Over the last fifty years, U.S. waters have been affected by almost 50 oil spills over 420,000 gallons. A few of the most famous are: Santa Barbara, California (1969): 3 million gallons spilled from an offshore platform blowout creating a 35 mile long oil slick. Exxon Valdez, Alaska (1989): 10.8 million gallons...
Make Your Voice Heard for the Inlet!
Last week we asked you - our Inletkeepers - to stand up for Lower Cook Inlet and say “no” to the proposed oil and gas lease sale in Lower Cook Inlet. If you haven’t already signed the petition, please do so at inletkeeper.org/ls258 - and then share with 5 friends (or five more friends!)! Many of you have reached out to ask what more you can do to...
ALASKANS CALL FOR STOP TO TOXIC OIL DUMPING IN COOK INLET
STATE MAKES MOCKERY OF “RESPONSIBLE DEVELOPMENT” BY LETTING OIL INDUSTRY INCREASE TOXIC POLLUTION IN PRIME BELUGA & FISH HABITAT Download the Press Release here HOMER, AK - Today a coalition of groups, filed by Trustees for Alaska, pressed the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC) to reconsider a final Clean Water Act permit...
Trading Food Security, Fisheries, and Local Economies for Temporary Gains: Oppose Lease Sale 258
Central to most Alaskan’s plates are salmon and other foods from the sea. It’s hard to visit Kachemak Bay without also enjoying fresh oysters or beer-battered fish. Halibut and salmon are common freezer staples all year long. It’s hard to imagine Alaska without this plentiful bounty. Given our high food costs, many Alaskan families supplement...
You are Inletkeeper and Cook Inlet Needs You!
You are Inletkeeper - and NOW is a critical time to stand up for Cook Inlet. Last Friday, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) released the draft Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed oil and gas lease sale in Lower Cook Inlet. We now have 45 days to explain to our government why this lease sale should be canceled. The Biden...
Politics, not Science, Define Alaska’s Permitting Process
At Inletkeeper, we often talk about the “myth of rigorous permitting.” And the state has provided us with a perfect example of what we mean with their water quality certification of the proposed Donlin Mine. The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) mission is “conserving, improving, and protecting Alaska’s natural...
One Watershed, with Clean Water and Climate Justice for All
Image credit: 2017 Human Mosaic Aerial Art; Lead Artist: Mavis Muller; Photographer: John Newton The science is clear and lacking a hint of doubt - human activity is driving the degree and pace of climate change. While the data and scientific community have reached consensus, climate justice recognizes that the crisis is bigger than physical...
Stand to Protect Lower Cook Inlet
In case you do not get our quarterly newsletter, Stand to Protect Lower Cook Inlet was originally printed there. If you want to get our print newsletter, you can do so by becoming a member here! Stand to Protect Lower Cook Inlet: www.tinyurl.com/LeaseSale258 Update: Since the time Inletkeeper wrote this article, the Biden Administration has...
Organic Matter Matters
Through the Central Kenai Peninsula’s Community Compost project, we’ve learned just how much organic matter matters in our watershed. At number three out of the top 100 solutions to reverse global warming (drawdown.org), reducing food waste will take a huge bite out of methane emissions, something cold-water fish like our beloved salmon will...
The Future of Lower Cook Inlet
This past weekend there was quite the stir in Homer as a jack-up rig came down Cook Inlet, into Kachemak Bay, and around the spit. Meanwhile, California communities were hit with the news of a massive oil spill from a pipeline leak off the southern coast. These events made me reflect on the history of oil and gas in Cook Inlet and why our...
