Alaskan Climate Team Hasn’t Met in Years
A rapid-response task force set up by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin with the stated intent to protect the state from the worst effects of climate change hasn't convened since March 2011, newly released documents show.
A rapid-response task force set up by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin with the stated intent to protect the state from the worst effects of climate change hasn’t convened since March 2011, newly released documents show.
The Immediate Action Work Group’s supervisory body, the Sub-Cabinet on Climate Change, has gone even longer without gathering—since February 2010. The inactivity was discovered via a freedom of information request made by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.
Meanwhile, Alaska and other Arctic regions continue to warm at a much faster rate than much of the rest of the world.
In a letter dated Feb. 1, the state government said the sub-cabinet produced three strategy documents since the 2010 meeting, but would not release them.
— Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.
Your support matters…The Guardian:
Both bodies were set up by Palin, who appointed the sub-cabinet in 2007 to begin work on a strategic climate change plan for Alaska. Two years later, the immediate action work group set out a detailed report, outlining the risks to dozens of Alaskan communities.
Under [Gov.] Parnell, however, the groups fell into a state of limbo, leaving Alaska dangerously exposed to climate change, Peer said.
“On issues ranging from village relocation, to growing wildfire vulnerability and high erosion and flooding dangers, to sea ice loss, to impacts to infrastructure (ironically, including the Alaska pipeline), the state has abandoned a pro-active posture,” the organisation said in a statement.
Independent journalism is under threat and overshadowed by heavily funded mainstream media.
You can help level the playing field. Become a member.
Your tax-deductible contribution keeps us digging beneath the headlines to give you thought-provoking, investigative reporting and analysis that unearths what's really happening- without compromise.
Give today to support our courageous, independent journalists.
Environment
As waters warm, Alaska Native families confront a world without the fish that fed them for generations.
Environment
The Tongass National Forest in Alaska is the largest national forest in the United States. We must preserve it.
Environment
Active and proposed mines threaten key salmon watersheds in Alaska and British Columbia.
Scientists say they see no end to the way human-caused climate change is adversely affecting the planet.
Columbus Day is increasingly being replaced by a celebration of indigenous peoples and their central role in our history and in our future.
As long as the U.S. and other nations cling to neoliberal economics, their citizens will continue to drift toward far-right authoritarians.
You need to be a supporter to comment.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.