Alaska and Hawaii

Alaska Rivers Turn Orange As Permafrost Thaws, Threatening Fish, Communities

"A new study found that 75 streams in Alaska’s Brooks Range have turned orange due to thawing permafrost, which releases metals like iron, aluminum and cadmium that exceed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency safety thresholds for aquatic life."

Source: Mongabay, 09/26/2025

"Trump Nears Deal for Road Through Alaskan Wildlife Refuge"

"The Trump administration is poised to approve a deal that would allow a contentious road to be built through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, a vast wild area in southwestern Alaska, according to internal Interior Department documents reviewed by The New York Times."

Source: NYTimes, 09/22/2025

How Tribal Radio Stations Are Preparing For A Future Without The CPB

"In the most remote parts of Alaska, staying in touch can involve a bit more effort than sending a text. Cell service is spotty, highways are nonexistent, and the postal service remains a vital lifeline, delivering supplies and mail by plane. But for anyone who wants to broadcast a different kind of message — a reminder to pick up milk, for example, or birthday wishes — there’s always the Muktuk Telegram."

Source: Nieman Lab, 09/15/2025

"Fat Bear Week Is Coming. Prepare To Binge On Bear Cams."

"Fat Bear Week, an online vote conducted via a single-elimination bracket, will take place from Sept. 23 to 30, the National Park Service announced Thursday."

Source: Washington Post, 09/08/2025

"House Votes to Advance a Mining Road Through the Alaskan Wilderness"

"The House voted late on Wednesday to advance a 211-mile industrial road that would cut through pristine Alaskan wilderness to reach a proposed copper and zinc mine, handing a victory to the company behind the contentious mining venture."

Source: NYTimes, 09/05/2025

Public Media Stations In Rural US Say Emergency-Alert Funding Is In Jeopardy

"When a deadly landslide tore through part of Wrangell, Alaska, in 2023, there was only one place people there could go for information. "We're on an island, and there's one road, and everybody that lived south of that road lost everything — they lost their electricity, internet, television, phones," says Cindy Sweat, the general manager of KSTK, the community's public broadcaster. What was left, Sweat says, was the radio."

Source: NPR, 08/29/2025

‘People Will Die’ — Stories Behind Trump Budget Bill

The Trump administration’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” is anything but, especially in its unraveling of efforts to weave environmental and climate justice into American society, argues the new Voices of Environmental Justice. In her latest column, writer Yessenia Funes calls on journalists to report its ramifications not just for the planet but for the most vulnerable people living on it. Here are key stories to start with.

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Coastal Flooding Challenges Cities Around the U.S.

The United States has nearly 100,000 miles of coastline and much of it is at risk of flooding. But what that inundation looks like varies widely from place to place. From storm surges to land subsidence, the latest Backgrounder details the different types of flooding and the threats they pose to coastal communities, especially sea level cities.

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Tsunami Waves Reach Hawaii, West Coast Hours After 8.8 Russian Quake

"Tsunami waves reached Hawaii and the West Coast after one of the strongest earthquakes in recorded history, a magnitude 8.8 temblor, struck off Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula on July 29 and triggered alerts across the Pacific, Alaska and the entire U.S. West Coast."

Source: USA TODAY, 07/30/2025

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