Report from a small town that's suddenly big

Barbara Curtis at Mommy Life invited a Wasilla, Alaska, resident to report on what it's like to live there these days, and serves up Our Wasilla correspondent on the aftermath of Hurricane Sarah.

Gov. Palin on "Alaska's Promise for the Nation"

Just so what I wrote in my last post isn't taken out of context, one working woman who decidedly seems able to work and simultaneously honor her marriage is Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska. The September 2008 Imprimis, by the way, has an article based on a speech she made on "Alaska's Promise for the Nation" back on August 2, 2008.

From it, there is this little bit of info that I wish more people knew about (emphasis mine):

To repeat, Prudhoe Bay has produced 15 billion barrels of crude oil, and there’s more where that came from in ANWR, which is home to more than ten billion barrels of oil and nine trillion cubic feet of natural gas. I know this is a controversial issue. But most Americans do not realize that of the 20 million acres that make up ANWR, we are asking for the right to access just 2,000 of them—a mere 1/10,000th of the total area. Opening up just that sliver of ANWR—which would create a footprint smaller than the total area of Los Angeles International Airport—could produce enough oil (an estimated one million barrels per day) to ease America’s fuel crisis and greatly reduce our dependence on foreign oil.

The article is wide ranging, so do go read the whole thing. Alaska will be celebrating 50 years of statehood next year, and she uses that as a jumping off point for a look at how the young state is doing so far.

Extending the season by farming in Alaska?

When I think of extending a crop's growing season, I think of plants grown further south, or even in the southern hemisphere. Silly me.

First try to guess what can be grown in Alaska for export, then see Next great crop in Alaska is a beauty by Victoria Naegele (Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman, June 5, 2008).

Exploring Alaska, by hand tram

Technically, the hand tram covers just a tiny bit of the journey, but it sounds cool. Kind of. If you're not the sort to freak out hanging in a cage suspended a deadly distance above a creek... (That ought to weed out both the claustrophobics and the folks afraid of heights... as well as some folks who simply don't like to trust ropes and pulleys quite that much... and...)

I'm not well-suited to adventures like that, but I thought some of you might be, so...

roundabout hat tip: At A Hen's Pace (I clicked the link, and went from there...)

Lost dog made it home after 11 days on cold Iditarod Trail

There was a happy ending to a dog-lost-during-horrendous-conditions story out of this year's Iditarod sled dog race in Alaska. The dog, a 4-year-old Alaska husky who had become separated from her team and was entirely on her own, was found when she walked onto an open patch that serves as an airstrip -- where two men who had just given up searching for her were waiting for their plane's engine to warm up so they could leave, according to Craig Medred of the Anchorage Daily News.

The dog didn't seem to be much the worse for wear. Her thankful musher has renamed her Rohn, after the village where she was found.

Alaska Volcano Observatory: KVERT Volcanic Warnings Ceased

To whom it may concern,

I can't find a permalink for this notice currently on the front page at the Alaska Volcano Observatory's website, so I'll just reprint it here. (I hope that's all right. It's a public notice, after all.):

March 1, 2007

Dear colleagues:

It has come to our attention that as of January 1, 2007, the Federal Unitary Enterprise State Air Traffic Management Corporation of Russia halted financial support for the Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT). Attempts to negotiate renewal of the annual funding agreement by KVERT leadership have thus far failed. As a result, on March 1, KVERT will cease issuing volcanic warnings to the aviation community.

This unfortunate event comes at a time when three volcanoes in Kamchatka are at Color Code Orange and intermittently producing ash. For 14 years, KVERT staff and affiliated scientists have alerted regional ACCs, MWOs, Volcanic Ash Advisory Centers (VAACs), and numerous air carriers to the onset of volcanic unrest. KVERT's vigilance and volcanologic and technical expertise has resulted in many hundreds of accurate and timely ash cloud warnings. It is a testimony to the success of KVERT and its international collaborations that during this time period of significant volcanic activity in Kamchatka, we are aware of no damaging ash-aircraft encounters among the many hundreds of thousands of flights through the region.

We do not know official reasons for this action, which, unfortunately, has occurred before in KVERT's history. In response, KVERT and AVO have alerted International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) representatives who have contacted the State Air Traffic Management Corporation in Moscow to express concern and urge restoration of funding.

During a period of reduced KVERT operations, the Alaska Volcano Observatory will continue its own routine, daily satellite monitoring of Kamchatka and we will issue hazard warnings to our interagency partners to the best of our ability. However, AVO does not have direct access to seismic or other ground-based monitoring and observational data for Russia, and thus warnings and notifications may not be as timely, accurate, or complete as those routinely provided by KVERT.

Sincerely,

Thomas L. Murray

Scientist in Charge, AVO

Duly noted.

In addition to Alaska's, the U.S. also has volcanic observatories for the Cascades, Hawaii, Long Valley, California, and Yellowstone. They all seem to be associated with the USGS's Volcanic Hazards Program, which has a Most Recent Updates for U.S. Volcanoes page.

And, yes, I live downwind from Mount St. Helens and a few other Cascade volcanoes, plus I have a fascination with volcanoes in general. Why do you ask? ;)