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Today's C
ongressional Action:
The Senate is not in session. The House is expected to consider motion related to S. 2943, the National Defense Authorization Act, and a conference report to accompany S. 524, the Comprehensive Addition Recovery Act.
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Media
 Interior Issues Final Regulations to Raise Safety & Environmental Standards for Any Future Exploratory Drilling in US Arctic Waters. Snow and Sea Ice Keep Hitting Record Lows This Year in the Northern Hemisphere.
As climate scientists nervously watch the Arctic and high latitudes this summer - fearing how 2016's record warmth could push the delicate system - two new pieces of data are hardly consoling.
First, according to researchers with the
Rutgers University Global Snow Lab, the entire Northern Hemisphere over the past four months (March, April, May and June) featured the lowest levels of snow on the ground, or snow cover, ever recorded for this particular time period. The data, in this case, go back 49 years.
Latest of Obama's Safety Rules on Arctic Drilling are Released.
The Obama administration announced new safety and environmental regulations on Thursday to control
offshore drilling
in the Arctic Ocean off the Alaskan coast.
These are the latest in a series of Obama administration rules designed to slow the extraction of fossil fuels from American public lands and waters.
The rules fell short of many environmentalists' demands to cut off Arctic drilling entirely, but
oil
companies complained that the regulations would stymie new energy exploration.
New York Times
ARCTIC: Leasing Questions Swirl Around Drilling Rule. The Interior Department yesterday released final operating standards for oil and gas exploration in the Arctic outer continental shelf (OCS), a move that intensified speculation on whether the White House will allow new lease sales in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas under its eagerly awaited next five-year leasing program.
E&E News
 Arctic Sea Ice Disappearing- Drops to New Record Low in June. Over the month of June, sea ice in the Arctic has plummeted some 260,000 square kilometers (about 100,000 square miles) below the last record for the month, set in 2010. According to the NSIDC, the ice extent has been diminishing at a rate of some 56,900 square kilometers per day, due to warm air masses brought by winds and increasing temperatures in the Earth's oceans.
Sputnik International
Nunavut Groups Applaud Decision to Change Shrimp Policy.
The Baffin Fisheries Coalition was celebrating July 7 after yesterday's announcement from the federal fisheries minister that Ottawa plans to change how they allocates the country's shrimp quota.
Dominic LeBlanc, minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, announced July 6 that the last-in, first-out northern shrimp quota system which favours older, more established companies at the expense of new players, such as those in Nunavut, will be scrapped
.
Nunatsiaq Online
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Legislative Action
No Arctic legislation was formally considered yesterday.
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Future Events
TOW Arctic Broadband Summit, July 13, 2016 (Barrow, Alaska, USA).
 The Arctic Economic Council, the Iñuit Arctic Business Alliance and the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation will host this event. Summit topics include the challenges of connectivity; the government's role in, and commitment to,
broadband development; and, private investment opportunities. Policy leaders, regulators, other government officials, along with industry experts and executives have been invited to present and attend.
** New this week**
ARCTIC ALERTS 2016, July 13, 2016 (Washington, DC).
T
he Study of Environmental Arctic
Change (SEARCH) announces a National Press Club media roundtable (1:00-
3:00 pm) in which
Arctic researchers will outline the unprecedented changes taking place in the Arctic environment and the local and global consequences. Five brief presentations by scientific experts will be followed by q
uestions and discussion with journalists.
This event will not be webcast nor accessible other than by in-person attendance. If non-journalists would like to attend
(in listen-only mode please), contact Brendan Kelly
(
[email protected]),
as space is
limited.
** New this week **
Hickel Day of the Arctic- Northern Forum, July 26, 2016 (Anchorage, Alaska, USA).
To celebrate our annual "Day of the Arctic," the Institute of the North has organized a special luncheon featuring speakers from the Northern Forum, an intergovernmental, subnational platform for advancing sustainable development in the Arctic. Speakers include: Mr. Byron Mallott, Lieutenant Governor, State of Alaska; Mr. Yuri Zakharinsky, Vice-Governor of Krasnoyarsky Krai, Chair of the RCC; Mr. Alexander Mazharov, Vice-Governor of Yamalo-Nenetsky Autonomous Okrug; Mr. Alexander Zhirkov, Speaker of the Parliament of Sakha Republic; Mr. Leonid Nikolaev, First Vice-Governor of Chukotsky Autonomous Okrug.
Hosted by Saint Petersburg State University, the UArctic Congress 2016 will feature Science and Meeting sections, including:
- Acclaimed keynote speakers and scientific experts presenting their latest research.
- Parallel sessions on an array of Arctic science, policy, and education topics.
- Formal meetings for representatives of the Council of UArctic and UArctic Rectors' Forum.
- Pre-Meetings to foster contacts and enhance networking.
- Opportunities for promoting and marketing your organization and activities.
- A UArctic Student Forum with workshops.
- A Cultural and Social program like no other.
The 2016 UArctic Rectors' Forum and the 19th annual meeting of the Council of UArctic form an integral part of the congress.
Conference on Water Innovations for Healthy Arctic Homes: September 18-21, 2016, Anchorage, Alaska. This circumpolar conference will bring together engineers, health experts, researchers, community members, policymakers, and innovators to discuss health benefits, challenges and innovations associated with making running water and sewer in remote northern communities safe, affordable and sustainable. Information and an expression of interest in attending can be found
here. (The full link is:
http://wihah2016.com/)
13th International Conference on Gas in Marine Sediments: September 19-22, 2016 (Tromso, Norway).
GIMS 13
promotes the study of natural gas and release systems on a global scale and
facilitates interdisciplinary and international cooperation. The conference
intends to bring together geologists, biologists, microbiologist, geophysicists, oceanographers, geochemists and scientists from modeling disciplines. The forum will provide a platform for current knowledge and future programs in gas inventories, fluxes and their role within the carbon cycle and biodiversity. Conference is organized by CAGE - Centre for Arctic Gas Hydrate, Environment and Climate at UiT The
Arctic University of Norway. Abstract submission deadline is May 30th and registration deadline is June 20th. For more information:
http://gims13.uit.no
Bridging the Future of Arctic Social Science Research, September 23-24, 2016 (Monticello, Virginia, USA).
The event is sponsored by Arctic Horizons. The event will reassemble the members of the National Steering Committee and a small but diverse selection of representatives from the five regional workshops, to total about 15 people. The aim will be to identify and synthesize the core threads of the previous workshops and public contributions proffered between workshops. The target output for the workshop will be a final report draft and outline of steps leading to the final report release in June 2016. The Jefferson Institute will manage production of the publication.
Second International Conference on Natural Resources and Integrated Development of Coastal Areas in the Arctic Zone, September 27-29, 2016 (Arkhangelsk, Russia).
The Conference is organized by FASO of Russia, Russian Academy of Sciences, Government of Arkhangelsk region, Arkhangelsk Scientific Center and International Arctic Science Committee (IASC). Conference is aimed at elaboration of research-based practical measures and instruments for realization of human, natural and transport-logistical potential of the Arctic zone, including development of the Northern Sea Route and implementation of models of integrated coastal areas management. For additional information, please email.
Arctic Ambitions V: International Business Conference & Trade Show, October 4-5, 2016 (Anchorage, Alaska, USA). This once-a-year event uniquely focuses on business and investment opportunities flowing from developments in the Arctic. With interest in commercial development in the Arctic growing rapidly, WTC Anchorage initiated the Arctic Ambitions conference five years ago to address issues such as innovation, investment, infrastructure development, transportation, natural resources, and trade. At the event, corporate executives and senior government officials from across the Arctic, and around the world, make presentations and participate in panel discussions. This year's conference also includes a Trade Show and B2B Matchmaking Session. For more information, please contact Greg Wolf (
[email protected]) or call
907-278-7233.
Inuit traditions are a repository of Inuit culture and a primary expression of Inuit identity. The theme for the 2016 Inuit Studies Conference invites Elders, knowledge-bearers, researchers, artists, policy-makers, students and others to engage in conversations about the many ways in which traditions shape understanding, while registering social and cultural change. The institutional hosts of "Inuit Traditions," Memorial University of Newfoundland and the Nunatsiavut Government, invite you to contribute to an exchange of knowledge to be held in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, October 7-10, 2016. Presentations on all aspects of Inuit studies will be welcome.
Arctic Technology Conference, October 24-26, 2016 (St. John's, Canada). Founded in 1969, the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) is the world's foremost event for the development of offshore resources in the fields of drilling, exploration, production and environmental protection. The Arctic Technology Conference (ATC) is built upon OTC's successful multidisciplinary approach, with 14 technical societies and organizations working together to deliver the world's most comprehensive Arctic event.
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