Rep. Young: Budget Cuts Would be 'Crippling' to Alaska. U.S. Rep. Don Young said impending federal budget cuts will be "crippling" for Alaska. "I stayed in Washington, D.C., through the holidays to be available for any potential votes and stand ready today to act," he said. "As I have said before, sequestration will have crippling effects on Alaska. "If Congress fails to act in the coming days, Alaska's military bases and the jobs that come with it, as well as the countless federal employees, will suffer drastic cuts," he said. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

 Who Will Succeed Jackson as EPA Head? After four years in office, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson said on Thursday that she will step down after President Obama's State of the Union address in January, inviting speculation about who will be named as her successor. Jackson's four-year tenure at the agency was busy and productive, but it also was controversial. Since Jackson was confirmed to head EPA in 2009, the agency has undertaken a number of significant and divisive measures, including setting new standards to clean up mercury and other toxic emissions from coal-fired power plants, and setting new standards to limit fine particle soot in the air. EPA played a lead role in establishing new fuel-economy and greenhouse-gas standards for motor vehicles. In 2009, the agency reversed findings made under the Bush administration, declaring that climate change poses a real threat to public health and the environment. Government Executive

Jackson's Resignation Sets Stage for Fight Over EPA Role. EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, who spearheaded efforts to begin regulating greenhouse gas emissions and became a lightning rod for criticism by Republican lawmakers, is resigning, setting the stage for a confirmation fight over her eventual successor that will become a forum for a larger debate about the agency's role. Jackson's resignation has been expected, but comes as a disappointment to environmentalists who have praised her activist approach. In a statement, Jackson said she was leaving to pursue "new challenges, time with my family and new opportunities to make a difference." There has been speculation that Jackson might pursue elective office back home in New Jersey or be a candidate for the presidency of Princeton University. Congressional Quarterly

 Coast Guard Finds Safety Violations on Shell Rig. Shell's Noble Discoverer drill rig has had several high-profile mishaps in 2012. Now, the Coast Guard says it found problems with the rig's on-board systems during an emergency inspection in Seward. Chief Petty Officer Kip Wadlow says the vessel was on the Coast Guard's radar because of a stack fire that broke out while the rig was tied up in Unalaska in November. Then the Noble Discoverer headed for Seward, where Wadlow says it had problems with its propulsion system. Those two incidents, in such close proximity, prompted the Coast Guard to send safety inspectors aboard. KTOO

Great Arctic Cyclone in Summer Was 'Unprecedented:' Study. It's known as the Great Arctic Cyclone, and when it roared out of Siberia last August, storm watchers knew it was unusual. Hurricane-like storms are very common in the Arctic, but the most powerful of them (which are still far less powerful than tropical hurricanes) tend to come in winter. It wasn't clear at the time, however, whether the August storm was truly unprecedented. Now it is. A study published in Geophysical Research Letters looks at no fewer than 19,625 Arctic storms and concludes that in terms of size, duration and several other of what the authors call "key cyclone properties," the Great Cyclone was the most extreme summer storm, and the 13th most powerful storm -- summer or winter -- since modern satellite observations began in 1979. Climate Central

 Obama's Science Commitment, FDA Face Ethics Scrutiny in Wake of GMO Salmon Fiasco. Questions are emerging about the breakdown of the federal government's science integrity process in the wake of the Food & Drug Administration's long-delayed release of its approval of the first genetically modified animal for human consumption. The AquAdvantage salmon developed by AquaBounty Technologies of Massachusetts-an Atlantic salmon modified with a growth hormone gene from Chinook salmon so it grows to maturity faster-had been winding its way through the federal approval process for 17 years. Two years ago, the FDA had said it was going to release its environmental assessment, the final document in the approval process, within weeks. It was finally and quietly posted on the FDA's website only last Friday-just hours before the long holiday weekend-and published in the Federal Register on Wednesday. Forbes

International Conference on Arctic Ocean Acidification, May 6-8, 2013.

The Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program (AMAP), the Institute of Marine Research, the Norwegian Institute for Water Research, the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research, and the University of British Columbia, Canada, host a conference to consider Arctic Ocean acidification. Topics will include