Alaska is experiencing warming at two to three times the global average due to a phenomenon called “Arctic amplification.” This accelerated warming is causing permafrost, which covers 85% of the state, to degrade. As it thaws, it releases large amounts of methane—a greenhouse gas 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide—into the atmosphere, exacerbating global warming. Dangerous sinkholes filled with water and methane have formed in places like Bethel, Alaska, rendering previously traversable tundra unsafe.

A 2023 NASA study found 2 million methane “hot spots” across Alaska, often linked to areas impacted by wildfires. These emissions are part of a larger trend of accelerating greenhouse gas releases in the Arctic, posing a significant threat to global climate stability.

The incoming Trump administration aims to boost fossil fuel development in Alaska. Key initiatives include:

• Expanding the Willow Project oil lease from 400,000 to 800,000 acres.
• Reopening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and other protected areas for energy exploration.
• Developing a controversial natural gas pipeline, which could triple the state’s carbon emissions.
• Supporting clear-cutting in the Tongass National Forest and opening new mining operations in sensitive areas like the Brooks Range and salmon-rich Kuskokwim River.

Planned cuts to NASA and NOAA could limit the ability to monitor Alaska’s changing environment. The Department of Defense’s Center for Arctic Security Studies, which addresses climate-related national security issues, also faces potential elimination.

With 65% of Alaska under federal control and 11% managed by Native corporations, the push for resource extraction raises concerns about Native sovereignty. Many Indigenous groups rely on subsistence lifestyles and fear the ecological destruction these projects could bring.

Alaska’s warming permafrost and melting ice represent a “climate bomb” waiting to explode. The potential for increased methane emissions could accelerate global climate change significantly. President-elect Trump’s policies of “drill, baby, drill” risk exacerbating this crisis, contrasting sharply with the limited but cautious steps taken by the Biden administration.

Read the full LA Times article here.