News of the Week - January 26, 2015

Obama Looks to Expand Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

The newly proposed protections for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) would create over 12 million acres of protected area. The proposal also recommends a wilderness designation for the ANWR. It would remove the potential for oil and gas exploration under a large portion of the state. See the video from The White House below.

Rocky Mountain National Park Turns 100

On this day in 1915, President Woodrow Wilson signed the legislation creating Rocky Mountain National Park. The 260,000 acre park received its highest annual visitation ever in 2014, with more than 3.4 million guests. Rocky Mountain National Park kicked off its centennial celebration in September, and will continue — with more than 150 events — until September 2015.

Ocean Life Facing Mass Extinction

A team of scientists, compiling a number of separate studies into one, have demonstrated the broad risks posed to ocean life around the world. Their findings, recently published in the journal Science, detail the possibility that ocean life is on the verge of a large extinction event. The report calls for ways we can still avert a potential catastrophe.

Pipeline Leak Spills Oil into the Yellowstone River

A pipeline near Glendive, Montana leaked 40,000 of crude oil into the Yellowstone River. It was largely reminiscent of another spill impacting the Yellowstone River in 2011.

U.S. Senate Votes to Recognize Climate Change as a Reality, but not as Human-Caused

The Republican-led Senate voted overwhelmingly to recognize that climate change is happening. Only one senator voted against the resolution. However, when it came to recognizing that humans can impact the environment, the chamber was more divided, and the resolution that climate change is caused by humans did not pass.

Outdoor Companies Descend on Salt Lake City for Winter Outdoor Retailer Tradeshow

Over 1,000 companies and 22,000 people came to the winter Outdoor Retailer tradeshow in Salt Lake City. The conference is geared toward retailers and following it, consumers can expect to see the best of new winter gear items on store shelves and in outdoor media publications.