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March 12, 2015

  

Arctic Summit 2015, March 12, 2014 (Oslo, Norway) The Economist is hosting the Arctic Summit 2015 where discussions will focus on whether commercial interest in the Arctic is a bubble about to burst. There are discounted registration fees are available for NGOs, government, academics, charities and students. There are also discounts for groups of 3 or more people.

 

US Leadership in the Arctic, March 12 2015 (Washington, DC).  This April, the United States will assume chairmanship of the Arctic Council for a two-year term. Since the last U.S. chairmanship fifteen years ago, the Arctic has changed dramatically. Melting sea ice has impacted indigenous communities as well as wildlife in significant ways. New Arctic transportation corridors have opened and new prospects for offshore oil and gas development have emerged. The region's growing strategic, economic, and environmental importance has made U.S. policy toward the Arctic more of a priority than ever before. Recent statements from the White House have emphasized the opportunity for the United States to lead in global efforts to mitigate climate change impacts in the region, govern resources responsibly, and protect Arctic ecosystems and inhabitants. On March 12, the Energy Security and Climate Initiative (ESCI) at Brookings will host Admiral Robert J. Papp, Jr., the U.S. special representative for the Arctic, for a keynote address on the future of U.S. policy for the region. Bruce Jones, deputy director of Foreign Policy at Brookings, will provide introductory remarks, and ESCI Senior Fellow Charles Ebinger will moderate the discussion and audience Q&A.

 

capitalToday's Congressional Action:  

The House is not in session.  The Senate is expected to consider non-Arctic legislation.

 

Media  

 

Okalik: Nunavut Corrections Policy Will be "Grounded in Inuit Values."

Nunavut's justice minister, Paul Okalik, says the territory needs a "made-in-Nunavut" solution to rehabilitate convicted offenders doing territorial time. "We're looking at the legislation to cater to the inmates, so that more Inuit-focused treatment will be provided to the inmates, and they can move on with their lives and be more productive members" of society, he told Nunatsiaq News at Nunavut's legislative assembly, March 11. Nunatsiaq Online
 

[Opinion] The US is not Ready for a Melting Arctic. America faces an Arctic dilemma. Next month, the U.S. is set to take the helm of the Arctic Council, an international forum for the polar region. That event creates an opportunity for the Obama administration to talk up its commitment to advancing U.S. interests in the Arctic, an expansive land and sea territory that contains vast untapped energy resources. But the U.S. has essentially given the Arctic the cold shoulder. Lawmakers, federal officials, and experts warn that Arctic investment has not kept pace with rapid ice-melt and caution that the U.S. must overcome a lack of funding and resources as it patrols the polar region. National Journal

 

Collaborative Arctic Summer School in Epidemiology. This summer school will focus on environmental stressors in the High North and the challenges involved in studying human health effects of such external factors. The main goal is to prepare young scientists for particular challenges related to conducting science in the High North. Other goals are to create an arena where these young scientists may interact with senior scientists who are experienced in High North issues, in addition to building networks with other international students that have similar challenges. Throughout the week, senior scientists will be available to supervise on specific requests the students might have. CASE

 

Murkowski Murkowski to Army Chief of Staff: 'What's Putin Up to' in Arctic. Senator Lisa Murkowski Wednesday questioned United States Army Chief of Staff General Raymond Odierno about the recent surge in Russian military activity in the Arctic region.  In light of the regional volatility and the Pentagon's heightened focus on the Asia-Pacific region, Murkowski questioned the reasoning behind the proposal to potentially draw down troop levels in Alaska - asking Odierno a straightforward question: "What is Mr. Putin up to here?" General Odierno informed Senator Murkowski that the Army and the entire military are keeping a close eye on Russia's behavior, acknowledging "We have seen increased interest by the Russians in the Arctic.  They are building bases so in the future they will be able to have a presence and an impact in the Arctic - and it has clearly gotten our attention." Alaska Native News

 

Polar Presence Among Coast Guard Priorities. The US Coast Guard has long prided itself on accomplishing a vast range of missions on a shoestring budget, but that can-do spirit is under pressure as the service gets busier and budgets fail to keep pace. Stopping drugs and illegal immigrants remain priorities and climate change is making the Arctic navigable. All of this comes as the Coast Guard struggles with aging ships that are breaking down and infrastructure that is literally crumbling. New large cutters and patrol boats are coming online, but not fast enough. Adm. Paul Zukunft, the Coast Guard's 25th commandant, discussed his new strategy to prioritize its missions. Defense News

 

Three and a Half Things You Didn't Know About the History of Oil Spills.

Like human-caused climate change and garbage in the ocean, oil spills seem to be another environmental plague of modern times. Or are they? The human relationship with oil may be older than you think. In California's San Joaquin Valley, that relationship may date back more than 13,000 years. Archaeologists have discovered a long history of Native Americans using oil from the area's natural seeps, including the Yokut Indians creating dice-like game pieces out of walnut shells, asphalt, and abalone shells. Office of Response and Restoration 

 

Legislative Actionfutureevents  

 

No Arctic legislation was formally considered yesterday.

Future Events

 

Polar Shelves and Shelf Break Exchange in Times of Rapid Climate Warming, March 15-20, 2015 (Lucca, Italy). The GRCs provide an international forum for the presentation and discussion of frontier research in the biological, chemical, and physical sciences, and their related technologies. The guiding principle of a GRC is to encourage communication and discussion of ideas and new unpublished results at the very frontier of a particular field of research, by bringing together outstanding scientists from academia, industry, and government, ranging from senior experts to Ph.D. students. With the increasing impacts of reduced sea ice and warming seawater conditions in both the Arctic and Antarctic, this conference can act as a forum for potentially transformative discussions for interdisciplinary, international and compare/contrast evaluation of polar sciences. In addition, the Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) will precede the GRC to provide a forum for graduate students and post-docs to present and exchange new data and cutting edge ideas with experts in the different polar fields of science.


 

Coast and Ocean Film Festival, March 28, 2015 (Anchorage, Alaska, USA) In celebration of its 10th Anniversary, the Alaska Ocean Observing System and Alaska Geographic are co-hosting a Coast & Ocean Film Festival at the Bear Tooth on Saturday, March 28th!  The festival will showcase fantastic short films that highlight an array of ocean-related topics. This event promotes ocean conservation, raises awareness about issues facing marine habitats, and celebrates Alaska's unique coast and ocean environments!

 

Sweden-U.S. Planning Workshop on Joint Arctic Research Using the I/B Oden, March 30- April 1, 2015 (Stockholm, Sweden). The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Arctic Section is supporting a 'Planning Workshop on joint Arctic Research using the Swedish Class 1A Icebreaker Oden.' This workshop is held in collaboration with the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat (SPRS) and the Swedish Research Council (Formas and VR). The US delegation will be led by Drs. Patricia Matrai (Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences) and Peter Minnett (RSMAS, U. Miami), as workshop co-organizers with Dr. Caroline Leck (Stockholm U.). This workshop will bring together those with research and operational/ logistical interests in the Arctic and will discuss a baseline for establishing a new, longer-term collaborative relationship among U.S. and Swedish scientists for Oden-based research in the Arctic Ocean. 

 

Leadership, Diplomacy and Science: Resolving the Arctic Paradox" April 13-14, 2015, (Medford, MA, USA). The 4th annual Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy International Inquiry on the Warming Arctic will convene high-level decision makers from diplomatic and security circles, cutting-edge energy and science researchers, and social, environmental and business stakeholders to investigate solutions to the Arctic Paradox and promote a sustainable future for Arctic inhabitants within a "High North, Low Tension" policy framework.  Special appearance: the North American debut of the Arctic Circle Assembly's panel "Rising Stars: Young Arctic Energy Researchers".  For more information: WarmingArctic@Tufts.edu

 

Arctic States Symposium, April 17-19, 2015 (Charlottesville, VA, USA).

ARCTIC STATES, a three-day symposium at the University of Virginia School of Architecture, brings together an international consortium of leading designers and colleagues from allied disciplines to posit the role of design in the rapidly transforming region, and generate critical discussions by sharing recent work that will trace, critique and speculate on its past, present, and future.  

 

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.

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.


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
 

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.

 
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 Call for Presentations ends this Friday.
 
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.

  

11th International Conference on Permafrost (ICOP 2016), June 20-24, 2016 (Potsdam, Germany). The Alfred Wegener Institute has teamed up with UP Transfer GmbH and the University of Potsdam to organize a great conference for you, permafrost researchers. The conference aims at covering all relevant aspects of permafrost research, engineering and outreach on a global and regional level.

  

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