Professor researches geothermal energy options

Diesel fuel from Tacoma travels nearly 2,000 miles by barge to reach the island of Akutan, an Alaskan island in the Aleutian chain, which extends into the Pacific Ocean. Residents there go through 4.2 million gallons of fuel each year, and pay 32 and a half cents per kilowatt hour to power their homes. By comparison,Washington residents pay around eight cents, Western geology professor Pete Stelling said. Stelling hopes to fix that.