Arctic

House Bill 211 sponsored by Kiana Democrat Dean Westlake met opposition in a House session early Monday afternoon.

Last week, Hilcorp was finally able to fix a fuel line in Cook Inlet that regulators say started leaking gas in December. But the oil and gas company and its allies are still struggling to contain another issue: environmental groups, which argue that Hilcorp’s problems in Cook Inlet disqualify the company from drilling for oil in the Arctic Ocean.

Communities around the state seem to be dealing with new threats to water and sewer systems from environmental changes linked to global warming.

Eight Arctic nations, six circumpolar indigenous groups, and over 30 representatives from other countries and organizations participate in the intergovernmental forum.

Across the globe, the entire atmospheric circulation pattern is driven by temperature differences between the tropical latitudes and the Arctic.

For the Arctic Ocean, winter has been one long warm spell. That’s led to another record-low year for formation of Arctic winter sea-ice cover.