Climate Change

The Mendenhall Wastewater Treatment Plant has normally handled roughly 250,000 to 300,000 gallons of intake a day since 2016. But that average has increased somewhat since 2019 and spiked to a record high of nearly 1 million gallons on Dec. 1, 2020, due to a record amount of rainfall during a 24-hour period, according to a report published Monday assessing climate change impacts on Juneau. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)

Deep doo-doo due to climate change

Problems at Mendenhall Valley Wastewater Treatment Plant now blamed on abnormally high precipitation

The Mendenhall Wastewater Treatment Plant has normally handled roughly 250,000 to 300,000 gallons of intake a day since 2016. But that average has increased somewhat since 2019 and spiked to a record high of nearly 1 million gallons on Dec. 1, 2020, due to a record amount of rainfall during a 24-hour period, according to a report published Monday assessing climate change impacts on Juneau. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)
Dancers rehearsed in front of “Tahku,” the whale sculpture, ahead of the Climate Fair for a Cool Planet in 2021. (Courtesy Photo / Mike Tobin)

Art and action: An upcoming fair plans to use art as a way to talk about climate change

There’s free ice cream, too.

Dancers rehearsed in front of “Tahku,” the whale sculpture, ahead of the Climate Fair for a Cool Planet in 2021. (Courtesy Photo / Mike Tobin)
A flare burns at Venture Global LNG in Cameron, La., on April 21, 2022. Most major countries are finding it easier to promise to fight climate change than actually do it. (AP Photo / Martha Irvine)

Most major nations lag in acting on climate-fighting goals

Only the EU has enacted polices close to or consistent with international goals of limiting warming.

A flare burns at Venture Global LNG in Cameron, La., on April 21, 2022. Most major countries are finding it easier to promise to fight climate change than actually do it. (AP Photo / Martha Irvine)
Source: Amber Chapin, Michael Penn An artistic rendering of the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center in 2040 shows the glacier “will barely be visible” by 2050 based on a mid-range thinning rate scenario, according to a Juneau-specific climate change study published Monday.

Report details local climate chaos and solutions

More rain, less snow and glacial retreat expected.

Source: Amber Chapin, Michael Penn An artistic rendering of the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center in 2040 shows the glacier “will barely be visible” by 2050 based on a mid-range thinning rate scenario, according to a Juneau-specific climate change study published Monday.
Members of local environmental group 350Juneau and the Women's Earth and Climate Action Network displayed signs in front of the downtown Juneau branch of Wells Fargo on Monday, April 11, 2022, as part of a demonstration urging the company's corporate leadership to cease funding of fossil fuels. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

Local environmentalists call on Wells Fargo to end fossil fuel funding

“Humanitarian crisis.”

Members of local environmental group 350Juneau and the Women's Earth and Climate Action Network displayed signs in front of the downtown Juneau branch of Wells Fargo on Monday, April 11, 2022, as part of a demonstration urging the company's corporate leadership to cease funding of fossil fuels. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
The Mendenhall River is one of Juneau’s many water systems that was affected by the drought from 2016 to 2019. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)

Project looks into causes, effects of 2016-2019 drought

Hotter weather and less rain drove the three-year drought.

The Mendenhall River is one of Juneau’s many water systems that was affected by the drought from 2016 to 2019. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)
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New series seeks to empower people, provide tools for fighting climate change

“The whole idea is providing people with tools and empowering people.”

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Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire The Mendenhall Wetlands, among the lowest parts of Juneau, are still considerably higher out of the water than the area used to be, said the city’s port engineer.

Sea levels projected to rise nationwide, but Juneau faces different changes

The uplift of the land is actually outsripping sea level rise here in Juneau

Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire The Mendenhall Wetlands, among the lowest parts of Juneau, are still considerably higher out of the water than the area used to be, said the city’s port engineer.
Esau Sinnok of Shishmaref, Alaska, speaks at a news conference after the Alaska Supreme Court heard arguments on Oct. 9, 2019, in Anchorage, Alaska, in a lawsuit that claims state policy on fossil fuels is harming the constitutional right of young Alaskans to a safe climate. The Alaska Supreme Court on Friday, Jan. 28, 2022, upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by 16 Alaska youths, who claimed long-term effects of climate change will devastate Alaska and interfere with their individual constitutional rights. (AP File Photo / Mark Thiessen)

Alaska court rules against youths in climate change lawsuit

The Alaska Supreme Court on Friday upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by 16 young Alaskans.

Esau Sinnok of Shishmaref, Alaska, speaks at a news conference after the Alaska Supreme Court heard arguments on Oct. 9, 2019, in Anchorage, Alaska, in a lawsuit that claims state policy on fossil fuels is harming the constitutional right of young Alaskans to a safe climate. The Alaska Supreme Court on Friday, Jan. 28, 2022, upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by 16 Alaska youths, who claimed long-term effects of climate change will devastate Alaska and interfere with their individual constitutional rights. (AP File Photo / Mark Thiessen)
Vladimir Alexeev in Norway while teaching summer school in 2017. Alexeev is a climate scientist who recently worked with local composer Michael Bucy to create a song about climate change. (Courtesy photo/Vishnu Nandan)
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Sounding a warning

Local composer writes song about climate change

Vladimir Alexeev in Norway while teaching summer school in 2017. Alexeev is a climate scientist who recently worked with local composer Michael Bucy to create a song about climate change. (Courtesy photo/Vishnu Nandan)
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FILE - A woman stands next to an antenna at an NYU base camp at the Helheim glacier in Greenland on Friday, Aug. 16, 2019. In an effort to combat climate change and help develop Arctic communities, the Department of Energy Wednesday announced it was seeking to develop new sustainable energy projects in Alaska. (AP Photo / Felipe Dana)

Feds promote Arctic energy innovation

Living laboratory.

FILE - A woman stands next to an antenna at an NYU base camp at the Helheim glacier in Greenland on Friday, Aug. 16, 2019. In an effort to combat climate change and help develop Arctic communities, the Department of Energy Wednesday announced it was seeking to develop new sustainable energy projects in Alaska. (AP Photo / Felipe Dana)
Heidi Pearson is an associate professor of marine biology at the University of Alaska Southeast and lives in Juneau. (Courtesy Photo)

Sustainable Alaska: Climate change, reality and hope

We all have the ability to reduce our own carbon footprint

Heidi Pearson is an associate professor of marine biology at the University of Alaska Southeast and lives in Juneau. (Courtesy Photo)
FILE - In this Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2011 file photo, the remains of a carp are seen on the dry lake bed of O.C. Fisher Lake in San Angelo, Texas. According to data released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Tuesday, May 4, 2021, the new United States normal is not just hotter, but wetter in the eastern and central parts of the nation and considerably drier in the West than just a decade earlier. (AP Photo / Tony Gutierrez)

America’s new normal: A degree hotter than two decades ago

America’s new normal temperature is a degree hotter than it was just two decades ago.

FILE - In this Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2011 file photo, the remains of a carp are seen on the dry lake bed of O.C. Fisher Lake in San Angelo, Texas. According to data released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Tuesday, May 4, 2021, the new United States normal is not just hotter, but wetter in the eastern and central parts of the nation and considerably drier in the West than just a decade earlier. (AP Photo / Tony Gutierrez)
Juneau resident Bob Varness is showing how Juneau can be a leader in sustainable maritime transport. (Courtesy Photo / Brian Wallace for Juneau Climate Change Solutionists)

Juneau’s Climate Change Solutionists: Electrifying marine transportation with Bob Varness

Our maritime lifestyles and dependence on maritime transportation generate significant emissions.

Juneau resident Bob Varness is showing how Juneau can be a leader in sustainable maritime transport. (Courtesy Photo / Brian Wallace for Juneau Climate Change Solutionists)
Lisa Daugherty of Juneau Composts says composting is an important way for Juneau to address both climate change and a rapidly filling local landfill. (Courtesy Photo / Brian Wallace for Juneau Climate Change Solutionists)

Juneau Climate Change Solutionists: Composting organic waste with Lisa Daugherty

Composting is on the rise locally —with good reason.

Lisa Daugherty of Juneau Composts says composting is an important way for Juneau to address both climate change and a rapidly filling local landfill. (Courtesy Photo / Brian Wallace for Juneau Climate Change Solutionists)
Richard Chalyee Éesh Peterson works with villages, tribes, businesses, and government to protect the Tongass and advance Indigenous management of natural resources. (Courtesy Photo / Brian Wallace for Juneau Climate Change Solutionists)

Juneau Climate Change Solutionists: Protecting Forests through Indigenous land management with Richard Chalyee Éesh Peterson

Our greatest role in the global fight against climate change is to protect our land.

Richard Chalyee Éesh Peterson works with villages, tribes, businesses, and government to protect the Tongass and advance Indigenous management of natural resources. (Courtesy Photo / Brian Wallace for Juneau Climate Change Solutionists)
Nathea Burnet holds both a plastic ax and her grandmother, Patricia Forrest's, hand while looking at electric vehicles during Juneau Electric Vehicle Association's road rally Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020. On a per capita basis, there is one electric vehicle per 76 residents in Juneau. There were 418 EVs registered in Juneau as of November 2020. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)

Juneau’s Climate Change Solutionists: Electric vehicles with Devon Kibby

The clock is ticking to fast-track Alaska’s electric vehicle ecosystem.

Nathea Burnet holds both a plastic ax and her grandmother, Patricia Forrest's, hand while looking at electric vehicles during Juneau Electric Vehicle Association's road rally Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020. On a per capita basis, there is one electric vehicle per 76 residents in Juneau. There were 418 EVs registered in Juneau as of November 2020. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)
Andy Romanoff says reducing carbon emissions starts at home. (Courtesy Photo / Brian Wallace for Juneau’s Climate Change Solutionists)

Juneau’s Climate Change Solutionists: Boosting heat pumps with Andy Romanoff

“We all have the potential to have a greater impact that we may realize.”

Andy Romanoff says reducing carbon emissions starts at home. (Courtesy Photo / Brian Wallace for Juneau’s Climate Change Solutionists)
A sign stands near the Auke Village Recreation Area, which is part of the Tongass National Forest. During the first few weeks of Joe Biden's presidency, he's issued several executive orders related to conservation. SEACC is hosting a webinar series to help people in Southeast Alaska learn more about how executive orders during the first 100 days of Biden's presidency might affect The Tongass National Forest and other issues related to climate change. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)

Webinar series explores climate change in Southeast Alaska and national politics

SEACC to host monthly Climate Conversations through May.

A sign stands near the Auke Village Recreation Area, which is part of the Tongass National Forest. During the first few weeks of Joe Biden's presidency, he's issued several executive orders related to conservation. SEACC is hosting a webinar series to help people in Southeast Alaska learn more about how executive orders during the first 100 days of Biden's presidency might affect The Tongass National Forest and other issues related to climate change. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)
Koren Bosworth (Courtesy Photo / Brian Wallace for Juneau's Climate Change Solutionists)

Juneau’s Climate Change Solutionists: Preserving Wetlands and Peatlands with Koren Bosworth

We in Juneau might wonder if every day is wetlands day.

Koren Bosworth (Courtesy Photo / Brian Wallace for Juneau's Climate Change Solutionists)