Published Jun 21, 2024 by Alex Bengel

All over campus at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF), bins mark opportunities for students and community members to dispose of recyclable materials.

Run out of UAF’s Office of Sustainability, the current recycling program has been in place since around 2010, said UAF Sustainability Coordinator Christi Kemper. “Students at UAF wanted to see more sustainability initiatives on campus, so they decided to create a Student Sustainability Fee, and they worked with student government to get a brand new fee put into place.”

The program operates year-round, with summer being a slower season that the school year. “The highest seasons would be around springtime, just because people are doing their spring cleaning and they’re cleaning everything out,” said Tolver.

These materials are periodically gathered from a network of 150 bins found all across campus. 

Items are then sorted and cardboard is sent through a baler. According to Kemper, student employees “hand sort all of the items that they pick up to make sure it’s clean for the recycling facility.”

Recyclables then go around Fairbanks to facilities that can further process them.Cardboard, paper, batteries and plastics go to the borough’s Central Recycling Facility. Aluminum goes to C&R Pipe and Steel. Electronics, meanwhile, are sent to Green Star of Interior Alaska, while ink cartridges go to be used by the Bridge Program run out of the school district.

Finally, the university pulverizes its own glass for use as fill by Facilities Services.

Published Jun 21, 2024 by https://www.kdlg.org/people/meg-duff

KDLG’s Meg Duff sat down with Rick Thoman, a climate specialist with the University of Alaska Fairbanks, about those abnormal temperatures and how they might be impacting Bristol Bay.

Globally, the world's oceans are exceptionally warm.

Alaska has been something of an exception, particularly the Eastern Bering Sea and the North Central Pacific Gulf of Alaska have not been especially warm over the last year. And in fact, the Eastern Bering Sea, including Bristol Bay, this spring water temperatures are significantly cooler than normal.

Early indications are that we will see a continuation of the Climate Prediction Center’s outlooks for increased chances for above normal precipitation and below normal temperatures.

That would imply the potential for more storminess than average. But will it be more stormy than last year? That is an open question.

Last year was pretty remarkable in that regard for the Bristol Bay region, and much of South Central and Western Alaska overall. So hopefully we won't be at that level, but the current outlook would favor more storminess, more rain, more clouds than would be typical for the region for July.

Published Jun 20, 2024 by Haley Lehman

Thousands of people from 44 states, five countries and 31 Alaskan communities are running 10-kilometers, or 6.2-miles, from the University of Alaska Fairbanks to Pioneer Park Saturday night.

The run kicks off at 10 p.m. outside the UAF Patty Center.

Event organizer Wendy Cloyd said that the run is high energy with hundreds of spectators.

The annual run was selected to be a 2024 Road Runner Clubs of America National Championship Event for the first time. RRCA selects eight races each year to represent well-fun, community-focused events, and selected the Midnight Sun Run to represent the 10k race length.

Midnight Sun Run is also on “The Runner’s Bucket List: 200 Races to Run Before You Die.”

Activities at the start include a meet and greet with RRCA CEO Jene Knaack, a costume contest, and a warm up led by Golden Heart Performing Arts.

Registration costs $40 for adults and $15 for youth 12 and under.