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Alaska Legislature overrides Palin veto

August 11, 2009 - According to the Anchorage Daily News, "the Alaska Legislature voted Monday to override former Gov. Sarah Palin's veto of $28 million in federal stimulus money for energy cost relief. ... Supporters argued Palin badly overstated the 'strings' attached to taking the money and that frigid Alaska could use the assistance."
 
Several staff members from our office went to the Egan Center to observe the proceedings and encourage legislators from the sidelines in favor of energy weatherization and conservation in the state with the highest energy costs.
 
Alaska is one of the only states to have rejected these economic recovery funds. Rejecting this money won’t lower the deficit, the money will go to other states to invest in their future energy savings. There is a bipartisan consensus in Alaska that there are no “strings” attached to this money. Alaska has already accepted over 90% of the economic recovery funds.
 
Now Alaska can move forward on energy cost relief.

American Clean Energy and Security Act

June 15, 2009: Members of Congress are telling us that they need to hear more from their constituents in support of the American Clean Energy and Security Act. This is your chance to be heard on the upcoming House vote.
 
Contact your Representative about the clean energy and security act

Alaska Energy Efficiency Program and Policy Recommendations

The Alaska Energy Authority and Cold Climate Housing Research Center have published detailed recommendations for improving energy efficiency statewide, including setting a goal to reduce energy consumption in public buildings by 20% and enacting residential and commercial building codes. See the full report HERE.

Alaska Energy Coverage

Green Jobs

Both Presidential campaigns have talked about creating millions of new American jobs by investing in new energy technologies and solutions that will reduce our dependence on expensive and polluting fossil fuels. What is not always clear is that this investment can and should be funded by the long-awaited carbon cap and trade legislation that both Presidential candidates support.

A new report: "Green Recovery - A Program to Create Good Jobs and Start Building a Low-Carbon Economy" quantifies the jobs that will be created if billions of dollars made available via a cap and trade program are invested in clean energy. Alaska stands to gain about 5000 jobs from the effort to address global warming and transition to a clean energy economy, according to the report.

Learn more:

Alaska's Future Will be Powered by Unlimited Clean Energy

September 29, 2008: "Oilman T. Boone Pickens said it best about our energy crisis: 'This is one emergency we can't drill our way out of.' View the COMPASS piece from Anchorage Daily News by NWF-Alaska's Director, Jim Adams.

Clean Energy Vision for Alaska

Sneak Peek Event: Thank you if you were able to join us for our Clean Energy Vision for Alaska presentation on May 29. Attendees enjoyed refreshments and a sneak preview of National Wildlife Federation's brand new Balanced Energy Plan for the Railbelt, a plan NWF has developed with Alaska's foremost energy experts; an opportunity to give feedback on the plan; and a chance to talk with National Wildlife Federation's Alaska staff. View the presentation HERE.

Overview: The scarcity and rising cost of natural gas is driving Alaska's utilities to seek other sources of power generation. The investments that utilities make in the near future will define the nature of our power grid for generations to come. Renewable sources of energy can now be cost-effectively added to the grid, providing an opportunity to increase energy independence, decrease costs, and protect the environment.

We must begin work immediately to convince power producers, legislators, and Alaska energy consumers to seize this opportunity.

The Railbelt energy grid (Homer to Fairbanks) needs to generate about 725 megawatts (MW) of new capacity over the next 30 years to meet load growth and replace existing capacity that is aging. Alaska has an opportunity to become a renewable energy leader by meeting that demand as much as possible with the use of modern, clean and renewable technologies at less cost to the consumer.

The first step toward realizing that opportunity is to develop a credible vision or plan for the energy grid that features energy efficiency measures and renewable energy sources. We propose a campaign to achieve a sustainable energy supply for Alaska over the next two decades. Powering Alaska's grid with a careful mixture of renewable and traditional sources of power and controlling demand through energy conservation measures will promote energy independence, security, and confront global warming in a cost-effective manner.


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Alaska Facts:

  • Known as the Great Land, Alaska is the largest state in the union (570,373.6 sq mi), more than twice the size of Texas with only 1/33 its population — 1/5 the size of the contiguous 48
  • 80% of U.S. National Wildlife Refuge land — 76 million acres — is in Alaska
  • 64% of the nation’s National Park land — 54 million acres — is in Alaska
  • The nation’s 2 largest National Forests are in Alaska
  • 6-7,000 wolves roam Alaska, as do 98% of the U.S. brown bears (grizzlies)
  • Alaska has nearly 2/3 of the nation's wetlands
  • 4 major flyways converge in Alaska and 10 million ducks, 750,000 geese, and 80,000 swans nest here
  • 12 species of waterfowl nest nowhere else in America
  • 80% of the world's trumpeter swans and 50% of the world's tundra swans nest in Alaska’s wetlands


 CONTACT US:

  Alaska Regional Center
  750 West 2nd Ave, Suite 200
  Anchorage, AK 99501
  Phone: 907-339-3900
  Fax: 907-339-3980
  http://online.nwf.org/alaska

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