Alaska on fire: Thousands of lightning strikes and a warming climate put Alaska on pace for another historic fire season

Fires today are hotter and more destructive, thanks in part to a warming climate.

Rick Thoman, Alaska Climate Specialist, University of Alaska Fairbanks • conversation
July 6, 2022 ~7 min

Much of the cost of dementia care in aging Native American adults is due to hospitalization

A clearer understanding of the true treatment costs of dementia for American Indian and Alaska Native adults could help health services better meet the needs of the populations they serve.

Luohua Jiang, Associate Professor of Epidemiology, University of California, Irvine • conversation
March 31, 2022 ~5 min


Climate change could enable Alaska to grow more of its own food – now is the time to plan for it

Homegrown tomatoes and corn in Alaska? Climate change could make it possible in the 2030s and ‘40s – a rare silver lining for this fast-warming state.

Nancy Fresco, SNAP Coordinator, Research Faculty, University of Alaska Fairbanks • conversation
Feb. 3, 2022 ~9 min

How the pandemic's unequal toll on people of color underlines US health inequities – and why solving them is so critical

Addressing racial and ethnic health gaps is becoming even more important as the US population continues its shift toward a minority-majority nation.

Abubakarr Jalloh, Assistant Professor of Public Health, Hollins University • conversation
Jan. 19, 2022 ~8 min

2021 Arctic Report Card reveals a (human) story of cascading disruptions, extreme events and global connections

Sea ice is thinning at an alarming rate. Snow is shifting to rain. And humans worldwide are increasingly feeling the impact of what happens in the seemingly distant Arctic.

Twila Moon, Deputy Lead Scientist, National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), University of Colorado Boulder • conversation
Dec. 14, 2021 ~9 min

Rural Alaska has a bridge problem as permafrost thaws and crossing river ice gets riskier with climate change

Alaska is warming faster than any other U.S. state, and that’s causing problems, a team of bridge engineers and social scientists explains. The infrastructure bill in Congress would offer some help.

Rebecca Napolitano, Assistant Professor of Architectural Engineering, Penn State • conversation
Oct. 12, 2021 ~8 min

Rural Alaska needs new bridges as permafrost thaws and crossing river ice gets riskier – the infrastructure bill is only a start

Alaska is warming faster than any other U.S. state. That’s causing problems for river crossings, as a team of bridge engineers and social scientists explains.

Rebecca Napolitano, Assistant Professor of Architectural Engineering, Penn State • conversation
Oct. 12, 2021 ~8 min

Biden moves to protect the Tongass, North America's largest rainforest, from logging and road building

Scientists are urging the Biden administration to protect mature US forests as a climate change strategy, starting with the Tongass National Forest in Alaska.

Beverly Law, Professor Emeritus of Global Change Biology and Terrestrial Systems Science, Oregon State University • conversation
Aug. 4, 2021 ~9 min


As extreme fires transform Alaska's boreal forest, deciduous trees put a brake on carbon loss and how fast the forest burns

A new study finds more deciduous trees like aspen are growing in after severe fires in the region, and that has some unexpected impacts.

Xanthe Walker, Assistant Research Professor, Northern Arizona University • conversation
April 15, 2021 ~8 min

As extreme fires transform Alaska's boreal forest, more aspen are coming in – that has an impact on future fires and the climate

A new study finds more deciduous trees like aspen are growing in after severe fires in the region, and that has some unexpected impacts.

Xanthe Walker, Assistant Research Professor, Northern Arizona University • conversation
April 15, 2021 ~8 min

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