Hear our talk show program last week, analyzing the impact of many dangerous energy initiatives

threatening the economy of Alaska!  And here’s a link, "Strangling Alaska",  to several stories on this subject.

Tundra Drums, by Dave Harbour.  The latest attack on Alaska’s economy comes from legislation sponsored by Senator MarkMark Begich Begich (NGP Photo). Adopted by the Senate Commerce Committee, this bill is seemingly well intended – like SB 4 –and disguised as an effort to give coastal citizens a ‘voice’.  But it would increase the cost of natural resource exploration and production activity and discourage investment. It could kill jobs and reduce revenue for Alaska. It would give Nana and Arctic Slope Regional Corporations improper leverage over the industry in which they participate as contractors.  (See: Seward Log, Arctic Sounder)

Alaska Dispatch by Jill Burke.  The North Slope Borough, which derives the majority of its income from property taxes on oil and gas operations, wants to make sure it has real influence over projects in its neighborhood, which is prime real estate on the exploration front. The resource-rich Beaufort and Chukchi seas border the borough to the north. East of Barrow, the borough’s largest community, sits the nation’s most productive oil field — Prudhoe Bay — and beyond that lies the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Business News: In Canada, Chevron has been awarded a federal offshore exploration licence in the Beaufort Sea, north of Herschel Island.(Jeff Chiu/Associated Press)Chevron Canada is committing to spend $103 million to explore for Arctic oil and gas in a large area of the Beaufort Sea.  …  The National Energy Board, which regulates parts of Canada’s energy sector, is reviewing its Arctic offshore drilling regulations in light of BP’s massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Here’s a scene from a modern Camelot: our photograph of an outdoor wedding scene at Alyeska Resort near Anchorage–possibly as crowded and in demand during our brief summers, than during the busiest winter ski season (6,000 foot vertical slope with gondola).  For more Northern Alaska and Canadian news and photos, ‘friend’ us on Facebook, here.

Politicus USA, by Sarah Jones.  Governor Sarah Palin (NGP Photo) claimed, “I fought to bring about the largest private-sector infrastructure project in North American history. And when that deal was struck, we began a nearly forty billion dollar natural gas pipeline to help lead America to energy independence.”