A new paper by Jen Schmidt and Henry Huntington describes a framework they developed to assess food, energy and water security. It provides a consistent means of assessing problems, identifying causes and developing solutions by looking at four components of FEW security: availability, access, preference, and quality. Read more about > Framework could help reduce food, energy and water insecurity in Alaska
With hotter and drier summers, wildfires in Alaska will continue to be a concern for communities and individual property owners. Anchorage residents can view the potential for wildfire risk in their neighborhoods with a new online wildfire hazard map developed by ISER researcher Jen Schmidt. Read more about > Wildfire hazard map gives Anchorage residents important risk information
Understanding the acceptance and perceptions of renewable energy is key to facilitating their sustainable development in northern communities say researchers Jennifer Schmidt and Amanda Byrd. Alaskans in rural areas are faced with a number of challenges, including increasing costs for energy and imported foods into their remote communities. Many residents rely on subsistence foods as part of their culture, but also to avoid high prices in the local store. Communities have begun turning to renewable energy to make energy more affordable as well. Schmidt and Byrd examined the connection between renewable energy and subsistence activities in a new paper. Read more about > Renewable energy programs complement subsistence activities in rural Alaska
Jennifer Schmidt, Assistant Professor of Natural Resources Management and Policy, presented a fuel treatments database project in October at the Fall Fire Review, an annual event convened by the Alaska Wildland Fire Coordinating Group (AWFCG), the body that oversees fire management in the state. Read more about > Online map provides overview of fire breaks around Alaska
A team of Alaska researchers led by ISER’s Tobias Schwoerer has proposed a new methodology to elicit and quantify expert scientific opinion in uncertain environmental applications. The work, which was co-authored with Joseph Little (UAF) and Gregory Hayward (Alaska Region, US Forest Service), appeared in an article in the Journal of Environmental Management under the title “Quantifying expert opinion with discrete choice models: Invasive elodea’s influence on Alaska salmonids.” The new methodology can be used to combine the expert perspectives of many scientists in a way that provides a quantitative measure of which aspects of the problem scientists agree upon and which aspects have less consensus. Read more about > Is there a better way to combine expert scientific opinions?
Alaskans care about their environment. Whenever we discuss development and conservation proposals, there is always a discussion about whether our water and air are being protected and whether some industries have a good record protecting our air and water. Or not. Read more about > Air and Water Violations in Alaska: 2011-2019
In March 2020, as the first warm rays of sun hit Orca Inlet, Cordova started to emerge from a ferry-less winter. The Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) is used by 30 communities for reliable and affordable year-round transportation. But, following the passage of the FY 2020 budget, the Alaska Legislature cut funding for the AMHS by $44 million dollars, a 31% reduction from previous fiscal years. As a result, according to the Alaska Municipal League, many coastal communities, including Cordova (Figure 1), spent six to eight months with no ferry service during the 2019/2020 winter. Additional funding for the AMHS is included in the FY21 state budget, but Cordova will likely have to wait until July 2020 for the first ferry of the year. By that time, Cordova will have been without ferry service for 9.5 months. Read more about > Navigating the Ferry Cutbacks
The Institute of Social and Economic Research’s (ISER) Dr. Jen Schmidt, alongside co-author Dr. Erin Whitney (Alaska Center for Energy and Power), have an article featured in the recent edition of the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States’ (ARCUS) Witness Community Highlights. The article, “MicroFEWs": Exploring the Impacts of Local Renewable Energy Projects on Remote Arctic Community Security and Resilience, summarized the National Science Foundation (NSF) funded MicroFEWs project which “aims to explore the impact of local and renewable energy projects on FEW security and resilience in the remote Arctic communities,” as, “little research has been done to understand the linkage of Food/Energy/Water (FEW) systems in remote Arctic systems.” Read more about > Jen Schmidt Talks MicroFEWs Project
ISER’s Dr. Jen Schmidt traveled to Tanana this past October to discuss the results of an ongoing fuel meter data collection project alongside Alaska Center for Energy and Power’s (ACEP) Alana Vilagi and Baxter Bond.Read more about > Dr. Jen Schmidt Presents Fuel Meter Data Collection Results […]
The Institute of Social and Economic Research’s Dr. Tobias Schwoerer, Dr. Jennifer Schmidt, and Kyle Borash alongside the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Dr. Joseph Little, published a new article, “Hitchhikers on floats to Arctic freshwater: Private aviation and recreation loss from aquatic invasion”, in the latest issue of Ambio. […]