Rachel Waldholz, Alaska’s Energy Desk

Researchers warn that populations of red king crab in the Bering Sea could collapse by the end of the century. But it’s possible the crabs might be able to evolve — and adapt to the changing oceans.

The 15-person team will be chaired by Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott, and will propose a climate change action plan. Those recommendations are due by September 2018.

The plaintiffs argue that by encouraging oil development and permitting projects that emit greenhouse gases, Alaska is actively making climate change worse – and violating their constitutional rights.

Delegates passed a resolution asking the federal government to make climate impacts in rural villages eligible for disaster relief, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski told the convention, “Climate change is real.”

The money Newtok was counting on will likely go to Butte and Sutton, in the Mat-Su Borough, instead.

The room included people who depend on oil for their livelihood, and those coping with the impacts of climate change on the ground – represented  at the same table, sometimes by same person.

Nikoosh Carlo began work this month in a newly created position: senior adviser for climate.

It’s a model with lessons for remote communities from the Arctic to the equator – and for cities on the big grids of the Lower 48, from New York to Houston.

The goal is to find innovations that could help the rest of the country avoid the kind of widespread power outages that have followed Hurricanes Irma and Harvey.

Most renewable energy projects in rural Alaska have been funded with state and federal grants. But as state money dries up, an Anchorage start-up wants to bring private investors to the table.