Issue Position: Climate Change & Protecting Alaska's Natural Environment

Issue Position

+ FIGHTING CLIMATE CHANGE

Alaska is ground zero for the negative effects of global climate change. Across Alaska the crisis is undeniable -- rising temperatures, coastal erosion, melting permafrost, and broken ice on our river systems. These effects threaten the daily life of communities across our state, but our current representative refuses to come home, look around and see these facts.

So many of our Alaskan industries, including fishing and tourism, depend on the preservation of the environment. Climate change could bring subsistence hunting and fishing in our Alaska Native communities to the verge of collapse. In Congress, I will fight to protect what makes Alaska so unique and important to the people here -- our natural environment.

We should be enhancing the funding for climate change research, not casting doubt on it. UAF is one of the most cited research institutions in the world on climate change, and we should be steering more research dollars into our Universities.

+ ADAPTING TO THE CHANGING CLIMATE

Regardless of the success of our efforts to fight climate change, Alaska communities are already dealing with the impacts from the changing climate and must have federal support to survive. I support securing the necessary federal funds to relocate threatened villages, invest in research and development of technologies to address engineering challenges associated with melting permafrost, and responsible mitigation to address coastal erosion.

+ INVESTING IN RENEWABLE ENERGY & ENERGY EFFICIENCY

As we move away from fossil fuel across the globe, Alaska can lead the world in new energy production and innovative energy conservation. Alaska should be at the forefront of new production, research and technology whether it is wind, solar, geothermal, hydroelectric or tidal--we have it all here.

We must also be ahead on climate technology and adaptation and advocate fighting climate change to the rest of the country. Alaska should lead in creating jobs in energy conservation construction techniques. We are already advancing such innovation at the Cold Climate Housing Research Center in Fairbanks. We should be investing in and developing these technologies ourselves rather than waiting for the world to sell them to us later.

+ RESPONSIBLE NATURAL RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT

I support responsible natural resource development, including oil and gas, mining, timber, and fisheries. I am opposed to the Pebble Mine Project and will protect our Southeast fisheries from risks associated with transboundary mines. I believe Alaska has strong environmental protections, and I support efforts to establish state primacy on federal regulatory issues, where appropriate.

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