Background Articles

Seen as a bright spot in a troubled coastal economy, seaweed cultivation must overcome many obstacles to become big business in Alaska.

Atmospheric river boosted California's snowpack, especially in Central and Southern Sierra. Now the levels are record level creating safety issues such as roofs collapsing and helping with drought conditions across the western states.

The Institute of Public Health is expanding the area where they recommend that people take the vaccine against the tick borne encephalitis.

This weekend marks the third anniversary of the World Health Organization’s declaration of the global pandemic — and Juneau’s wastewater is awash with COVID. 

A video of the reindeer on the steps of the wind turbine has caused wonder. Aren't the animals intimidated by wind power anyway? Here are some reasons why it is so difficult to find clear facts and secure figures.

At times, the water level in the river Skjoma in Narvik is so low that the salmon freezes to death. But Statkraft has refused to release more water into the watercourse. Now the NVE intervenes.

A scientist explains the interaction between "rain-on-snow" events and California's snowpack in Northern California.

Libraries at two Anchorage elementary schools — Klatt and Spring Hill — were closed after the maintenance department identified ceiling damage. The district also decided “out of an abundance of caution” to proactively close the libraries of Bear Valley Elementary, Fire Lake Elementary, and Ravenwood Elementary, which share the same building design with Klatt and Spring Hill.

In addition to blizzard conditions, Kotzebue residents have been experiencing power outages, water service interruptions and travel complications because of the storms.

A new variant of bird flu has recently infected both sea lions and mink. Health authorities around the world are now monitoring that it does not begin to infect humans.

Environmental and climate activists are rallying online against ConocoPhillips’ proposed Willow oil and gas drilling project in Alaska’s Arctic as the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden weighs whether to greenlight the controversial plan.

The Baltic Sea is experiencing a reduction in ice due to climate change, with this winter seeing significantly less ice compared to previous years.

Another species of deer has been detected suffering from chronic wasting disease in Manitoba according to the province.

Although many Alaskan students are familiar with salmon fishing, raising them gives them a new perspective on writing, science, math and art.

A volunteer program in Saanich, B.C., is helping to beat back invasive species on the island.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced preseason fishing limits and closures Thursday as chinook numbers continue to decline. The closure also triggers commercial setnet shutdowns.

The fishing season has ended for Bering Sea Tanner crab. Crabbers caught the record-low quota of two million pounds just before the end of March. Nichols said the average size of the crab caught was smaller than in seasons past. That could be because buyers agreed to accept crab they would've previously turned away.

Amid an explosion in popularity, access points to the Chugach State Park are overwhelmed and underdeveloped, leading to a push for a new mechanism to handle chronic underfunding.

In the last week, rapid ice melting on the crater lake (Öskjuvatn), usually frozen solid at this time of year, indicated significant geothermal energy being expended, and pointed to at least the increased possibility of an ash eruption at Askja.The police chief in East Iceland encourages people in the region to increase their awareness of a possible eruption of Askja and to familiarise themselves with instructions.

Residents wonder if a proposed port expansion will help or hinder efforts to address chronic social problems.