Northern Development Ministers Focus on Nutrition North, Transportation. Territorial, provincial and federal northern development ministers who gathered in Iqaluit Sept. 12 and Sept. 13 passed few resolutions directly dealing with northern development, but the federal minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs, Carolyn Bennett, insists the meeting was important anyway. "Very good spirit and collaboration of working together at the conference. Often the North is misunderstood. People see it as problems instead of this huge opportunity for northerners and Canada," Bennett told Nunatsiaq News by phone Sept. 14. Nunatsiaq Online

We want Changes to Nunavik's Justice System, Quebec Bar Associations Says. High lawyer fees, delayed court appearances and poor communication-these are just a few reasons why Nunavimmiut have little trust in Quebec's justice system. Muncy Novalinga said he's heard it many times before: while the travelling court is visiting his home community of Puvirnituq, residents complain to him that they see defense lawyers and prosecutors having dinner together at the local restaurants. Nunatsiaq Online

Arctic Council-20 Years in a Warming World. 20 years does not really seem like a long time. But when it comes to climate change in the Arctic, the last 20 years have brought more change than centuries gone by.

 

Russia's "Blood River" Spill Shouldn't Happen Again, Plant Operator Says. A spill of waste originating from a metallurgical plant in Russia that turned a river blood-red posed no threat to people or wildlife, an executive at the plant's operator said. Pictures of the crimson water in the Daldykan river, in the Arctic Circle, quickly went viral over social media, and green campaigners said the incident highlighted how industrial development posed a risk to the environment. Alaska Dispatch News

Climate Change Does 'Weird Things' to Canada's Arctic Glaciers: Expert. Scientists studying how climate change affects Arctic glaciers are increasingly seeing some "weird things happening," says a Canadian researcher. University of Calgary geography professor Brian Moorman who studies glaciers in the Canadian territory of Nunavut says in the past few years he has seen things that has never seen before or that he would not have anticipated happening. Radio Canada International

[Opinion] Offshore Arctic Development; Alaskans Look North to Future. Alaska's state motto, "North to the Future," represents our state as a land of promise. Alaskans believe in that promise, and in an overwhelming response to the Department of Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) proposed 2017-2022 Oil and Gas Lease Program, groups representing thousands of Alaska Natives, and other concerned citizens said the future should include exploration of offshore oil and gas. Over the three-month public comment period ending June 16, Alaskans underscored the significant economic opportunities and national energy security benefits which rest solely on the Arctic outer continental shelf (OCS) land leases included in the proposal. Now, all eyes are on the Obama Administration to heed these Alaskan voices. Overwhelming support exists for Arctic OCS development, and Alaska leasing should stay in the five-year plan. Unfortunately, the curtailment of promising OCS development in the United States is not a novel concept. More than 42 million acres of Alaskan waters have already been eliminated from potential leasing. We have already witnessed the elimination of all lease sales in the Atlantic region in BOEM'S plan. As a result, the proposed plan reflects only three potential sales in the Chukchi Sea, Beaufort Sea, and Cook Inlet planning areas. Real Clear Energy

Arctic Sea Ice Continues Long-Term Decline; Ice-Free Arctic Ocean Likely 'In Near Future. ' Despite a relatively cool summer in the far north, the Arctic Ocean's sea-ice cover continued to shrink. But Julienne Stroeve with the   National Snow and Ice Data Center   says the extent of sea ice in the far north this month wasn't quite small enough to break the record set in 2012.  "But it still melted out quite a bit, and we ended up as the second-lowest, tied with 2007," Stoeve said.  The so-called minimum sea-ice extent in '07 was at that time the lowest since satellite monitoring began in 1979, covering an average of 1.65 million square miles. That's about two-and-a-half times the size of Alaska - and about five million square miles less than last year's minimum extent. The Colorado-based Snow and Ice Data Center on Thursday declared   the 2016 minimum at 1.6 million square miles.  That's about two-and-a-half times the size of Alaska - and about five million square miles less than last year's minimum extent. KUAC