Background Articles

Climate change is worsening the planet’s biodiversity crises, making environments more deadly for thousands of species and accelerating the precipitous decline…

Alaska Airlines is promoting Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) as an eco-friendly alternative to traditional mileage runs, though its effectiveness depends on production methods and it's not yet widely adopted or cost-competitive.

Norway faces criticism for allowing companies to conduct their own environmental impact assessments for offshore wind projects, with calls for stricter regulations and better use of existing marine research to protect nature.

El Nino is causing warmer and drier conditions in the Arctic, leading to record warm falls in Northern communities and challenging traditional hunting and trapping due to delayed ice formation.

In the much-higher water temperatures that lingered in the 2014-19 period, juvenile chum salmon metabolism was super-charged, meaning they needed more food, said the study, by scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. But the food that was available was of low quality — things like jellyfish instead of the fatpacked krill and other prey they normally eat, the study said.

Researchers are studying arctic ground squirrels, whose unique hibernation abilities may offer insights into treating human brain injuries and diseases.

Otto Florschutz, a candidate in the 2022 U.S. House special election, was found dead following a landslide in Wrangell, Alaska, that also claimed the lives of four members of the Heller family.

The Inuit Circumpolar Council is advocating for a greater role in international climate discussions, highlighting the severe climate impacts in the Arctic and seeking access to global climate funds.

More than a dozen states, including several in the Pacific Northwest, are reporting outbreaks of a new respiratory illness. There have also been increases in canine respiratory illness cases at a clinic in Southeast Alaska and another in Southcentral, but there’s no indication yet if those were due to the mystery illness.

Health officials in Sanikiluaq, Hudson Bay, warn against consuming fermented meat due to a suspected botulism outbreak and urge vigilance for related symptoms.

Alaska's chief veterinarian warns of a mysterious respiratory illness affecting dogs in the Lower 48 and advises local pet owners to take precautions.

Experts argue that transforming food systems through structural changes, Indigenous knowledge, and data sharing is essential for long-term food security and sustainable development.

Alaska experts are grappling with the challenge of controlling the highly invasive Japanese knotweed, which is resistant to conventional eradication methods and threatens local ecosystems.

The Little Diomede school is closed indefinitely after a collapsing city building, with rotted stilts, leaned on it, causing no injuries but prompting a switch to video conference classes and relocation of teachers.

Steller sea lions are the most affected by human activities in Alaska, leading to hundreds of deaths, primarily due to entanglement in fishing gear.

Siberian reindeer herders and scientists are working together to figure out how to predict rain-on-snow events that turn tundra into deadly ice.

Anchorage faces record snowfalls and plowing challenges, raising concerns about its preparedness for future extreme precipitation events linked to climate change.

Due to declining salmon returns, Russia may halt commercial salmon fisheries next year to protect the species. This drastic reduction has raised concerns about the sustainability of the fisheries and the need for conservation measures. The situation is so dire that the salmon catch in 2021 was the lowest in the last 16 years, and projections for the 2024-2026 period suggest a continued downward trend.

Northern states are implementing measures to prevent the spread of invasive "super pigs" from Canada, which are a crossbreed of wild boar and domestic swine, causing significant ecological and agricultural damage.

The world surpassed the 2-degree warming threshold for the first time, signaling an urgent need to address greenhouse gas emissions as climate impacts worsen.