Recent Posts From Ben
Energy: Congress closes a window of opportunity for the Railbelt, slashes clean water regulations

Energy: Congress closes a window of opportunity for the Railbelt, slashes clean water regulations

It isn't much use now to debate how and why we ended up with the grotesque act of national self-harm known as HR1, aka “the Big Beautiful Bill.” The bill passed early this month with approval of Rep. Nick Begich III, Sen. Dan Sullivan, and a decisive yes vote from Sen. Lisa Murkowski. Here are some of the ways the bill will affect Inletkeeper's...

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Alaska Energy Burden Report Press Release

Alaska Energy Burden Report Press Release

**PRESS RELEASE** New Report: Alaska Faces Nation’s Highest Energy Burden, Hitting Rural and Low-Income Communities Hardest Anchorage, AK - A new report, "Energy Burden in Alaska: Understanding Energy Burden for Alaska Communities and Charting a Path Forward," reveals that Alaska faces the most severe energy burden in the U.S., with rural and...

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Alaska Energy Burden Report

Alaska Energy Burden Report

A collaboration between the University of Washington Center for Environmental Health Equity, Alaska Public Interest Research Group, Native Movement, and Cook Inletkeeper. Alaskans - especially low-income, rural, and Indigenous communities - face some of the highest energy burdens in the U.S., spending a disproportionate share of their income on...

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Energy Tax Credits

Energy Tax Credits

Our two senators are well aware that "Alaska is different." But as Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan consider their stances on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, they should remember that the economic incentives shaping Alaska's energy infrastructure are, in fact, different – and not in ways that benefit their constituents. Energy burden is the...

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The Su Dam is Not the Way to Energy Independence

The Su Dam is Not the Way to Energy Independence

The Su Dam isn't the way to energy independence – why is it coming up now?  Electric cooperatives are run by leaders elected by their member-owners – that is, everyone who pays an electric bill. These boards are meant to vote on the direction of the co-op and to approve its major decisions. But when it comes to the highly consequential...

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Tilt of the Earth

Tilt of the Earth

Thanks to our high latitude and the tilt of the Earth, Alaska has summer days when the sun barely sets and winters when it barely rises. As daylight stretches out, home solar owners are now entering their most productive time of the year.  At the peak of summer, some solar homes can meet their entire monthly electrical demand with their panels....

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The High Cost of the Homer Electric Association’s Lost Time

The High Cost of the Homer Electric Association’s Lost Time

As members of electric co-ops, we have extraordinary power to shape our energy system. As Alaskans, we have extraordinary reasons to elect better leadership: complacent co-op directors are sleepwalking us into a costly and stagnant future. Between next month and April 2026, Homer Electric Association will rely on what is practically a Potemkin...

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Ben Boettger

Ben Boettger
Born and raised in Indiana, on traditional lands of the Shawnee and Miami, Ben Boettger came to Alaska in 2014. Prior to joining Cook Inletkeeper, he was a Peace Corps volunteer in Mongolia, a National Park Service ranger, and a reporter for local and regional newspapers in Vermont, Indiana, and Alaska. From 2014 to 2018, he covered local government, energy, environment, and the Cook Inlet oil and gas industry for the Peninsula Clarion. He enjoys hiking, camping, climbing mountains, and observing ravens, and he would like to learn more about sea kayaking. He currently lives in Soldotna on Dena’ina Land.