News and Announcement

Jason Prno, a PhD candidate at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, will discuss why mineral developers today need “social licenses to operate.” A social license is society’s broad approval and acceptance of a mining project, and developing such a social license can help companies avoid the substantial problems that can result from community protest and disapproval. But there are complexities in establishing social licenses, and Jason Prno will discuss those in the context of mining case studies from the Yukon, Alaska, Peru, and Papua New Guinea. 

Learn about recent trends in Alaska’s salmon markets, forces driving the dramatic recovery in salmon prices over the past decade, and factors likely to affect the future for Alaska salmon. That’s all in a recent presentation by Gunnar Knapp, professor of economics at ISER, at ComFish Alaska, the state's largest commercial fisheries trade show, held annually in Kodiak. 

See this presentation on salmon markets. 

On April 4, Northrim Bank made a gift of $125,000 to ISER for continued funding of the special research initiative, Investing for Alaska’s Future. That brings to more than $500,000 the total Northrim has provided ISER since 2004 for that research, which is directed by Scott Goldsmith, professor of economics. The work is intended to help Alaskans better understand the relationship between government policies and economic development, inform investment decisions, and monitor state economic and fiscal conditions. 

UAA’s University Honors College, Community Technical College, and ISER  invite you to a lecture by Laurence Smith, vice-chair and professor of geography at UCLA, on Thursday, April 12, at 7 p.m. in Arts 150. 

Dr. Smith, who is also a professor of earth and space sciences, will be speaking on “The World in 2050: Four Forces Shaping Civilization’s Northern Future.” This is the theme of his recent book, which was also featured in an article in the Wall Street Journal on “The New North.”

A new analysis by Scott Goldsmith, professor of economics at ISER, estimates that Alaska’s state government currently has a petroleum nest egg of about $155 billion, including both the value of revenues from oil and gas yet to be produced and money already in the bank. The state can afford to spend about $6.2 billion a year from the earnings of that nest egg for decades to come, taking population growth into account. But this fiscal year, the state is expected to spend close to $7 billion—shrinking the nest egg for coming generations. 

A new analysis by ISER researchers Ginny Fay, Alejandra Villalobos Meléndez, and Tobias Schwörer examines how the current Power Cost Equalization (PCE) program formula affects incentives for rural communities to increase their energy efficiency and add renewable energy sources. The state PCE program helps bring the high cost of electricity in small rural places closer to costs in urban areas, by paying eligible utilities part of the costs of the first 500 kilowatt hours of electricity for each residential customer every month. PCE rates are currently linked to fuel costs and use. 

Whitney Lackenbauer of the University of Waterloo in Ontario is one of Canada’s leading scholars on contemporary Arctic sovereignty and security issues. He will talk about Canadian and American perceptions about the Arctic since the 19th century, focusing on why many Canadians have deep-seated concerns about American intentions in the North American Arctic. This is a joint presentation of the Canadian Consulate, University Advancement at UAA, and ISER. Pizza and soft drinks will be served. 

When: Tuesday, March 27, 12 to 1