Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski (pictured) has proposed a bill that would (among other things) set a flat $200 annual fee to permit unlimited shooting by small film crews. Now E&E Daily reports Murkowski's filmmaker nephew faced the fees-and-permits barrier when he wanted to shoot near her father's home, surrounded by the Tongass National Forest.
"The Fish Creek Fire in Interior Alaska isn't much to look at. It's about 7,500 acres in size, sitting about an hour south of Fairbanks near the twisty Tanana River. The main fire front — the made-for-TV part, with torching trees and pulses of orange heat — flamed out more than a week ago, leaving behind a quiet charred landscape."
"Environmental groups on Tuesday urged the U.S. government not to grant Royal Dutch Shell final permits for Arctic oil exploration after an icebreaker with safety equipment to cap wells was put out of action."
"Almost one year after an unprecedented spill from a mine tailings pond in Canada’s largely pristine province of British Columbia, its government has given the green light for the mine to reopen — worrying environmentalists who say a number of other northern B.C. copper and gold mines are in various phases of approval, and could threaten downstream fishing communities in southeastern Alaska."
The real problem from the hundreds of wildfires in Alaska and Canada is that they could speed up melting of the permafrost -- releasing a reservoir of carbon and speeding up climate change."
"When you buy a McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish sandwich, you might notice the little blue label that tells you the fish you’re about to eat is certified as environmentally sustainable. That sounds like good news for the environment, for fish, and for customers. But what the label doesn’t tell you is that Native American communities in Western Alaska are endangered, in part because of the Seattle-based trawl boats that bring you products like McDonald’s famous fish sandwich."
"In another setback for Shell Oil’s summer Arctic drilling plans, a ship headed for the Shell prospect in the Chukchi Sea off northwest Alaska was forced to return to Dutch Harbor Friday after a hole was discovered in its hull."
"A federal judge ruled Tuesday that a Maui County ban on the cultivation of genetically engineered crops is pre-empted by federal and state law and invalid."
"U.S. Coast Guard and police boats cleared a way through protesters in kayaks at a Seattle-area port on Tuesday so Royal Dutch Shell's second of two Arctic drilling rigs could depart for Alaska."
"Green groups urged the U.S. Department of Interior on Tuesday to revoke the agency's conditional approval of Royal Dutch Shell's 2015 Arctic oil exploration plan, saying it runs counter to established protections for walruses."
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