Alaska and Hawaii

"The Trump administration on Thursday proposed to loosen Obama-era safety regulations for the oil industry in the Arctic Ocean off Alaska to ease the way for petroleum extraction in the region, an effort that President-elect Joe Biden will likely throw out once in office."

"Even if in its waning days the Trump administration succeeds in selling oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, the leases may never be issued, legal and other experts said Tuesday."

"The Trump administration is advancing plans to auction drilling rights in the U.S. Arctic National Wildlife Refuge before the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden, who has vowed to block oil exploration in the rugged Alaska wilderness."

"Alaska’s Tongass National Forest—America’s largest—is no longer protected under the 2001 Roadless Rule, and its remote islands and old-growth trees are now open to new logging and mining, according to a record of decision to be published Thursday in the Federal Register."

"The Trump administration has relaunched long-delayed plans to conduct a seismic survey in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska as a prelude to drilling for oil there."

"With nearly 300 miles of coastline, the Hawaiian islands that make up Maui County face the threat of sea level rise from all sides. It's that assault that has formed the foundation of a lawsuit Maui filed this week against 20 fossil fuel companies seeking compensation for the rising costs of climate change."

"Like all good things, Fat Bear Week has come to its inevitable end. A week ago, 12 of Katmai National Park and Preserve’s chunkiest chunks began a cutthroat competition. Now, after a single-elimination bracket allowed voters to choose their favorite pudgy predators, a single beefy brown bear reigns supreme."

"A faraway island in Alaska has had its share of visitors, but none can remain for long on its shores."

"The Trump administration is expected on Friday to finalize its plan to open about 9 million acres of the pristine woodlands of Alaska’s Tongass National Forest to logging and road construction."

"In secretly recorded meetings, executives with the Pebble Mine project said the operation could run nine times longer than outlined in their permit filings."