From Anchorage to Fairbanks

On The Road: Will Steger

Wednesday, 14 April 2010 08:54

From Anchorage to Fairbanks

Written by Nicole Rom, Executive Director

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blog04_e Will and I had a successful day in Anchorage; we met with Alaska Public Radio Network and he gave two public presentations thanks to the support of our local partners, the National Wildlife Federation, Catholic Social Services, and Repower Alaska. (Listen to the audio on Alaska Public Radio Network (Listen Here MP3). Alaskans signed postcards for Senators Murkowski and Begich urging them to support federal climate and clean energy legislation and chatted with Will after his presentation about his thoughts on how Alaska, an oil dependent state, can both use oil more efficiently, but also transition to more renewable fuels.

We woke up to fresh snow in Anchorage and then headed to Fairbanks for our final stop of our tour. Mary Walker, Project Coordinator for Alaska Interfaith Power and Light, a faith-based coalition advocating environmental stewardship, has organized our visit in this remote dog musher and academic community. We spent today focusing on the arctic - no surprise since Fairbanks is the gateway to the interior of Alaska, including the Brooks Range and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. We met the Director of the International Arctic Research Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) who shared up to date research on what is happening on the arctic ocean floor as well as ocean currents in the circumpolar region. We discussed changes in the permafrost in northern Alaska in preparation for our permafrost tour tomorrow. We then got a behind the sciences tour of the archives of the Museum of the North at UAF and met with local TV stations to build interest in our events here.

Our day closed with a public presentation to over 300 people! We are looking forward to a full day tomorrow, complete with a permafrost tunnel tour, visits to the Cold Climate Housing Research Center and Alaska Center for Energy and Power. We will finish off our visit with a reception and a final presentation at the Alaska Dog Musher's Association, a great opportunity to engage the dog mushing community here in the climate issue.

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Nicole Rom, Executive Director

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1 comment

Comment Link Monday, 19 April 2010 16:04 posted by Karlan
Hello Will,
Thank You for coming to Fairbanks. You presented a very succint, informative and engaging talk, highlighting the urgency of climate change. It is much needed here, as it is all over the world. Thanks for the inspiration. I work in town with an organization trying to spread the awareness of the urgency of climate change, and inform the public on necessary steps we must take in order to preserve diversity of life on earth. Definately challenging times ahead!

I hoped to be part of the discussion afterwards, but I arrived too late. One interesting thing I would like to note is the tourist pamphlets they have out in restaurants are blatantly lying to people new to the state. One page says that "extreme temperatures in Alaska are a myth" and goes on to report that only five days of -30 F or colder per winter is typical. That is not true. I am born and raised here, and that is at least not true for the last 28 years that I've been here! Lately it's been warmer, but it's not typical. I couldn't believe it. It went on to say the monthly temp averages-- which were way higher than what I normally see.
I wanted to thank you for your work and I truly enjoyed your presentation and energy working on this cause.