Alaska and Hawaii

"Sen. Lisa Murkowski said today that a tense phone conversation with President Trump earlier this week led to yesterday's call from Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, who reportedly told both Alaska GOP senators that the Energy and Natural Resources chairwoman's vote against the motion to proceed to the health care debate would influence the administration's resource development policies in the Last Frontier State."

"The House [Thursday] approved a land exchange that paves the way for a long-contested road through Alaska's Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, rejecting arguments by Democrats that the road will harm sensitive wildlife and open other refuges to development."

"Global warming may be unleashing new sources of heat-trapping methane from layers of oil and gas that have been buried deep beneath Arctic permafrost for millennia. As the Earth's frozen crust thaws, some of that gas appears to be finding new paths to the surface through permafrost that's starting to resemble Swiss cheese in some areas, scientists said."

"Making good on its promise to jump-start Arctic offshore drilling, the Trump administration gave Italian oil company Eni a quick green light on Wednesday to drill exploratory wells off the coast of Alaska."

"The Trump administration has taken a key step toward paving the way for a controversial gold, copper and molybdenum mine in Alaska’s Bristol Bay watershed, marking a sharp reversal from President Barack Obama’s opposition to the project."

"Hawaii has become the first U.S. state to enact legislation to bring its environmental standards in line with the Paris climate accord, officials said on Wednesday, less than a week after President Donald Trump announced that the United States would withdraw from the global agreement."

"The Arctic's record-warm winter has allowed thousands of square miles of sea ice off Alaska to melt more than a month early, leaving the shoreline vulnerable to waves and exposing dark ocean water to absorb more heat from the sun."

"Iowa's Republican senator on Wednesday raised concerns that U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry has commissioned a 'hastily developed' study of the reliability of the electric grid that appears 'geared to undermine' the wind energy industry."

"U.S. EPA [Friday] cleared a path for the Pebble mine to begin the permitting process, promising to scrap the Obama administration's proposed restrictions on the southwestern Alaska project."