Free Republic

The coldest summer ever? Right now the so-called summer of '08 is on pace to produce the fewest days ever recorded in which the temperature in Anchorage managed to reach 65 degrees. That unhappy record was set in 1970, when we only made it to the 65-degree mark ... 16 days out of 365. This year, however ... there have been only seven 65-degree days so far. ... MEASURING THE MISERY In terms of "coldest summer ever," however, a better measure might be the number of days Anchorage fails to even reach 60. There too, 2008 is a contender, having...

NOAK48 PAFC 232101 CCB PNSAFC PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ANCHORAGE AK 1125 AM AKDT WED JUL 23 2008 ...SUMMER 2008 CLIMATE STATISTICS... THE SUMMER OF 2008 IS NOTABLE SO FAR FOR THE FOLLOWING CLIMATE STATISTICS THROUGH JULY 23: DAILY HIGH TEMPERATURES OF 60 DEGREES OR MORE 35 SO FAR IN...2008 ** 46 TOTAL IN....1971 59 TOTAL IN....1932 AND 1973 61 TOTAL IN....1966 62 TOTAL IN....1939 AVERAGE NUMBER OF DAYS OF 60 DEGREES OR GREATER IS 88 DAILY HIGH TEMPERATURES OF 65 DEGREES OR MORE 7 SO FAR IN...2008 ** 16 TOTAL IN....1970 19 TOTAL IN....1920 21 TOTAL IN....1982...

I just want to see who you think McCain should pick to be his running mate. This thread is not about "Juan McCain" and please spare us "he should pick Fred or Duncan and step down". I think it should be: Sarah Palin or Mitt Romney

Alaska Senate leaders want an investigation of whether Gov. Sarah Palin pressured and then fired the public safety commissioner because he wouldn't get rid of a state trooper who had gone through a bitter divorce with Palin's sister. "I'm fairly confident at this point that what we're going to see is the appointment of an independent investigator," said Anchorage Democratic Sen. Hollis French, chairman of the judiciary committee. Palin denied any wrongdoing Monday and said she welcomed an investigation. "I've said all along, hold me accountable," Palin told reporters in Juneau. "And I'm telling the truth when I say that...

Some 250 miles north of the Arctic Circle Sunday, ten of my House Republican colleagues and I completed an American energy tour focused on real solutions to help lower gasoline prices and energy costs for families and small businesses. Our trip started Friday with a visit to Golden, Colorado, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) — a government facility operated by private-sector scientists and engineers dedicated to perfecting cutting-edge solar, wind, fuel cell, biomass, and other emerging energy technologies to reduce our nation’s costly and increasingly dangerous dependence on foreign sources of energy. The work done at NREL is...

Alaska’s U.S. Senate race between Republican incumbent Ted Stevens and Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich has been a toss-up for several months now, but the Democratic challenger is now ahead 50% to 41%. When “leaners” are included, Begich leads 52%to 44%. Begich began running his first television ads of the campaign on July 8 and the survey was conducted nine days later. For each of the last three months, the candidates have been within two points of each other. Last month, Stevens was up two, 46% to 44%. In May, it the incumbent trailed by two. The month before, Stevens had...

Election: There's little doubt voters want more drilling if even congressional candidates are starting to trek to Alaska to urge more oil development. Seven are there now. That's a wake-up call to Congress. Congressional challenger Craig Williams of Pennsylvania spoke to us Wednesday by phone from Deadhorse, Alaska. He and six other Republican candidates think there's enough voter disapproval with Congress' failure to do anything about gas prices to win this election, even in a season when Democrats are believed to have the advantage. "We've got a Democratic Congress doing absolutely nothing. Even the Republicans (before them) didn't do anything....

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Either we're sitting on a potential cure of high oil prices or we're wasting our time. Those seem to be the two schools of thought emerging as politicians call for expanded drilling in Alaska. It's no surprise that with oil prices at $130 a barrel, lawmakers facing angry voters want to be seen as tackling the problem head-on. And while it's hard to deny that the jackpot of all untapped domestic oil lies just north of the Arctic Circle, in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, it's tougher to say whether or not extracting this energy will...

US SENATE. The latest independent polls for US Senate races. ALASKA (Research 2000): Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich (D) - 47%, US Senator Ted Stevens (R) - 45%. CONGRESS. The new independent polls for the US House contests. ALASKA CD-1 (Research 2000): Former State House Minority Leader Ethan Berkowitz (D) - 51%, Congressman Don Young (R) - 40%..

Former Department of Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan on Friday said that since Gov. Sarah Palin took office, members of her administration and family pressured him to fire a Palmer Alaska State Trooper to whom her sister was involved in a bitter child custody battle. Monegan said phone calls and questions from the Palin administration and the governor's husband, Todd Palin, about trooper Mike Wooten started shortly after Monegan was hired and continued up to one or two months ago. The governor herself also had a brief conversation with him about Wooten in February, Monegan said. The new assertions from...

The Barack Obama presidential campaign is pouring money into the Republican bastion of Alaska to beat John McCain and to help the Alaska Democrats running for Congress against Ted Stevens and Don Young. "We've taken a look at the political dynamic of Alaska and, as a result, have made Alaska one of our 18 battleground states," said Obama deputy campaign manager Pete Rouse. "We believe we can win in Alaska and we're making it a priority."

The rhetoric over drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is heating up as gas prices rise, with pro-drilling members of Congress and congressional hopefuls making visits to the refuge to hammer home their point. A group of House Republicans led by minority leader Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, are headed to Alaska this weekend for a tour of ANWR. Seven Republican U.S. House candidates from around the country also flew to the refuge this week and told reporters in Anchorage Thursday that it strengthened their pro-drilling stance. "I will go back to the people of Utah and confirm to the...

The Bush administration didn’t waste much time after its lifting of the executive ban on off-shore drilling to make its second big gesture towards the oil markets. Late yesterday, the Bureau of Land Management opened 3.9 million acres of land in Alaska for drilling and exploration. The land had already been reserved for petroleum production, but had been kept in limbo by complaints and legal action by environmentalists: The US federal government on Wednesday said it would open 3.9m acres of land in a designated petroleum reserve in Alaska for drilling as a means to help curb rising petrol prices....

Along with a surging interest in fuel-efficient automobiles and biking to work, the legend of Alaska’s Gull Island, a speck of land four miles or so offshore the North Slope in the middle of Prudhoe Bay, seems to have an uncanny ability to appear when the United States is facing soaring oil and gasoline prices. Back in 1981 when crude oil prices hit unimaginable highs in excess of $30 per barrel, a letter from U.S. Rep. Bob Stump of Arizona popped into the mail bag of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission in Anchorage, Alaska. “I have been contacted...

by Gov. Sarah Palin July 16, 2008 What will it take for Congress to enact comprehensive energy policy that includes increased domestic production of oil and gas, renewable and alternative energy, and conservation? It seems to us outside of the Capital Beltway that virtually every effort to accomplish this is met with criticism and failure. In my opinion, the debate about energy policy is no longer theoretical or abstract. Our failure to enact an energy policy is having real consequences for every American in their daily lives and has begun to affect America's place in the world. Alaska is...

The US federal government on Wednesday said it would open 3.9m acres of land in a designated petroleum reserve in Alaska for drilling as a means to help curb rising petrol prices. “This is welcome news at a time when Americans are paying record prices at the pump,” said C. Stephen Allred, assistant US Secretary for Land and Minerals. “Together with proposed new production from other offshore and onshore areas, these increased supplies will help to stabilise energy costs.’’ The Alaska decision follows one by President George W. Bush on Monday to lift a presidential ban on drilling on the US outer...

Election: There's little doubt voters want more drilling if even congressional candidates are starting to trek to Alaska to urge more oil development. Seven are there now. That's a wake-up call to Congress.Congressional challenger Craig Williams of Pennsylvania spoke to us Wednesday by phone from Deadhorse, Alaska. He and six other Republican candidates think there's enough voter disapproval with Congress' failure to do anything about gas prices to win this election, even in a season when Democrats are believed to have the advantage. "We've got a Democratic Congress doing absolutely nothing. Even the Republicans (before them) didn't do anything. So...

I read where Gov. Palin was involved in a traffic accident on Tuesday. I'm glad to hear everyone was OK. I am sure I'm not the only one wondering why, during our current energy crisis, she was commuting from Wasilla to Anchorage alone in the state's gas-guzzling Chevrolet Suburban. As she stated recently that her energy team is "working on a long term plan to promote conservation and lasting solutions" to our current crisis, she might consider setting the example by traveling in something that gets better than 15 mpg. -- Doug Lyon Anchorage

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - A volcano in Alaska's Aleutian chain erupted on Saturday, sending a cloud of ash 35,000 feet into the air and prompting the evacuation of the 10 people who live on the eastern side of the island, officials said. Okmok Volcano, located on Umnak Island, had an explosive eruption that started just before noon and was continuing through Saturday night, reported the Alaska Volcano Observatory, the joint state-federal agency that monitors Alaska's volcanoes. The volcano rises to 3,520 feet (1,073-metre) and is located about 65 miles southwest of Unalaska/Dutch Harbor, a major fishing port with 4,300 full-time...

WASHINGTON -- House Democrats moved Thursday to counter a Republican push for more domestic drilling with a proposal that would increase oil production from areas of Alaska already open to drilling. [...] "Democrats support increasing the domestic production of petroleum and other energy resources," House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D., Md.) said Thursday. The issue cuts both ways for Democrats. They don't want to alienate environmental-minded supporters who are against additional drilling, but they don't want to cede the issue of increasing oil supplies to the Republicans.

Gov. Sarah Palin is a rising political star in Alaska, with an 84% approval rating. A strong advocate of opening her state to more oil drilling, she recently spoke with Investor's Business Daily.

Alaska was purchased from Russia in 1867 to ensure America's energy security. Secretary of State Henry Seward was the driving force behind the $7.2 million purchase, but at the time, a skeptical public called it "Seward's Folly." More than 140 years later, it's possible to wonder if that's still the case, given the difficulty Alaskans have had in opening more of their reserves to energy development.

Gov. Sarah Palin is a rising political star in Alaska, with an 84% approval rating. A strong advocate of opening her state to more oil drilling, she recently spoke with IBD.IBD: Alaska was bought by the U.S. from Russia in 1867 specifically to ensure a supply of natural resources. How do Alaskans feel about the opposition from politicians representing the lower 48 to drilling for oil there? Palin: Alaskans are frustrated because there is opposition in Congress to developing our vast amount of natural resources. We want to contribute more to the rest of the United States. We want to...

U.S. House Democrats are positioning themselves to battle Republicans on the issue of increased domestic drilling, and may vote as early as next week on an expanded package aimed at boosting oil production in Alaska. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., on Thursday announced a new energy package that would include measures to speed the production and delivery of oil from federal land in Alaska that is currently home to limited drilling. The measure would also encourage the construction of a pipeline to deliver oil from Alaska to the 48 states in the continental...

WASHINGTON — House Democratic leaders took a hard line Thursday against opening up restricted areas to oil production as Republicans threatened to try to keep Congress in session this summer unless they got a vote on new drilling opportunities. As the political and policy fight over gasoline prices escalated, the White House rejected a call by Democrats to release oil from the nation’s strategic reserves in an effort to lower prices by increasing supply. Tony Fratto, a White House spokesman, said, “We’d like to see members think a little bit more long term and take advantage of the opportunity that...

The federal indictment filed today against state Sen. John Cowdery revolves around the oil tax legislation pushed so hard by Veco Corp. and its executives in 2006.

Next week, I will lead a congressional delegation trip to a cutting-edge renewable energy lab in Colorado and to the northern coastal plain of Alaska. What we'll see during these visits is a roadmap to America's energy independence. One site is a symbol of our energy future: a mixture of all forms of energy, from solar and wind power to hydrogen, biomass and fuel-cell technolgies that hold unlimited promise. The other is a reminder of what America needs right now: exploration of our nation's vast natural resources to help cut fuel costs and signal to the rest of the world...

WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans have dropped the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from their energy policy discussions, focusing instead on persuading Democrats to lift a moratorium on offshore drilling. It's a move that has angered the longtime standard-bearer for drilling in ANWR, U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, who has vowed to put the issue back in front of his colleagues in the Senate. "It's not off my table," Stevens said. "Unless you include Alaska in an energy solution, it's a non-solution." The decision to drop the ANWR proposal comes as both the House and the Senate are considering legislation intended to...

Facing bad publicity and a dwindling campaign account, U.S. Rep. Don Young last year turned to the "AK Wolfpack," a group of more than 20 lobbyists, including former Young staffers and retired former congressmen, with close ties to the Alaska Republican. Young's chief of staff, Mike Anderson, sent the Wolfpack an e-mail to tell them that national Democrats planned aggressive fundraising and claims of misconduct by Young to topple the 35-year incumbent congressman and his fellow Alaska Republican, U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens. If they succeed, Anderson warned, "you and your clients will be impacted." Anderson e-mailed the fundraising appeal on...

An aggressive black bear was shot and killed in a remote section of Denali National Park by park staffers on July 4... The black bear had threatened the life and safety of three park employees ... Three seasonal National Park Service technicians were conducting a botany field study along the remote river when a sub-adult black bear approached their camp ... The three tried to scare it away by yelling, waving their arms and throwing objects at the bear. After being chased off into dense brush, the bear circled back to the camp three or four times. At one point,...

Always there have been the bears in and around Anchorage. Never before has there been a bear mauling in town. Not that the horrific attack on 15-year-old mountain biker Petra Davis last weekend came as a shock to those familiar with local bears. A small group of wildlife biologists with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game have been warning for years that something like this could happen ... Some who have been hiking, running and mountain biking in the park and the adjacent Chugach State Park for decades say they see more bears and more bear sign than ever...

Record-high gasoline prices are causing Americans to rethink their opposition to drilling for oil and natural gas in the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and other federal areas... A nationwide survey by the Pew Research Center shows half of Americans now support drilling in ANWR, up from 42 percent five months ago. And a CNN poll released Thursday found 73 percent of Americans favor exploration for oil and gas off the Pacific and Atlantic coasts. The public’s changing energy priorities are most evident in the growing percentage that views increased energy exploration — including mining and drilling,...

A Ketchikan jury correctly convicted a Greenpeace ship's captain of criminal negligence for sailing in Alaska waters without the proper oil spill response plan, the state appeals court ruled Thursday. The opinion partly cancels a 2005 decision by a Ketchikan judge to overturn guilty verdicts against Greenpeace Inc. and Arctic Sunrise Capt. Arne Sorensen of misdemeanor charges. At the time of its anti-logging campaign, the ship was carrying more than 70,000 gallons of "petroleum products," according to district court documents. In Alaska, non-tank vessels larger than 400 gross tons must file an oil spill response plan application five days before...

Senate Democrats promise to kill Alaska drilling plan Hearst Newspapers WASHINGTON - Senate Democrats vowed Thursday to block a White House plan to open 1.5 million acres of protected Arctic wilderness for oil drilling and exploration, calling it "dead on arrival" one day after it was approved by the House of Representatives. The Senate will debate the plan after Labor Day. At issue is a swath of the 19 million-acre Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR)

Five Republican congressional candidates will travel to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to promote drilling there to reduce the U.S.’s dependence on foreign oil. “With gas prices at an all-time high, we need to take steps now to reduce our dependence on foreign oil,” said trip participant Craig Williams, who is challenging Joe Sestak (D-Pa.). “We have energy resources available to us domestically that can cut our dependence on foreign oil and provide a bridge to tomorrow when we can more heavily rely on renewable energy resources such as hydro-electric, solar and wind power.” Due to accompany Williams...

Huck PAC Endorses Don Young Huck PAC, created by former Arkansas Governor and Republican Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, has officially endorsed Congressman Don Young in his re-election bid for Alaska's seat in the House of Representatives. The endorsement release can be found below and at this link. Rep. Young by Team Huck PAC Representative Don Young is running for re-election in Alaska. A strong conservative, Don Young's stance on the issues makes him a Huck PAC endorsed candidate. Don Young has focused on: 1. Making America energy independent. 2. Improving our nation's infrastructure. 3. A strong military and defense. He...

She said she was encouraged that development in Alaska was being included in energy discussions in Washington, D.C. But she said she found it "ridiculous" that the nation's leaders, including the president, were pleading with Saudi Arabia to ramp up oil production while places in the U.S. were still off limits to drilling. "We're ready to tap these resources," she said. "We're ready to share them with the rest of the U.S."

"...Sean Penn's "Into the Wild" only cemented the mystique of Christopher McCandless for Alexander and others heading to Alaska this summer to retrace the steps of the young adventurer along the Stampede Road near Denali National Park. In particular, they want to see the old abandoned bus where the 24-year-old Virginian starved to death in 1992 after more than three months alone trying to live off a harsh landscape. "That's sort of the heart of the story," said Alexander, 44, of Arlington, Va. "It's almost like a Jim Morrison grave site, where people just want to go see it." This...

GWYDYR BAY: Four-company group may OK prospect development later this year. A group of independents exploring the North Slope is discussing strategies for how best to develop a series of Gwydyr Bay oil prospects, according to a partner in the joint venture. The four-company partnership led by the Brooks Range Petroleum Corp. plans to meet in Calgary next month to talk about the ways of developing the field and satellites of the prospect, should they ultimately vote to sanction the project, according to Clifford James, chief executive of TG World Energy Corp. Speaking at the company's annual meeting in Calgary...

“We can’t drill our way out of our energy problem.” This daily mantra, mostly from Democrats, underscores an abysmal grasp of economics by the politicians, activists, bureaucrats and judges who are dictating US policies. If only their hot air could be converted into usable energy. Drilling is no silver bullet. But it is vital. It won’t generate overnight production. But just announcing that America is finally hunting oil again would send a powerful signal to energy markets … and to speculators – many of whom are betting that continued US drilling restrictions will further exacerbate the global demand-supply imbalance, and...

Needs widest distribution to counter the lies of the utterly failed Pelosi-Reid Congress. Click here

With no sign of a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit on a lawsuit over Shell’s U.S. Beaufort Sea exploration plans, the company has decided to call it quits on its planned Beaufort Sea drilling program during the 2008 open water season. The company had hoped to do some top-hole drilling at its Sivulliq prospect on the west side of Camden Bay, as well as conducting some geotechnical boring in the seafloor. “Shell believes this is the responsible decision given the continuing uncertainty and need for our workers and contractors to pursue other opportunities,” Shell...

Oil for the Tanks of America by: Ben Giles, June 27, 2008 Witnesses at Tuesday’s Joint Economic Committee hearing stressed the need for a multifaceted, bipartisan approach to solve escalating gas prices. Senators on both sides of the aisle used the hearing to place blame for America’s gas woes on the opposite party. Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), committee chairman, set the tone of the hearing with his opening statement. “With seven years under their belt, this White House has taken zero proactive steps to reduce our dependence on foreign oil,” said Schumer. Schumer, who presented plans to lower the...

Eight minutes on ANWR, taxing “windfalls,” and her VP prospects from last night’s “Kudlow & Company.” Nothing surprising here in light of her recent letter to Reid, but it’s the first chance I’ve had to see her talking politics in an extended segment and so I figured it’s probably yours, too. Is that what an Alaskan accent sounds like? Not quite Canadian, not quite North Dakotan.

More than 6,000 people in the local area took the afternoon off to venture out to Eielson Air Force Base for the 2008 "Soaring into Solstice" Thunderbirds Show June 24. Opening the event was a four-ship flyby of the 18th Aggressor Squadron's own F-16 Aggressor aircraft. On display for visitors to tour and take pictures of were an F-16C Fighting Falcon, A-10 Thunderbolt II, KC-135 Stratotanker and UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter. Also on display was the Air Force's newest fighter aircraft -- the F-22 Raptor. Local residents were treated to demonstrations from military working dog teams, an Air Force Reserve...

Drill, Drill, Drill: My Interview with Alaska Governor Sarah Palin By Larry Kudlow Anchor cnbc.com | 26 Jun 2008 | 01:57 PM ET What follows below is an unofficial transcript of my interview with Sarah Palin on Kudlow & Company last night. Mrs. Palin is is the youngest governor in Alaskan history as well as the first woman to hold the office in the state. Her approval ratings remain in the stratosphere. Governor Palin believes more oil and gas production from ANWR and offshore is crucial to America’s future. She is also high up on McCain’s possible veep list....

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday overturned the record $2.5 billion in punitive damages that Exxon Mobil Corp had been ordered to pay for the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill off Alaska. The nation's highest court ruled that the punitive damages should be limited to an amount equal to the total relevant compensatory damages of $507.5 million. In the court's opinion, Justice David Souter concluded that the $2.5 billion in punitive damages was excessive under federal maritime law, and should be cut to the amount of actual harm. By a 5-3 vote, the justices overturned a ruling by...

In a letter to Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and other key leaders, Alaska Republican Gov. Sarah Palin urges Congress to allow drilling for oil on the Outer Continental Shelf and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in northern Alaska, an area she calls "the most promising unexplored petroleum province in North America." "What will it take for Congress to enact comprehensive energy policy?" Palin asks in the letter, dated yesterday. "In my opinion, the debate about energy policy is no longer theoretical and abstract. Our failure to enact an energy policy is having real consequences for every American in...

Bob McLeod is all in favour of protecting Arctic polar bears. But he thinks the Bush administration is being "hypocritical" by trying to do it at the expense of American big game hunters, who spend millions each year seeking polar bear trophies in Canada's North. McLeod, the Northwest Territories' minister of human resources, on Monday opened a four-day trip in Washington to protest a Department of the Interior decision in May that prohibits the import of polar bear hides from Canada. The import ban was automatically triggered when the U.S. listed polar bears as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act,...

From a State of Alaska press release: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission decided today that the owners of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline - BP Pipelines (Alaska) Inc., ConocoPhillips Transportation Alaska Inc., Exxon Mobil Pipeline Company, Unocal Pipeline Company and Koch Alaska Pipeline Company LLC - failed to prove that their 2005 and 2006 rates were just and reasonable. The FERC ordered refunds to TAPS shippers that are estimated to result in at least $600 million, plus interest, in additional tax and royalty revenues to the state.