Reuters AlertNet Full site
Homepage | Newsdesk | NGO Latest | Crisis briefings | Country profiles | MediaWatch | Jobs | Alerting | Login

NEWSDESK

FACTBOX-Alaska's environment and green issues
10 Sep 2008 15:54:08 GMT
 Source: Reuters
Sept 10 (Reuters) - Alaska is on the front lines of America's green wars and its battleground status has been highlighted by Republican presidential candidate John McCain's choice of Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate for the Nov. 4 elections.

Following are some of the issues that arouse passions about Alaska and its environment:

- Palin and some other mostly Republican politicians support drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which environmentalists oppose on the grounds that it could threaten the reserve's wildlife including caribou which require uninterrupted migration routes.

The 19.2 million acre (7.7 million hectare) refuge is home to 45 species of land and marine mammals, ranging in size from the pygmy shrew to the bowhead whale.

- The polar bear has become an icon of the debate on climate change. It has been listed as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act because U.S. scientists concluded its icy Alaskan habitat was melting away. Palin opposes the listing on the grounds that it could hamper drilling.

- Palin has angered greens by questioning a human role in climate change. Like other far northern latitudes, climate change that most scientists link to fossil fuel emissions is seen having a greater and more rapid impact in Alaska than in warmer regions. In Alaska this is seen in shrinking glaciers and melting sea ice.

- The number of species found in an area tends to increase with proximity to the equator and decrease at more extreme latitudes. So while Alaska is in many ways pristine because it is remote and undeveloped, the loss of just a few species could be a serious blow to its biodiversity, with unforeseen consequences for the broader ecosystem.

- Alaska's environment remains healthy on a number of fronts. Unlike many other regions Alaska's commercial salmon fishing industry is regarded as sustainable and has been given a seal of approval by the Marine Stewardship Council which carefully scrutinizes fisheries.

(Sources: Reuters, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. National Park Service, Marine Stewardship Council; Editing by Deborah Zabarenko and Frances Kerry)


AlertNet news is provided by
Email this article       Send comments

Topics

•  Technology

MORE >>

NGO latest

•  Direct Relief Pledges $150,000 to National Association of Community Health Centers to Support Gustav Recovery
DRI - USA

•  CWS Appeal: 2008 U.S. Hurricanes
CWS

•  (Alert) September 5: ADRA Provides $100,000 in Aid to Returning Gustav Evacuees in U.S. Gulf Coast
ADRA - International

•  MAP Responds to Hurricane Gustav
MAP International - USA

•  MAP Responds to Hurricane Gustav
MAP International - USA

MORE >>

Latest news

•  INTERVIEW-Georgian opposition piles pressure on Saakashvili

•  FACTBOX-Alaska's environment and green issues

•  Russia must "get out of Georgia," U.S. says

•  Indian girl kills self over "Big Bang" fear-family

•  McCain and Obama on same side in US war on cancer

MORE >>

AlertNet news is provided by

Background information

Topics
Technology
Facts & figures
United States of America

Related articles

Breaking stories
 INTERVIEW-Georgian opposition piles pressure on Saakashvili (1 minute ago)

FACTBOX-Alaska's environment and green issues (1 minute ago)

AlertNet insight
 How can aid agencies tackle corruption? (1 minute ago)

Aid agency news feed
 Direct Relief Pledges $150,000 to National Association of Community Health Centers to Support Gustav Recovery (1 minute ago)

Blogs
 Satmaps said to show ethnic violence in South Ossetia (1 minute ago)

Maps
 Intense hurricane Ike (1 minute ago)


Del.icio.us Del.icio.us  |   Digg Digg  |   NewsVine NewsVine  |   Reddit Reddit   
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-09-09T154416Z_01_JER06_RTRIDSP_2_ISRAEL_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/JER06.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-08-29T233023Z_01_WAS99_RTRIDSP_2_STORM-GUSTAV_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/WAS99.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-08-07T212130Z_01_LAB21_RTRIDSP_2_USA-MILITARY-GREEN_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/LAB21.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-08-07T211702Z_01_LAB23_RTRIDSP_2_USA-MILITARY-GREEN_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/LAB23.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-08-07T211008Z_01_LAB27_RTRIDSP_2_USA-MILITARY-GREEN_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/LAB27.htm

Solar panels are seen on a farm belonging to Moshe Tenne in Israel's Negev desert September 9, 2008. Tenne built a solar energy station on his farm in the Negev desert ...


More pictures | Galleries
Disclaimers |  Copyright |  Privacy |  Contact Us |  Feedback |  About Us |  RSS XML

Last updated:Wed Sep 10 15:57:42 2008