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Today's Congressional Action:
The House and Senate are in session and expected to consider non-Arctic legislation.
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 Nunavut MP Says $5.7M Sealing Fund is "Huge For Inuit." If there's one new item in Finance Minster Joe Oliver's April 21 budget that Nunavut MP Leona Aglukkaq wants to talk about, it's this: $5.7 million in new funding over five years aimed at helping Inuit seal products gain access to the European Union market. "In my view, this is huge for Inuit," Aglukkaq said. Nunatsiaq Online
Floating Nuclear Power Stations for Arctic? An Ontario company is proposing the idea of small floating nuclear stations to power mining sites and towns in the Arctic. At a mining symposium last week in the Arctic city of Iqaluit in Nunavut, Dunedin Energy Systems suggested the idea to meet growing energy needs in the North. Currently Arctic towns, cities and various mine sites are powered by diesel generators. These produce substantial pollution and with fuel costs rising along with energy demand, alternatives are needed. Alaska Dispatch News
 Will Arctic Nations Let Russia Control Arctic Shipping? Should They? In August, 1981, our Russian hosts built a campfire on a bluff overlooking the Lena River, near Yakutsk, a region most Americans only know from its strategic position in the board game "Risk." Under a bright midnight sun, we washed down frozen whitefish, cucumbers, tomatoes, potatoes and stewed horsemeat with numerous toasts of Soviet champagne, vodka, and brandy, and dreamed out loud about what could happen in the Arctic. A boat steamed by, headed downstream toward the port of Tiksi on the Arctic Ocean. Wally Hickel, then between his service as U.S. Interior Secretary and his second term as Governor of Alaska, jumped up and waved his arms with excitement, explaining "that ship can turn west and go to Murmansk in Europe, east and go to Vladivostok on the Pacific. These Russians have shown how Arctic shipping can link the continents. The rest of us need to learn there even is an Arctic Ocean!" Harvard International Review
Feds Claim Best Environment Budget Ever While Neglecting Climate Change. No previous federal budget has ever done more for the environment than the one delivered this week by the Conservative government, according to Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq. The puzzling claim during a raucous question period in the House of Commons came a day after Finance Minister Joe Oliver tabled a 518-page document that contains no new spending or specific policy measures for curbing greenhouse gas emissions and mentions the issue of a "changing climate" just once - in relation to previously funded genome research on trees. The Times Colonist
 Meeting in the Arctic Council on Friday: Continuing the Peaceful Cooperation is the Main Political Priority. Minister of Foreign Affairs Martin Lidegaard will participate along with Prime Minister of the Government of the Faroe Islands, Kaj Leo Holm Johannesen, and the Greenlandic Minister for Industry, Labour, Trade and Foreign Affairs, Vittus Qujaukitsoq, in the ministerial meeting of the Arctic Council on April 24 2015 in Canada. The meeting marks the end of the Canadian Chairmanship of the Arctic Council. The Unites States of America will assume the chairmanship after the meeting. "I am looking forward to travelling to Iqaluit with Greenland and the Faroe Islands. We work closely together to deliver tangible results and influence the development of the Arctic Region in areas such as economic development, climate and energy, transportation and peaceful cooperation. The Arctic is a strategically important region and a central foreign policy priority for Denmark. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark
Inuit Wisdom and Polar Science Are Teaming Up to Save the Walrus. The air is calm this Arctic morning as Zacharias Kunuk prepares for a long day. His morning routine does nothing to quell his nerves-today he's going on his first walrus hunt. It's 1980, late July-the month walrus hunters climb into motorized freighter canoes and leave Igloolik, a small Inuit community in Nunavut, Canada. Every summer since he was a boy, Kunuk has watched the hunters return, weary but triumphant with walrus meat. He's always wondered how far these men travel to reach the floating rafts of ice where walruses rest during the summer. And he's pondered how just a few men can possibly kill a creature that might weigh more than 20 men and then wrestle it into a canoe. Smithsonian Magazine
 [Opinion] The Arctic Council Remains Effective and Strong. This week, the eyes of the world will be on Canada's North. Arctic ministers and indigenous leaders will gather in Iqaluit, Canada's northern-most capital city, for the ninth Arctic Council Ministerial meeting. As an Inuk from Nunavut and the chair of the Arctic Council, I am proud to host this historic meeting in my home territory. This is a catch-all ASF view; only displays when an unsupported article type is put in an ASF drop zone. In Iqaluit, we will celebrate the Arctic Council's achievements during Canada's two-year chairmanship (2013-2015), and chart a path for the council's future. The Globe and Mail
Icebergs, Melting Ice to be Studies by Arctic Expedition Leaving from St. John's. Scientists and researchers leave St. John's today on an expedition to the Southern Arctic to study icebergs and how melting ice affects the oil industry. The Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker Amundsen was scheduled to depart St. John's harbour Wednesday, following the ice into uncharted waters. Using specialized scientific equipment, the team will study ice off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador in hopes of understanding more about melting sea ice - especially the effect on the offshore oil and gas industry. CBC News
Research Highlight: Arctic Sea Ice Loss Likely to be Reversible. New research by Till Wagner and Ian Eisenman, scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego, resolves a long-running debate over irreversible Arctic sea ice loss. Ever since the striking record minimum Arctic sea ice extent in 2007, the ominous scenario of a sea ice tipping point has been a fixture in the public debate surrounding man-made climate change and a contingency for which Arctic-bordering countries have prepared. For decades, scientists have been concerned about such a point of no return, beyond which sea ice loss is irreversible. This concern was supported by mathematical models of the key physical processes (known as process models) that were believed to drive sea ice changes. The process models forecasted that increased global warming would push the Arctic into an unstoppable cascade of melting that ceases only when the ocean becomes ice-free. Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Why Climate Scientists are Tracking Arctic Beetles. Studying Arctic beetles might be the best way to track the effect climate change has on biodiversity, researchers say. A McGill University research team discovered these six-legged critters are not only abundant in number but also diverse in feeding habits, and what they eat is closely linked to the latitude in which they are found. Futurity
ARCTIC COUNCIL MINISTERIAL WEBCAST: Tune in live. The Ministerial Meeting of the Arctic Council in Iqaluit, Canada will be streamed tomorrow live on the Arctic Council website from 2:00 PM to 4:15 PM DC time (UTC/GMT -4) here.
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| Legislative Action No Arctic legislation was formally considered yesterday. |
| Future Events
Arctic Science Summit Week, April 23-30, 2015 (Toyama, Japan). The Arctic Science Summit Week (ASSW) is the annual gathering of the international organizations engaged in supporting and facilitating Arctic research. The purpose of the summit is to provide opportunities for coordination, collaboration and cooperation in all areas of Arctic science. The summit attracts scientists, students, policy makers and other professionals from all over the world.
The Polar Geography and Cryosphere, April 21-25, 2015 (Chicago, IL, USA). The Polar Geography and Cryosphere Specialty Groups of the Association of American Geographers will host its annual meeting in Chicago to consider: current topics in human-environment interactions; current topics in politics, resource geographies, and extractive industries; current topics in Antarctic research; advances in cryosphere research; high latitude environments in a changing climate; an mountain ice and snow.
Effects of Oil on Wildlife, May 18-22, 2015 (Anchorage, Alaska, USA). This event is co-sponsored by International Bird Rescue and "Aiuka," which is a Brazilian conservation organization. The event will focus on polar wildlife issues and integrating wildlife into oil response, etc. Alaska Clean Seas is also a sponsor. North Slope Borough will also be a part of this meeting.
The House of Sweden Conference, May 19-20, 2015 (Washington, DC, USA). A two day conference focusing on changes, adaptations and opportunities for a changing Arctic. The conference will be divided into separate, but intertwined thematic segments - policy, science, climate change and green technologies. The conference is organized by the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat, the Embassy of Sweden in Washington, DC and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), and is aimed at Arctic oriented policy-makers, researchers, business representatives and NGO's in the lead-up to the U.S. chairmanship of the Arctic Council.
The European Union and Arctic (2015 EU-Arctic Conference), May 29, 2015 (Dundee, UK). The School of Law, University of Dundee, UK and the K. G. Jebsen Centre for the Law of the Sea, University of Troms?, Norway are pleased to announce the registration open for "The European Union and the Arctic" (2015 EU-Arctic Conference). This conference will bring together academics and practitioners from relevant disciplines such as international law, international relations, political science and marine biology, NGOs, representatives from EU institutions and international organizations to discuss the EU's potential contribution to enhance Arctic governance. A roadmap for increasing the effectiveness of the EU's action in the Arctic will be drawn at the end of the conference.
7th International Conference on Arctic Margins, June 2-5, 2015 (Trondheim, Norway). The next meeting, the 7th International Conference on Arctic Margins (ICAM VII), previously announced to be arranged in St. Petersburg, will be held in Norway. ICAM VII is hosted by the Geological Survey of Norway. The International Conference on Arctic Margins (ICAM) was founded by the U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, formerly the Minerals Management Service, in 1991 with the underlying two-point theme of 1) Arctic understanding, 2) international cooperation in Arctic research. To these ends, ICAM has provided a successful forum for the exchange of information, collaboration in research, and presentation of results. ICAM is organized, hosted, and conducted by scientists for scientists which makes it a unique forum.
16th International Congress on Circumpolar Health: Focus on Future Health and Wellbeing, June 8-12, 2015 (Oulu, Finland). The congress will focus on human health and well-being in the Arctic and northern areas. It is open for everyone interested in Arctic issues, especially scientists, researchers, health care professionals, policy analysts, government agency representatives and community leaders. The congress is organized by the Thule Institute, University of Oulu in collaboration with the International Union of Circumpolar Health (IUCH), the Nordic Society for Circumpolar Health, the Society of Arctic Health and Biology, and the Rokua Health & Spa. The InternationaI Congress on Circumpolar Health (ICCH) series are arranged every three years in Arctic countries or countries related to Arctic issues. First congress of the series was arranged in 1967, and it was previously hosted by Oulu in 1971.
52nd Annual Conference of the Animal Behavior Society, June 10-14, 2015 (Anchorage, Alaska, USA). The Animal Behavior Society was founded in 1964 to promote the study of animal behavior in the broadest sense, including studies using descriptive and experimental methods under natural and controlled conditions. Current members' research activities span the invertebrates and vertebrates, both in the field and in the laboratory, and include experimental psychology, behavioral ecology, neuroscience, zoology, biology, applied ethology, and human ethology as well as many other specialized areas.
2015 ESSAS Annual Science Meeting, June 15-17, 2015 (Seattle, WA, USA). This symposium, to be held at the University of Washington, is intended for interdisciplinary scholars who will be prepared to discuss their research in the sub-arctic North Atlantic, sub-arctic North Pacific, and the Arctic Ocean that bears on the issue of how changes in sea ice are likely to affect these marine ecosystems. The symposium will also consider the people who depend upon these ecosystems and how they may be able to cope with the changes in the ecosystem goods and services that are coming. These goods and services include the availability of transportation corridors, the availability of subsistence foods, and the opportunity for commercial fishing. To put the present day in a longer perspective, the symposium will include a session on the paleo-ecology of people in sub-arctic and arctic regions that were forced to adjust to changing sea-ice conditions in the past. 6th Symposium on the Impacts of an Ice-Diminishing Arctic on Naval and Maritime Operations, July 14-16, 2015 (Washington, DC, USA). Program in development...check back soon. To see the programs from prior symposia, click here.
Polar Law Symposium (8th) will be held in Alaska (
Sept. 23-24, UAF; Sept. 25-26, UAA). It's sponsored by UAF, UAA (and ISER), UAA Justice Center, UW Law School. Abstracts due 3/15/15. This year's conference theme is, "The Science, Scholarship, and Practice of Polar Law: Strengthening Arctic Peoples and Places."
2015 Arctic Energy Summit, September 28-30, 2015 (Fairbanks, Alaska, USA).The Institute of the North's 2015 Arctic Energy Summit builds on our legacy efforts to address energy as a fundamental element of the sustainable development of the Arctic as a lasting frontier.Central to this concept is a focus on providing pathways for affordable energy development in the Arctic and for Arctic communities.
The Polar Oceans and Global Climate Change, November 3-6, 2015
(La Jolla, California USA.) The American Polar Society will host this Symposium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. A flyer with a partial list of presenters is available on the Society's website (
americanpolar.org
) and from the Society's Membership Chairman by
email.
Due North: Next Generation Arctic Research & Leadership, November 5-8, 2015 (Calgary, Alberta, Canada).
The Association of Canadian Universities for Northern Studies (ACUNS) will convene an interdisciplinary conference of early career scientists working on Arctic issues. The organizers have issued a call for abstracts, due 5/31/15, on the following topics, full descriptions of where are available
here
, Arctic Communities, Arctic Sustainable Development, Arctic Wildlife, Ecosystem and Biodiversity, Arctic Food Security, Arctic Landscapes, Climate Change and Adaptation, Disaster Risk Management, Policy, Politics and Leadership, Arctic Environment (Data and Techniques), Arctic Resources, and Future of Arctic.
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