air. This seems to be a pattern. In a recent op-ed Dunleavy promised that Alaska has “some of the toughest environmental standards in the world,” but offered no […]
A Black history primer on African Americans’ fight for equality — five essential reads
As the father of Black history, Carter G. Woodson had a simple goal – to legitimize the study of African American history and culture. To that end, in 1912, shortly after becoming the second African American after W.E.B. Du Bois to earn a Ph.D. at Harvard, Woodson founded the Association for the Study of Negro […]
Western wildfires destroyed 246% more homes and buildings over the past decade
It can be tempting to think that the recent wildfire disasters in communities across the West were unlucky, one-off events, but evidence is accumulating that points to a trend. In a new study, we found a 246% increase in the number of homes and structures destroyed by wildfires in the contiguous Western U.S. between the […]
Ancient primates’ fate offers a lesson as climate change speeds up
Two new species of prehistoric primate were recently identified by scientists studying fossils from Canada’s Ellesmere Island in the high Arctic. The primates are closely related and likely originated from a single colonisation event, following which they split into two species: Ignacius dawsonae and Ignacius mckennai. At 52 million years old, they represent the most […]
COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. continue to be undercounted, research shows
Since the COVID-19 pandemic was declared in March 2020, a recurring topic of debate has been whether official COVID-19 death statistics in the U.S. accurately capture the fatalities associated with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Some politicians and a few public health practitioners have argued that COVID-19 deaths are overcounted. For instance, a January […]
EPA’s work underscores why proposed Pebble Mine is wrong for unique Bristol Bay
In the coming days, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is expected to release its final determination for Clean Water Act Section 404c restrictions in Bristol Bay, Alaska. If the previously released recommended determination is a guide, the final determination will provide long-sought protections against the proposed Pebble Mine, lifting a cloud of uncertainty under which […]
U.S. House Republicans go to bat for wealthy tax cheaters and against the national interest
The new U.S. House majority nearly came to blows in electing one of their own as speaker of the House of Representatives. But those deep fissures were nowhere to be seen days later, when they voted unanimously for a bill that would protect the rich and powerful at the expense of everyone else. Right out […]
House Speaker McCarthy’s powers are still strong – but he’ll be fighting against new rules
Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy is already facing the limits of his power. A single member of the House – from the far-right Freedom Caucus to a progressive on the far left, or any member in between – can threaten his speakership. And at least one Democrat already is promising to do just that. […]