Circumpolar Newsings
New book: Arctic doom, Arctic boom: The geopolitics of climate change in the Arctic 
(Naval Postgraduate Schools press release, 2 November 2009) -- We are pleased to announce the publication this week of Barry Scott Zellen's second nonfiction book on the transformation and modernization of the Arctic region: Arctic Doom, Arctic Boom: The Geopolitics of Climate Change in the Arctic, published by Praeger. The second of a three-volume project exploring the foundations of security, stability and sovereignty in the modern Arctic, it examines the challenges and opportunities of a polar thaw; considers the impacts on geopolitics, international security, and international commerce; and discusses what a “post-Arctic” world might look like. The book includes an introduction by former Alaska Governor and U.S. Interior Secretary Walter J. Hickel, and a foreword authored by Professor Daniel J. Moran of the Department of National Security Affairs at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School. ... the author argues that the twilight of the reign of ice in the Arctic marks the dawn of a new geostrategic pivot and economic powerhouse—a rich new navigable “Mediterranean” basin full of beneficial promise for the future of the Arctic rim nations, the indigenous Arctic peoples, and human history. Zellen surveys the history of the global strategic and military importance of the Arctic region through the bifocal lenses of neorealism and geopolitics, with particular attention to its role as the Cold War’s Northern Front. He shows how the dramatic acceleration of melting in the Arctic in the present decade is thrusting the Arctic back onto the center stage of geostrategic concerns, posing a hard choice for the circumpolar nations between cooperative development of the Arctic’s vast, hitherto inaccessible resources, or a new cold war among military antagonists and economic rivals. Zellen compares and evaluates the contending models for the Arctic’s future development put forward by such figures as former Alaska Governor and U.S. Interior Secretary Walter Hickel; Arctic expert and International Relations theorist Oran Young; Major-General (ret.) Richard Rohmer; and Arctic environmental journalist and author Ed Struzik.
Posted 2 November 2009; 10:12:48 PM. Permalink
Tagged: Arctic Ocean, Books, Blogs and Publications, Circumpolar cooperation, Circumpolar News, November09
(Sermitsiaq, 31 October 2009) -- Increased EU collaboration with Greenland must be based on relationship of common understanding, Premier Kuupik Kleist announced while taking part in meetings with union representatives in Brussels. "If the EU is ready to listen to Greenland’s point of view, then Greenland can be the EU’s window on the Arctic," Kleist said. The EU is in the midst of formulating an Arctic policy. As a Danish territory, Greenland was a member of the former European Community, but withdrew in 1985. But it still retains ties, and the country would make a natural partner. However, the EU has irked Greenland by passing regulations that affect two of Greenland’s most important economic activities. First, the union passed an import ban on sealskins earlier this year. The regulation made an exception for products originating from native cultures like Greenland’s Inuit, but many feel the ban gives the impression that all seal hunting was unacceptable. Then, in October, the EU moved to eliminate tariffs on certain types of seafood, including coldwater prawns. Greenland was already exempt from paying the tariff, but fishermen are concerned that they will be exposed to new competition. The EU is also opposed to Greenland’s wishes to expand its whale hunt, but Reinhard Preibe, of the EU’s office for maritime affairs, said the union was ready to discuss the issues.
Posted 2 November 2009; 10:31:07 AM. Permalink
Tagged: Autonomy, Sovereignty and Politics, Circumpolar News, Europe, Greenland / Denmark, October09
Arctic Portal and University of the Arctic: Virtual learning tools survey for students and teachers
(UArctic News, 2 November 2009) -- This project will develop a virtual classroom,
a platform for excellence in distance education giving enhanced and
content rich opportunities for on-line discussion and alternative forms
of interactive teaching.The Arctic virtual learning tools project joins together the University of Arctic, which educates northern people in both rural areas and in cities in all eight Arctic countries and Arctic Portal,
which is the website that hosts among others IPY, the Arctic council
and its working groups, the Association of Polar Early Career
Scientists (APECS) and the International Centre for Reindeer Husbandry
(ICR). This project will develop a virtual classroom, a platform for
excellence in distance education giving enhanced and content rich
opportunities for on-line discussion and alternative forms of
interactive teaching. The classroom will be managed and distributed
through the Arctic Portal and it will be open for on-line teaching conducted at the University of Arctic members and other partners. In
order to find out what are the needs of the potential users, the survey
on virtual learning tools will be conducted during the October-November
2009. The survey is open for those who have taken part in on-line
teaching or conferences and for those who are just planning or thinking
of doing the on-line teaching in the near future. You can fill in the online survey:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dFVQQnVjMWtMQVFKS2lOZVlISDhfZXc6MA
Please read instructions before filling out the survey. The
survey will be available until November 13th, 2009. After completions
of survey, please feel free to forward this link to your colleagues,
thanks!
Posted 2 November 2009; 7:41:16 AM. Permalink
Tagged: Circumpolar News, Education and Civil Society, Internet Resources, November09, UArctic News
Alcohol runners face stiff penalties
(Kyle Hopkins/Anchorage Daily News, 1 November 2009) -- Weeks after two hub cities in rural Alaska voted to remove bans on local liquor sales, the state is launching a campaign warning bootleggers they face big fines and mandatory jail time if caught. Even if they're only smuggling one bottle. Even if it's their first offense. The effort is about spreading word of tough penalties the Legislature enacted in 2008 rather than reacting to recent votes to lift liquor prohibitions in Bethel and Kotzebue, said Assistant Attorney General Robin Koutchak. Some rural leaders have told prosecutors they were caught unaware of the strict new rules. "They wished that the state had made more of an effort to notify people that if you were busted for bootlegging, even one bottle, that you would be going to jail," she said. Koutchak estimates at least 300 people have been convicted under the new bootlegging penalties, which were part of an omnibus crime bill that also included stiffer punishment for sex offenders and child pornography offenses. It became law in July last year.
Posted 2 November 2009; 7:38:46 AM. Permalink
Tagged: Alaska, Circumpolar News, Communities, Laws and legal, North America, November09, United States
Arkhangelsk to become center for higher education in the Arctic
(BarentsObserver, 2 November 2009) -- When the new Northern (Arctic) Federal University opens in Arkhangelsk, it will be Russia’s center for education and research on the Arctic. The main motives for the establishment are protection of Russia’s geopolitical and economic interests in Northern Europe and the Arctic. The Northern (Arctic) Federal University will conduct research and educate specialists within development of natural resources, including oil and gas, timber industry, onshore infrastructures, information and communication technologies and ecology. As BarentsObserver reported, Russia’s president Dmitry Medvedev on October 21 signed a presidential decree stating that the State Technical University in Arkhangelsk will be transformed into Northern (Arctic) Federal University. The new university will have a student population of 30 000 students, Pro-rector at the Arkhangelsk State Technical University Yury Kudryashov told BarentsObserver in an interview in Arkhangelsk last week. -The university will have a special role both in securing Russia’s geopolitical interests in the Arctic and in education of specialists for development of oil and gas deposits on the Arctic shelf. According to Kudryashov, a brand new university campus will be built to house the Northern (Arctic) Federal University. The Pomor State University, the Northern State Medical University and the shipyard Sevmash’ own technical college Sevmashvtuz will also be included in the new federal university. Arkhangelsk Oblast is the largest subject in the North-Western Federal District in order of size. Arkhangelsk is called “The gateway to the Arctic”.
Posted 2 November 2009; 7:36:25 AM. Permalink
Tagged: Circumpolar News, Education and Civil Society, Northwest / Russia, November09, Russia, Social Issues
UArctic Swedish members meet in Abisko
(UArctic News, 2 November 2009) -- UArctic member organizations in Sweden gather
in Abisko, Sweden, for two days of meetings to discuss participation in
UArctic's programs and coordination of fundraising activities in
Sweden. Christer Jonasson from Abisko
hosts the meeting. Lars Kullerud, President of UArctic, also
participates in the meeting. "We look forward to increased engagement
in UArctic from all Swedish members. Also, as currently we don't have a
UArctic Office in Sweden, we look forward to Swedish members to come
forward to take a leadership role in a UArctic activity."
Posted 2 November 2009; 7:33:59 AM. Permalink
Tagged: Circumpolar cooperation, Circumpolar News, Education and Civil Society, Nordic Region, November09
Russia will charge ships crossing Northern Sea Route
(Mia Bennett/Arctic Foreign Policy Blog, 1 November 2009) -- In the wake of an announcement by British polar explorer Pen Hadow, leader of the Catlin Arctic Survey, that the Arctic will be ice-free within ten years, Russia announced that it will charge ships a “fair” fee to cross the Atlantic to the Pacific through the Northern Sea Route, the majority of which is Russian waters. Alexasandr Davydenko, head of the Federal Sea and River Transport Agency, actually said, “We are hoping the ice will melt soon.” However, the country still lacks the infrastructure necessary to handle the predicted increase in shipping that will arrive in the coming years, particularly in the port of Murmansk, which would likely serve as a hub. Furthermore, the shipping company Sovcomflot will begin shipping oil through the Northern Sea Route next year. It is rumored that Gazprom will also follow suit. The following is an image taken from the Russian government’s official website on the Northern Sea Route, known as “Sevmorput” in Russian. The labels are for the various seas and straits that the NSR crosses.
Posted 2 November 2009; 12:41:53 AM. Permalink
Tagged: Circumpolar News, Economic and Commerce Issues, International, November09, Russia
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