t’s been quite a summer so far in Alaska. If you love the sun, this has been a stunning display from Mother Nature with record breaking temperatures that sent many of us running to the nearest body of water for a bit of relief. And what better segue to introduce our annual environmental special section than this super-sized summer. This year we’re featuring several articles focused on the manifold ways businesses throughout the state work to keep our environment pristine, including when and how to implement an environmental contingency plan; what a site assessment entails; and how scrap metal is reused and recycled. Of course we also give you all the information you need to get familiar with the state’s environmental companies in our annual directory.

Many of the industries we cover regularly have announced or instituted plans to even further reduce the impact they have on the environment. BP is just one example of a global company operating locally that it is putting into place several initiatives to curtail its environmental footprint significantly by exploring alternative energy sources and reducing emissions in its own operations; improving its products to help customers lower their emissions; and creating low carbon businesses. BP predicts that the United States will become energy self-sufficient by 2020 and maintain its position as the world’s largest producer of liquid fuels and natural gas.