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July 20, 2015

 

capital Today's Congressional Action:   

The House and Senate are not in session.

 

Media  

 

[Opinion] Arctic Council Host Committee Will Make Alaska's Voice Heard. Over the course of the summer, Gov. Bill Walker has initiated the formation of the Alaska Arctic Council Host Committee. This body is charged with highlighting Alaska perspectives and priorities by showcasing the state's people and potential. Co-chaired by GCI's Ron Duncan and Mayor Charlotte Brower of the North Slope Borough, the Committee will serve to develop a robust program designed to welcome visiting delegations, inform Alaskans of Arctic Council activities and link decision-makers to the realities of Alaska's Arctic. The committee will assist, as needed, the State Department and Governor's Office in identifying and convening subject matter experts, local community leaders and other stakeholders for participation in Arctic Council or other activities during this period. Alaska Dispatch News
 

shell Shell's Arctic Drilling Efforts Come Under Fire in Unalaska. Shell came under criticism at a meeting in Unalaska last week from an unlikely pair, a representative of Greenpeace concerned about global environmental impacts and city official -- and pro-developoment booster -- Frank Kelty, complaining about local impacts brought by the influx of oil company workers filling up the hotel and displacing birders and other tourists. "Shell's taking over the whole place," said Kelty, referring to the Grand Aleutian Hotel, and citing other impacts. Local residents are having to wait for deliveries from the United Parcel Service, because airplanes are filled up with Shell packages, said Kelty. Alaska Dispatch News

 

Long Summer Nights Elevate Sleep Deprivation in Finland. Sleep disorders peak in Finland during the summer months when lots of light and warmer temperatures seduce many people into changing their sleep patterns. Even short periods of sleep deprivation can easily lead to fatigue, a loss of concentration and slowed reaction times. Many people just sleep too little during the summer months. Alaska Dispatch News

 

KNBA News- Short $1b Ice Breaker Advocates Consider Leasing, Sharing: WEIO Kicks Off in Fairbanks. Nothing highlights American disinterest toward the Arctic as much as the tiny inventory of U.S. icebreakers: One heavy-duty ship, one medium and one down for repair. Alaska leaders and some federal officials say the country can't assert its national interests, or see the benefits of increased shipping and resource development in the Arctic, without more icebreakers. Coast Guard Commandant Paul Zukunft sounds a little embarrassed by the state of the icebreaking fleet. "We have 8 times the GDP ... of Russia. Russia has a fleet of over 25 ocean-going icebreakers. They're building six new nuclear icebreaker. And here we are trying to cobble together and maybe reactivate a 37-year-old icebreaker, because that's the best we can do. And I'm here to say we need to do better." KNBA  Healy, Coast Guard

 

New Declaration Binds Arctic Coastal States to Fishing Ban. Gone. Fishing. The five Arctic coastal states have agreed to an official ban on unregulated commercial fishing in open waters of the Arctic Ocean. Canada, the United States, Norway, Russia and Denmark - representing Greenland - signed a declaration July 16 at meetings in Oslo, Norway, to protect the so-called "donut hole" at the top of the world from over-fishing before more is known about the fish stocks and potentially fragile ecosystem there. Nunatsaiq Online

 

In Greenland, Climate Change is Already Hard at Work. The annual "State of the Climate" report released Thursday said 2014 was the warmest year on record going back 135 years. Temperatures continued to rise, and glaciers kept shrinking. The impact has been dramatic in Greenland, the huge ice-covered island between the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans. CBS News

 

president signing White House: President Obama Will Attend Anchorage Arctic Conference in Late August. President Barack Obama will visit Anchorage Aug. 31 to join a conference on the Arctic, the White House said Friday, and residents of two rural Alaska towns say officials have been scoping their communities as if preparing for a presidential party. Obama will attend a U.S. State Department conference in Anchorage which "will convene foreign ministers from Arctic nations and key non-Arctic states with scientists, policymakers, and stakeholders from Alaska and the Arctic region to discuss how climate change is reshaping the Arctic, increase global awareness of how Arctic climate change is affecting the rest of the world, and identify individual and collective actions to address these challenges," according to White House spokesperson Hallie Ruvin. Alaska Dispatch News

 

Russia Divers Launch Scientific Expedition into Arctic Circle Seas. A team of Russian scuba researchers have launched an expedition in hopes of setting new records in the seas near the Arctic Circle. The "Seas of Russia" project involves cold-water diving in an effort to test new equipment and study local marine life. Headed by Dmitry Shiller, the underwater scientists will mostly record data about flora and fauna of coastal waters. The team of divers descended 111 meters (364 feet) into the Arctic Circle's Barents Sea this week, Sputnik News reported.UPI

 

Appropriations: Spending Bills Still Moving-to Uncertain Future. House and Senate appropriators are closing in on a key milestone by completing nearly all of the annual spending bills before the August recess. With yesterday's passage of the $20.51 billion fiscal 2016 Agriculture Department, Food and Drug Administration, and related agencies spending bill, the Senate Appropriations panel has just one bill left -- the financial services bill -- to clear its roster, which is anticipated to happen next week (Greenwire, July 16). EE News (Subscription Required)

 

Legislative Actionfutureevents  

 

No Arctic legislation was formally considered Friday.

 

Future Events

 

Industry Needs for Seasonal and Sub-seasonal Sea Ice Information and Predictions, August 11, 2015 (Webinar AKDT). Sea Ice Prediction Network webinar will provide a brief overview of contrasts and commonalities between sea ice variables relevant for geophysical or climate research and those relevant for operational needs in Arctic seas. For more information, contact Betsy Turner-Bogren at ARCUS ([email protected]).

 

The Alaska Arctic: A Summit on Shipping and Ports, August 23-25, 2015 (Anchorage, Alaska, USA). Alice Rogoff will host the summit along with the state of Alaska and various partners, including President �lafur Ragnar Gr�msson of Iceland and Mead Treadwell, president of Pt Capital and former Alaska lieutenant governor. The purpose of the meeting is to build partnerships to develop safe and reliable shipping through the Alaskan Arctic. These partnerships will be necessary to finance needed ports of refuge, search and rescue equipment, transshipment facilities and icebreakers. At the same time, the interests of local and indigenous residents must be an integral part of any development planning. 

 

ulmer

104th Meeting of the USARC, August 25-26, 2015 (Nome, AK, USA).

USARC (Fran Ulmer, Chair) will hold its next meeting in Nome, where Ulmer will present the 2015-2017 Goals Report. The Commission will tour the new, light icebreaker vessel R/V Sikuliaq in the Nome port, and will hear from local researchers on topics such as health, social science, marine science, marine mammal co-management research, federal research, renewable energy, climate shipping, port development, and water and sanitation, among other topics. A draft agenda is here.

 

Eighth Polar Law Symposium Alaska 2015, September 23-26, 2015 (Fairbanks and Anchorage, Alaska , USA). The Eighth Polar Law Symposium is co-hosted by Alaska Pacific University (APU), the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the University of Alaska Anchorage (through its Justice Center and its Institute of Social and Economic Research), the University of Washington School of Law, and Vermont Law School, in cooperation with the Arctic Law Section of the Alaska Bar Association. The symposium will be held on both campuses of the University of Alaska. The 2015 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.

 

2015 Arctic Circle Assembly, October 16-18, 2015 (Reykjavik, Iceland). 

The Arctic Circle is the largest global gathering on the Arctic. It is attended by heads of state and governments, ministers, members of parliament, officials, experts, scientists, entrepreneurs, business leaders, indigenous representatives, environmentalists, students, activists, and others from the growing international community of partners and participants interested in the future of the Arctic. The Arctic Circle highlights issues and concerns, programs, policies and projects; it provides platforms for dynamic dialogue and constructive cooperation. While the plenary sessions are the responsibility of the Arctic Circle, the breakout sessions are organized by various participating partners in their own name and with full authority over the agenda and the choice of speakers.

2015 Arctic Science Conference, October 1-3, 2015 (Anchorage, Alaska, USA). The conference theme is "Healthy Estuaries: Sustainability and Resilience." Conference topics include traditional scientific disciplines, science education, arctic social sciences, biomedical research, and artistic interpretation of the evolving North.  Abstract submissions are now being accepted. The deadline is August 1, 2015.

 
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.

Forum for Arctic Modeling and Observational Synthesis Meeting, November 3-6, 2015 (Cape Cod, MA, USA). On November 3rd, the 2015 School for young scientists will consider "Regional Oceanography of the Arctic marginal seas" with lectures covering major features of atmospheric, sea ice and oceanographic regimes of the: Bering, Chukchi, Beaufort, East-Siberian, Laptev Sea, Kara, Barents and Nordic seas.  On November 4-6, the meeting portion will summarize project accomplishments for the last 3 years of activities and will focus on the formulation of scientific questions and directions for FAMOS future research (2016-2019) to: (a) improve Arctic modeling, employing very high resolution models; (b) develop and test new arctic monitoring/observing systems and (c) improve predictions of Arctic environmental parameters with reduced uncertainties.


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. Topics will include: 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.

Arctic Observing Open Science Meeting, November 17-19, 2015 (Seattle, Washington). The Arctic Observing Open Science Meeting will be 2.5 days and held at the Hyatt at Olive 8 in Seattle, Washington. The conference will bring together individuals and teams involved in the collection, processing, analysis, and use of observations in the Arctic - from academia, agencies, industry, and other organizations. The meeting will be convened as a combination of plenary talks, parallel science sessions, and a poster session. The agenda and registration information will be forthcoming.

 

In the Spirit of the Rovaniemi Process 2015, November 24-26, 2015 (Rovaniemi, Lapland, Finland).When the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy, the so-called Rovaniemi Process, was adopted in 1991, it aimed at overcoming divisions and turning the zone of Cold War military tensions into a region of peace and co-operation. In this joint effort focusing on the protection of environment, and later, sustainable development, the Arctic states supported by indigenous organizations laid grounds for institutionalized collaboration and the emergence of Arctic regional identity. The second international conference will bring together decision-makers, scholars, artists, designers and students to address these questions and discuss the Arctic in global, regional and local perspectives.

 

Arctic Science Summit Week Arctic Observing Summit, March 12-18, 2016 (Fairbanks, AK, USA). ASSW is the annual gathering of international organizations that support and facilitate long-term planning in Arctic research. In 2016, ASSW will be held in conjunction with AOS, which brings people together to facilitate the design, implementation, coordination and sustained long-term operation of an international network of Arctic observing systems.


 

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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