Do you ever wonder what advocacy at the highest international levels actually looks like? Well, I’ve been working in this field for over 30 years and I can tell you that it’s pretty much all about getting people into a room together so they can listen and learn from each other’s experiences and perspectives and … Read more
The Arctic hosts one of the world’s most productive and most pristine marine environments. An oil spill of heavy fuel oil, which could devastate this fragile world and destroy food sources for arctic communities, is the top threat associated with increased Arctic shipping. Heavy fuel oil is extremely toxic and slow to degrade. Oil spill … Read more
Nina Zaporotskaya created an unlikely alliance between park rangers and indigenous groups to protect wild salmon. Nina Zaporotskaya is a salmon defender. And she is one of the reasons we’re witnessing a sea change in our longstanding fight to protect one of Kamchatka’s most iconic creatures: wild salmon. The threat: illegal poaching. Kamchatka is a … Read more
Eduard Zdor protects walruses threatened by climate change and connects indigenous youth with their cultural traditions. Scientists and indigenous peoples noticed a disturbing trend among walrus populations in Chukotka in Russia’s far northeastern corner. During the summer, melting sea ice, caused by climate change, forced walruses to gather onto ever smaller beaches on shore. Eduard … Read more
Sergei Berezniuk’s fight to protect the endangered Siberian tiger helps save an entire ecosystem. In the summer of 2012, eight Siberian tiger skins, including those of little tiger cubs, were seized from a resident of Arseniev town in Primorye in the Russian Far East. The offender was well-known to the local police because he has … Read more
Eugene “Zhenya” Stoma is fighting two of the biggest threats to endangered Siberian Tigers and Amur leopards: poachers and forest fires. Zhenya grew up in southern Siberia, which is home to vast old forests filled with endangered Siberian tigers, Amur leopards, and bears. After leaving the military in the 1990s, Zhenya returned home and took … Read more
As 2016 ends and we look ahead to the challenges of 2017, I want to pause for a minute and share with you some encouraging news for the future of the Arctic. Pacific Environment has been campaigning for a fossil fuel-free Arctic for nearly a decade, together with many environmental groups, community allies and supporters … Read more
“The anticipated increase in ship traffic in the Arctic is second in magnitude only to the initial arrival of European settlers on our shores.” When my friend Austin Ahmasuk, a leader from Nome, Alaska, said this, it really hit me just how dramatically the world is changing for Arctic indigenous peoples whose lives are inextricably … Read more
People have been searching for gold for thousands of years. It’s an enduring dream that anyone can strike it rich by sieving river mud in search of that big gold nugget that will change their life. Few ever imagine the terrible consequences of mining rivers for gold. In the Altai region in southern Siberia, gold … Read more
Right now, Pacific Environment is gearing up to fight two big threats to the Arctic: a catastrophic oil spill and President-elect Trump’s ruthless fossil fuel agenda. Transported as cargo or used as cheap engine fuel by ships traveling through the fragile Arctic, heavy fuel oil is putting the Arctic’s marine mammals, birds, fish, and the … Read more
Recently in London—10 days before the U.S. election—I had the privilege of hearing my friend Eduard Zdor speak. Eduard is a Chukchi leader from the Russian Arctic who founded an organization of traditional marine mammal hunters. Eduard spoke of his traditions, his parents and grandparents, the challenges his community faces now in a world of … Read more
Arctic Ocean ice just hit another all-time low. With more open water comes increased ship traffic. Some of the ships traveling through pristine Arctic waters are powered by the world’s dirtiest, most dangerous oil: heavy fuel oil. This dangerous oil is literally the residue left at the bottom of the barrel after lighter fuels have … Read more
Today, the House of Representatives took a historic vote to whether protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s Coastal Plain as Wilderness. Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA) offered the House Arctic Refuge Wilderness bill as an amendment to the Sportsmen’s Heritage and Recreational Enhancement (SHARE) Act of 2015, H.R. 2406, a bill that contains a number of destructive provisions that threaten wildlife and public lands, erode bedrock environmental laws and undermine key conservation policies. The bipartisan vote on the amendment – the first time Congress has ever voted on a Wilderness bill for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge – was 176 yeas and 227 nays (31 not voting).
This past summer an important thing happened in America’s Arctic. President Obama, who previously had only stopped in Alaska to refuel Air Force One, decided to spend some quality time with us to explore our magnificent landscapes. And he fell in love—not only with our jaw-dropping scenery, but also with our vibrant Alaska Native cultures. … Read more
Today, we celebrate a historic win for the Arctic, its wildlife, and its peoples. After years of negotiations, at 9 a.m. London time, the international community agreed to establish some special protections for this magnificent region. The new laws, known as the Polar Code, forbid ships traversing the Arctic to dump garbage, sewage, and oil … Read more
It has been a banner year for us and our local partners on the frontlines of environmental justice around the Pacific Rim. Here are seven accomplishments I’m especially proud of; they would not have been possible without your support. Preserving Untouched Wilderness The Russian Far East is a region of unparalleled wilderness, rich in … Read more
Russia’s Far East and Arctic are regions of unparalleled wilderness, rich in biodiversity and vast intact ecosystems. The region is also home to dozens of indigenous cultures, endangered wildlife, and forests so vast they are only rivaled by the Amazon’s. Over the past two years, Pacific Environment has worked with dozens of community leaders, conservationists, … Read more
UPDATE: Bank of America heard you and is showing some positive signs of movement. Stay tuned for more information on new developments. The Great Barrier Reef is a global treasure and one of the Earth’s most biodiverse ecosystems. It’s home to endangered dugongs and green and loggerhead sea turtles, and it’s a crucial area for … Read more
In late September, about 35,000 walrus crowded together on a beach in northwest Alaska. This was not an isolated incident, but its sheer size attracted a lot of media attention. It clearly showed that climate change is severely altering walrus behavior. These walrus haul-outs are happening on both sides of the Bering Strait. Pacific Environment’s … Read more
First published in Ship & Bunker Forty-five years ago, just two months after Neil Armstrong landed on the moon, another historic exploration milestone took place in Alaska. The icebreaking tanker SS Manhattan arrived at Barter Island, AK, on September 18, 1969. The ship had been commissioned by Humble Oil to test the feasibility of using … Read more