Circumpolar News

Search finds no sign of Arctic shipwrecks   

(Randy Boswell/Postmedia News via Nunatsiaq News, 30 August 2010) -- The Canadian government scientists hoping for a second major Arctic shipwreck discovery this summer came up empty after a six-day search for the Terror and Erebus, the lost vessels of the 19th-century Franklin expedition. Parks Canada archeologist Ryan Harris, who earlier this year led the discovery off Northwest Territories’ Banks Island of the HMS Investigator — one of many British ships sent to look for the Terror and Erebus in the 1850s — said Monday a 150-square-kilometre sweep of waters near Nunavut’s O’Reilly Island in the Queen Maud Gulf yielded no sign of the lost Franklin vessels. But Harris and Marc-Andre Bernier, Parks Canada’s director of underwater archeology, said this summer’s search — along with a previous probe in 2008 — has narrowed the hunt for the Franklin ships to an area on the northeast side of O’Reilly Island, located between mainland Nunavut and King William Island. A third season of searching is expected to take place in 2011. “I’m always disappointed if we don’t find something,” Harris said during a conference call with reporters. But asked if he believes the Franklin ships will eventually be found he said: “I’m fairly confident they will be.”

Posted 30 August 2010; 3:54:46 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: August 2010, Canada, Circumpolar News, Expeditions, field trips, tours, Research

Manitoba polar bear wanders 400 km south   

(CBC News, 30 August 2010) -- A polar bear has created a buzz of excitement in the northern Manitoba community of Shamattawa. The bear was spotted Sunday swimming in the river, about 400 kilometres south of the Churchill tundra where the big white bears are typically found. Residents spotted the bear at about 6:30 p.m. Sunday, according to RCMP. Officers launched the police boat and made a patrol, locating the lone bear swimming in the river and drinking at the shore. "The bear appeared to be young, but was quite a good size … [and] the people in the community were very excited to see it," RCMP Sgt. Noel Allard said. "This is the first time anyone in the area remembers seeing a polar bear," Allard said after speaking to several elders in the community. Manitoba Conservation wildlife manager Daryll Hedman called the sighting rare but not an unheard-of occurrence. He believes the last time they were called about a polar bear in that community was in the mid-1990s, although some polar bears have actually been seen even further south. It is probably a teenaged bear, Hedman said, noting those are the ones that tend to explore. "They wander. They are built for travel," he said. RCMP members monitored the bear's movements until darkness fell and it left the area.

Posted 30 August 2010; 3:14:20 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: August 2010, Canada, Circumpolar News, Conservation and Wildlife, Provinces

2 officers killed in Alaska village   

(AP via New York Times, 29 August 2010) -- ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Two police officers were fatally shot in a tiny Native village in southeast Alaska and authorities were in a standoff Sunday with the suspect, local officials said. Bob Prunella, acting Hoonah city administrator, said officers Tony Wallace and Matt Tokuoka died after the shooting late Saturday. He didn't know what led to the shooting. The suspect, 45-year-old John Marvin Jr., has barricaded himself in his home, and Alaska State Troopers and other law enforcement agencies are at the scene, authorities said. Tokuoka's father-in-law, George Martin, said Tokuoka, 39, was off-duty and had left Martin's home with his wife and two children moments before the shooting. Martin said he heard two shots, which were directed at Wallace, who was on-duty. The shots hit Wallace, Martin said. Tokuoka told his wife and children to get away from the site, and then he was shot as well, Martin said. "I imagine he was trying to administer help to this other officer when he got hit," he said. Wallace, 32, died during surgery in Juneau, 40 miles to the east, and Tokuoka died early Sunday at a village clinic, according to Martin. "The whole town's in shock," he said. "I've been getting calls all day. It's a bad situation." ... Prunella said the deaths leave the Tlingit village with just one officer. He said the southeast Alaska town of Wrangell is sending some officers to help. According to the law enforcement networking website www.usacops.com, Wallace had been with the Hoonah Police Department since 2008. He is from upstate New York and was a college wrestler. Wallace served as the small department's evidence officer, and was recently designated as a breath-test maintenance technician. The site says Tokuoka was a former Marine Corps staff sergeant who served in special operations. The Hawaii native has been with the department since spring 2009.

Posted 29 August 2010; 11:37:31 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Alaska, August 2010, Circumpolar News, Communities, Crime

Stranded Nunavut cruise ship passengers rescued   

(Globe and Mail, 30 August 2010) -- The Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker Amundsen have rescued the passengers of a cruise ship that ran aground on an uncharted rock in Nunavut's Coronation Gulf. The MV Clipper Adventurer became stranded around 7 p.m. MT Friday while making its way from Port Epworth to Kugluktuk. Efforts by the crew to dislodge the vessel during high tide on Saturday were unsuccessful. All 118 passengers, as well as the crew, are safe and unharmed, cruise operator Adventure Canada said. Company CEO Matthew Swan described the ship as "completely stable." "There is a list of about 4.5 degrees to the port side, but there doesn't seem to be any damage that we can detect." He said skies were sunny and waters calm for the last two days, so a lot of people just relaxed on deck. The Amundsen was dispatched to the scene from the Beaufort Sea. Coast Guard spokeswoman Theresa Nichols said the passengers were transferred to the icebreaker beginning Sunday around 4 p.m. ET and that it was completed in later in the evening. "All of the passengers were transferred to the Amundsen," she said. "They're all in good health." The Clipper's crew is expected to remain on the idled ship for now, she said, adding that there has been no pollution, such as oil, spilled in the water because of the incident. Swan said he didn't know what might be done to free the ship. Nichols said any decisions on assistance for the vessel will be made by Transport Canada. The icebreaker was taking the tourists to Kugluktuk and they will be flown to Edmonton.

Posted 29 August 2010; 10:44:01 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: August 2010, Canada, Circumpolar News, Disasters, etc., Nunavut, Tourism, Transportation, Infrastructure and Construction

Yukon salmon run 'cause for celebration'   

(CBC News, 27 August 2010) -- While fishermen on British Columbia's Fraser River celebrate the largest sockeye salmon run in nearly a century, there is also jubilation along the Yukon's Alsek River where salmon returns are approaching historical records, say fisheries officials. "It's been a while since we've seen such good numbers there and with the poor numbers on the Yukon River this year, it is definitely cause for celebration," said Steve Smith, a federal fisheries manager for the Yukon region. As of this week, up to 8,000 salmon were counted in the Alsek River at Klukshu. That's double the 10-year average, and far more than forecast. Fishery experts said they can't explain the numbers, but before it's over, the Klukshu count could go as high as 24,000 fish, which may in fact be too high, said Smith. "You can get too many fish on the spawning grounds and they end up competing and end up with lower survival," he said. "So there's definitely fishing opportunity there and hopefully people take advantage of that." The fishery at Dalton Post is open for First Nations and recreational anglers but there is no word yet on how many have been taken.

Posted 29 August 2010; 12:09:16 AM.   Permalink

Tagged: Canada, Circumpolar News, Conservation and Wildlife, Fisheries, Yukon

North lags in high-school grads, map shows   

(Nunatsiaq News, 27 August 2010) -- In some regions of northern Canada, almost half of all adults have not completed high school, compared to one in 12 in southern Canada, according to the Centre for the North’s “High School Confidential” map, the third in the Conference Board of Canada’s “Here, the North” series. “There is a growing consensus that high school completion is linked to future opportunity. People without high school diplomas have fewer job opportunities, employment stability, and lower future earnings potential,” Gilles Rheaume, vice-president of the Conference Board of Canada, said in an Aug. 26 news release. Parts of northern Saskatchewan, Nunavut, and northern Manitoba have the highest rates of adults without a high school diploma. About one in two adults between the ages of 25 and 64 in each of these regions have not graduated from high school, while about one in three adults between the ages of 25 and 64 in northern Quebec have not graduated, shows the map, which is based on Statistics Canada figures. What this means is that random survey of 25 to 64 year olds in Ottawa would find one in 12 people doesn’t have a high school certificate. But in Nunavut, that number would be closer to one in two, says the Centre for the North, a Conference Board of Canada program, which works with aboriginal leaders, businesses, governments, communities, educational institutions, and other organizations, to achieve “prosperity in the North.” Its 2010 study, “Pathways to Success—How Knowledge and Skills at Age 15 Shape Future Lives in Canada,” which linked high school performance with future opportunity, noted that “the longer term prospects of early labour market entrants, with only a secondary education diploma or less, as well as those who graduated late from upper-secondary school, are also of concern. They may fall victim to increasing competition for jobs from those better qualified in terms of job opportunities, stability of employment, and future earnings.”

Posted 28 August 2010; 11:24:01 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: August 2010, Circumpolar News, Communities, Education and Civil Society, Nunavut

11 drown in Arctic   

(News24, 28 August 2010) -- Moscow - Eleven Russian sailors have drowned in the Arctic after going to the rescue of a fishing boat that got into distress, the Moscow daily Komsomolskaya Pravda reported on Saturday. The Alexey Kulakowski sank in the early hours of Friday as part of a rescue mission in the Laptev Sea, around 35km outside the port of Tiksi. However, the captain of the ship, and two engineers, were rescued from the sinking vessel. According to some reports, there were only two life-jackets onboard for the 14 crew members.

Posted 28 August 2010; 11:21:52 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: August 2010, Circumpolar News, Fisheries, Northwest Russia, People, Russia

Iceland could have become German colony in 1864   

(Iceland Review, 20 August 2010) -- According to secret documents which Queen Margrethe II of Denmark recently gave the author Tom Buk-Swientys access to, King Christian IX of Denmark offered King Wilhelm I of Prussia to make Denmark part of the German Confederation in 1864. If he had accepted the offer, Iceland would have become a German colony. The Danish King’s offer — which apparently did not sound appealing to the King of Prussia — is considered a desperate attempt to prevent the Danish Kingdom from losing Schleswig and Holstein to Germany after a defeat in 1864, mbl.is reports. According to Danish newspaper Politiken, King Christian IX did not consult his government before making the offer to the Prussian King and so it borders on treason. The King’s arguments were that although Denmark would lose its sovereignty by becoming part of the German Confederation, Schleswig, where he grew up, and Holstein would still be considered part of the Danish Kingdom. It has earlier been revealed that Denmark was prepared to trade Iceland for Schleswig in agreements with Prussia and Austria in the summer and autumn of 1864. Christian IX was the King of Denmark and Iceland from 1863 to 1906. During his reign Iceland received its constitution in 1874 and home rule in 1904. There is a statue of King Christian IX giving Iceland its constitution in front of the Government Offices on Laekjargata.

Posted 27 August 2010; 10:55:08 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: August 2010, Circumpolar History, Circumpolar News, Iceland

Amundsen honoured in Gjoa Haven   

(CBC News, 25 August 2010) -- Residents of Gjoa Haven, Nunavut, held a special flag-raising ceremony with Norwegian officials this week to honour Roald Amundsen, who spent two years in the community during his famed quest through the Northwest Passage. The Norwegian ambassador attended Monday's ceremony, in which the Canadian and Norwegian flags were raised near the Amundsen Centenary Cairn in Gjoa Haven. Also in attendance was Gier Klover, the director of the Fram Museum in Oslo, Norway. "I've been interested in polar histories since I was a kid, so Gjoa Haven, that's the place I've read about for 30 years," Klover told CBC News on Tuesday. "Just to be here, and the incredible friendliness and hospitality of the community, is very touching." Klover said his museum is dedicated to polar explorers like Amundsen, who set sail for the Northwest Passage in 1903 in his ship, Gjoa. The museum is building an extension to house the Gjoa, he added. Amundsen spent two winters near King William Island, in what is now Gjoa Haven, learning from local Inuit as he prepared for his expedition. "He perfected the skills, making him the ultimate polar explorer," Klover said. "He had huge respect for local learnings and local knowledge, and he spent every day trying to learn as much as possible there, as opposed to many other explorers." Amundsen made history when he completed the east-to-west voyage across the passage in 1906. Klover said Monday's ceremony commemorates the growing partnership between his museum and the community of Gjoa Haven. He said he brought some photographs that were taken by Amundsen, as a gift to the community.

Posted 27 August 2010; 10:52:02 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: August 2010, Circumpolar History, Circumpolar News, Communities

Beaufort Sea drilling studies get $22M   

(CBC News, 20 August 2010) -- The federal government will spend nearly $22 million for research in the Beaufort Sea that could help in the debate over offshore oil and gas drilling there. Yukon Conservative Senator Daniel Lang announced a total of $21.8 million over five years for research under the Beaufort Regional Environmental Assessment (BREA), which will sponsor environmental and socio-economic research "that will gather new information vital to the future management of the Beaufort Sea," according to a release. Speaking Friday in Inuvik, N.W.T., Lang said the research will help regulators like the National Energy Board make decisions with regard to oil and gas exploration and development in the ocean. The debate over offshore drilling activity in the Beaufort Sea has heated up in recent months, as the large-scale oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico raised concerns about whether such work can be done safely and in an environmentally sensitive way in Canada's Arctic waters. In the wake of the Gulf spill, the National Energy Board has launched a broad review of Arctic drilling safety regulations.

Posted 27 August 2010; 10:48:37 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: August 2010, Canada, Circumpolar News, North America, NWT, Oil, gas, non-renewable resources, Transportation, Infrastructure and Construction

Angelica used for beer production in north Iceland   

(Iceland Review, 23 August 2010) --  The microbrewery Bruggsmidjan at Árskógssandur in Eyjafjördur in north Iceland known for its popular beer Kaldi will now, in cooperation with Saga Medica, launch a new brand, Stinningskaldi, brewed from angelica which grows on Hrísey island. Saga Medica produces remedies from Icelandic medical herbs. “We have always been interested in brewing from Icelandic plants. When the idea surfaced that we could use angelica from Hrísey we found it ideal,” Agnes Sigurdardóttir, managing director of Bruggsmidjan, told Morgunbladid. “We chose angelica because it is one of Iceland’s best known medical plants. It has been used for healing in Iceland since the settlement, or for 1100 years. Angelica is considered good for all sorts of ailments,” Sigurdardóttir said. “When the Vikings started going on trade expeditions to Europe they brought dried angelica root for trading. The angelica which grew here was considered superior to that which grew further south. It is so resilient. It became currency, in fact,” Sigurdardóttir said. “There were many things I didn’t know about angelica until we began cooperating with Saga Medica. For example, Hvannadalshnjúkur, Iceland’s highest peak, is named after angelica,” Sigurdardóttir said. Angelica is called hvönn, hvannir in plural, in Icelandic. Sigurdardóttir said through time angelica has also been used as an aphrodisiac for men. “We chose the name Stinningskaldi because it is related to meteorology but angelica is very good for men too. So we saved the name Stinningskaldi for this.” In meteorology, stinningskaldi is a strong breeze but stinning can also mean erection. “I’m not about to brew some love potion, that’s not it, but angelica is good for men,” Sigurdardóttir iterated. She hopes that the new product can enter the market in October.

Posted 23 August 2010; 1:44:15 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: August 2010, Circumpolar News, Economic issues, Iceland, North Atlantic

Canada's Arctic foreign policy includes UArctic   

(UArctic News, 23 August 2010) -- The Government of Canada has published a booklet outlining its Arctic Foreign Policy, which includes highlighting UArctic as an important partner. You can read the entire "Statement on Canada's Arctic Foreign Policy: Exercising Sovereignty and Promoting Canada’s Northern Strategy Abroad" on their website, or download the document in PDF.

Posted 23 August 2010; 12:24:29 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: August 2010, Canada, Circumpolar News, Education and Civil Society, UArctic News

North Iceland knitters make 17-kilometer long scarf   

(Iceland Review, 22 August 2010) -- A new tunnel between Ólafsfjördur and Siglufjördur will be opened shortly and to mark the occasion keen knitters in the region are making a 17-kilometer long scarf to connect the towns through the tunnel in a warm manner. The initiative was launched by Frída Björk Gylfadóttir. So far 500 knitters have joined her and she is expecting even more. “New people keep signing up,” she told Morgunbladid. “We have 7.4 kilometers and both women and men are knitting. The youngest knitter, Haukur Orri Kristinsson, is ten years old and the oldest knitter is 94-year-old Nanna Franklínsdóttir,” Gylfadóttir added. Once the scarf has been completed and the tunnel inaugurated, the plan is to cut the scarf up into appropriate lengths and sell them in support of charities. When asked where all the yarn comes from, Gylfadóttir explained that wool producer Ístex has given them a generous discount but people are also efficient in using scrap yarn. “I have also received financial contributions from here and there,” she said, adding that yarn has also been sent to her from all around Iceland and even from abroad, from countries such as Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the US, Estonia and Germany. Those who are interested in monitoring the knitters’ progress can find further information on Gylfadóttir’s website, frida.is.

Posted 22 August 2010; 12:52:33 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: August 2010, Circumpolar News, Communities, Iceland, Social Issues, Transportation, Infrastructure and Construction

Arctic communities anxious for Harper's visit   

(Don Martin/National Post via Canada.com, 21 August 2010) -- If the weather is clear next week, possibly on the very day Prime Minister Stephen Harper drops in for a visit, whale hunters in this economically depressed Arctic Ocean outpost could watch their former and future prosperity being towed to Alaska. The last drilling rig in Canada's Beaufort Sea is on the move, to a standby position in U.S. waters to drill a relief well in case of an oil spill. ... The departing rig is a sure sign of hard times in the Mackenzie Delta twins of Tuktoyaktuk and Inuvik. Locals hope Mr. Harper will come bearing gifts on Wednesday and Thursday. "He must be bringing something," says colourful Tuktoyaktuk Mayor Mervin Gruben, sporting a Tuk U cap and shorts in a heat wave of 20C last month. "He wouldn't just come here for a visit, would he?" Stay tuned, but the region definitely needs help. Evidence of the 1980s oil and gas exploration rush is hard to spot in this rundown hamlet, which clings to a scenic Arctic Ocean shoreline overlooking a horizon of ice-heaved pingo geological formations. Seismic activity has slowed to a sputter throughout the western Arctic as well drilling ceased. The distant early warning or DEW line station, which required hundreds of locals to build and operate, has been bulldozed and replaced with automated radar surveillance. And climate change has complicated living off the land as the hamlet's only land link, the famous Mackenzie River ice highway, freezes later and melts earlier. Row after row of dilapidated Tuktoyaktuk public housing projects are filled with welfare recipients and, despite a restriction on importing liquor that has dramatically cut crime since it was introduced in April, intoxicated people are a regular sight on the streets. For Mayor Gruben, a good-natured businessman who seems to know everybody in this hamlet of 900 Inuvialuit so well we christened him King Tuk, there's been enough government handouts. It's time for a hand up.

Posted 22 August 2010; 12:18:49 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: August 2010, Canada, Circumpolar News, Communities, North America, NWT

Yukon's newest gold-rush millionaire feels like a Clampett   

(Anchorage Daily News, 19 August 2010) -- Shawn Ryan of Dawson, Yukon, and his family are just back from a European vacation. It was their first vacation, and it's hard to imagine one more deserved. After years of prospecting in the Yukon, living in a tin shack, searching for the long-rumored gold veins that fed nuggets into fabled Klondike streams, the Ryans are millionaires and could rake in millions more from the modern-day gold rush that Shawn started, reports Canada's Globe and Mail. Whether Ryan actually has discovered the source of Klondike gold has yet to be determined, but his finds have been significant enough to set off one of the biggest claim-staking frenzies since prospectors poured into the Yukon and Alaska in the 1890s. His newfound wealth comes mostly from deals signed with other prospectors giving them access to his claims.

Posted 22 August 2010; 12:05:10 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: August 2010, Canada, Circumpolar News, People, Resource Issues, Yukon

Iceland's volcano site rises from the ashes   

(Matt Cole/BBC News, 22 August 2010) -- It has been a long hard year for those living beneath the crater of Eyjafjallajokull in Iceland. When the volcano erupted in March, air passengers faced chaos as their planes were grounded amid fears that the ash, thrown high into the atmosphere, would damage aircraft. But after little more than two weeks, and a safety all-clear, life started returning to normal for airlines and their customers. The people of Iceland living near the eruption site were not so lucky. The region of south Iceland where Eyjafjallajokull is situated has a significant farming industry. Floods, caused by lava melting glacial ice, swept down the side of the volcano and ruined farmland. Sixty hectares of the property Poula Kristin Buch farms with her husband was wiped away by the water. "When the flood came over our land, 10 years of our work just went away in a second. "Our crops were destroyed and it will take two years to get our fields ploughed properly again and ready for planting," she added. ... On her return, Poula and her husband, Sigurdur Thorhallsson, found their whole property covered in ash. They were not alone: all life in the region was smothered by a thick grey and black carpet of choking, clogging dust. Weeks of hard work has cleared most of the ash, but the dust has left a legacy, Ms Bush says. All her cattle have had to spend the summer in a barn. Sharp ash particles, harmful to cows' teeth, lie hidden in the grass, making it impossible to put the animals out to pasture. Iceland's government is giving financial help to farmers. But the emotional cost of the damage to farms, where some have toiled their whole lives, is not something on which a price can be put. ... But now, quite literally from the ashes, there is hope of a dramatic reversal of fortune for the tourism industry. After scaring them away, Eyjafjallajokull is now drawing growing numbers of tourists to its still-settling landscape. Mr Hauksson says that the volcano has become an "attraction".

Posted 22 August 2010; 11:55:23 AM.   Permalink

Tagged: August 2010, Circumpolar News, Environment and Landscape, Iceland, Social Issues

Ottawa apologizes to Inuit for using them as 'human flagpoles' in 1950s   

(Canadian Press via Winnipeg Free Press, 18 August 2010) -- INUKJUAK, Que. - Larry Audlalak wasn't quite three years old when his family finally gave in to the insistent promises of the RCMP officer and left their comfortable lands along Hudson Bay's northern coast for the frigid unknown of the High Arctic. The memory is with him yet. "It was very bad," said Audlalak, one of the surviving "High Arctic Exiles" to whom the federal government finally apologized Wednesday. "It was very cold, we had no shelter. We had to fend for ourselves for the first two years living in tents. "The RCMP were able to give us some old buffalo hides and some reindeer hides for insulation." Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs John Duncan travelled to Inukjuak in northern Quebec to say 'sorry' to Audlalak and others like him for a policy some say was a move to reduce welfare costs and reinforce Canadian sovereignty. "We would like to express our deepest sorrow for the extreme hardship and suffering caused by the relocation," reads the text of his speech. "The Government of Canada deeply regrets the mistakes and broken promises of this dark chapter of our history and apologizes for the High Arctic relocation having taken place." In 1953 and 1956, 87 Inuit from 19 families were moved 2,000 kilometres from the relatively warm and lush environs of Inukjuak to what is now Resolute and Grise Fiord, the two most northerly communities in Canada.

Posted 21 August 2010; 10:05:40 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: August 2010, Canada, Circumpolar History, Circumpolar News, Indigenous Issues, North America, Social Issues

Elk Island wood bison big hit in Russia   

(Hanneke Brooymans/edmontonjournal.com, 5 August 2010) --EDMONTON - Elk Island National Park will send a second shipment of bison to Russia this year as part of a conservation project. Thirty wood bison will be sent in December to the Republic of Sakha, also known as Yakutia, where biologists are attempting to re-establish a population. The republic's rugged and largely forested landscape already holds moose, caribou and elk. But the steppe bison that used to roam that area died out about 5,000 to 6,000 years ago. Canada's wood bison are the closest living relatives of the steppe bison, and the Russians asked the Wood Bison Recovery Team at Elk Island in 1997 for their help. Elk Island staff were keen to participate, partly because a geographically separate population acts as a safeguard to protect the species as a whole. They agreed to donate 15 males and 15 females, but the Russians had to pay for transportation. A Sakha diamond company called Alrosa stepped forward with the necessary cash in 2006. Elk Island will also donate this year's batch of 15 males and 15 females, said Archie Handel, a resource conservation and public safety specialist with the park. The first herd seems to have done fairly well. All but three of the original 30 are alive. Last year, the cows gave birth to 10 calves, Handel said. There is no word on how many calves were born this year or in previous years.

Posted 21 August 2010; 8:41:12 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: August 2010, Canada, Circumpolar News, Conservation and Wildlife, Far East Russia, International, Russia

PM slams EU over seal ban go-ahead   

(CBC News, 20 August 2010) -- Prime Minister Stephen Harper is slamming the European Union's decision to proceed with a ban on seal products despite a court ruling ordering that the policy be suspended while legal challenges to it are heard. Speaking in Charlottetown on Friday, the prime minister urged the EU to respect its own court's injunction, saying the ban is "completely unfair and a discriminatory treatment" of a Canadian industry that employs people of modest means. Seal industry workers, Harper said, are being "targeted by environmental extremists based on complete misinformation." The Canadian government will continue to defend the sealers' interests because they respect the "same kind of humanitarian considerations" that are present in other areas of animal husbandry, Harper said. "They should not be targetted like this, and the government of Canada will continue to speak out in their defence," said the prime minister. According to media reports, the EU ban went into effect on Friday, but seal products sold by groups that have already filed court actions appealing the ban are exempt from it. Those groups include the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, which represents Canada's 53,000 Inuit, and Greenland's Inuit.

Posted 21 August 2010; 8:37:44 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: August 2010, Canada, Circumpolar News, International, Resource Issues

Northern Pomors: living off the sea   

(Voice of Russia, 21 August 2010) -- A thousand kilometers north of Moscow on the White Sea coast lies an ancient land belonging to a sea-conquering people – the Pomors. The so-called “traditional Pomor way of life” is certainly not just something out of a history book. They still construct wooden boats using old techniques, make their own fish nets and braid the ropes used for those fish nets with their own hands. “This is a karbass, a coastal kind of boat,” explains boat builder Viktor Zamyatin. “It's very stable on seas, rising and falling smoothly with the waves.” In the village of Patrekeevaka the houses are unique, dating back 300 years, and are very well preserved. All of them have a big fireplace which they use not only for cooking and baking. On top of it there is a warm bed – something you cannot do without in during the harsh winter conditions. For the Pomors, adapting to whatever Mother Nature throws at them has become second nature. This resilience is also what has kept their culture alive throughout the centuries. “I have been singing my whole life. My mother still sings. We collect old rituals and songs and revive them,” says local resident Maria Gorobtsova. She is wearing a traditional costume. It is certainly not an everyday outfit, but she says it helps her keep her ties with her people. “This dress belonged to my grandmother. When I put on this dress, I feel very good and have this desire to sing old songs.” A desire she hopes to pass on to her young grandson.

Posted 21 August 2010; 8:19:58 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: August 2010, Barents Euro-Arctic Region, Circumpolar History, Circumpolar News, Northwest Russia, Social Issues

Pizza delivery considered for Arctic troops   

(Jerome Lessard/QMI Agency, The Sudbury Star, 19 August 2010) --CFS ALERT, Nunavut - A family-run pizza business based in eastern Ontario is considering delivering pizzas to Canadian troops based in the Arctic. As impossible as it may sound, the Tomasso's Casual Dining is considering flying dozens of extra-large pizzas to Canadian Forces Station Alert in Nunavut. The station is the world's most northern permanently inhabited settlement. Mike Kotsovos, one of the three brothers who run the Trenton, Ont., restaurant, is a cousin of the northern station's current supply officer Sgt. Tim Lidster. "Everybody up here has been to CFB Trenton at some point during their career in the air force I think," said Lidster. "The CO and I think that would be great to set up something where we could get a dozen pizzas flown to Alert. We think it would be a great way to boost the morale of the troops during the long and dark months of winter," he said. If the idea goes ahead, the pizzas would likely be flown up as part of a re-supply operation. "The only catch is to know whether they would have to be pre-cooked or frozen," said Lidster, who is serving a six-month posting at the station. CFS Alert's current commanding officer Maj. Brent Hoddinott thinks the idea of getting the Tomasso's pizza "delivered" to the Nunavut station would be "a great happening. "And it would make a lot of people happy here in Alert, me the first," said Hoddinott.

Posted 21 August 2010; 12:33:02 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: August 2010, Canada, Circumpolar News, People, Social Issues

EU seal ban suspended   

(CBC News, 20 August 2010) -- A European Union ban on seal products was temporarily suspended Thursday, the day before it was set to take effect, because of a legal challenge by Inuit leaders. The Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, representing Canada's 53,000 Inuit, and other Inuit organizations in Greenland and Norway filed a legal challenge against the EU's ban earlier this year, calling it illegal and immoral. The Canadian Seal Marketing Group and the Fur Institute of Canada are also involved in the challenge. The EU's General Court, based in Luxembourg, agreed to impose a delay on the ban in order to properly consider the legal challenge, saying the delay was in the "interest of the proper administration of justice." "I'm pleased to report that we have just learned this morning that the petition launched by the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami for an injunction has been granted," Federal Fisheries Minister Gail Shea announced in St. John's. "This means that the ban does not come into force tomorrow." Inuit leaders were pleased with the news. "The … [court] has decided there's more time required to properly review our request," said Mary Simon, president of the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, told CBC News. "To us, that is a very important decision because it is rare that the European Union court would suspend an EU legislation." "To us, it makes it clear that the EU court is taking our legal case seriously." Simon expects the court case will be heard in the fall or early winter.

Posted 20 August 2010; 12:03:58 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: August 2010, Canada, Circumpolar News, International, Laws and legal, Resource Issues

Polar bear threat to Solway geese   

(BBC News, 16 August 2010) -- An Arctic expedition has confirmed fears that polar bears are preying on the eggs of barnacle geese who migrate to the Solway Firth each winter. During a recent trip, the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) found evidence of bears eating thousands of eggs. The bears have turned to the eggs after being stranded on land in the summer months as a result of diminishing ice. The trust is concerned bird numbers could be devastated if the situation continues. Zoologist Brian Morrell, of the WWT Wetlands centre at Caerlaverock on the north Solway coast, recorded the increased polar bear activity while monitoring a barnacle goose colony on the Arctic island of Svalbard. He said 10 polar bears were seen roaming the colony, with one bear eating more than 1,000 eggs at one sitting. Of more than 500 nests on the island, fewer than 40 were successful and most of them had very small clutch sizes of only one or two goslings. Mr Morrell said: "The geese are very long-lived birds and ironically their survival rate is increased if they don't actually breed, especially the females. "But if their breeding continues to be affected in this way the population will quickly age, which threatens its stability and the future conservation of this bird which is very special to WWT." The entire population of Svalbard barnacle geese winter on the Solway Firth and return to breed in the Arctic each summer. Last winter only half the expected numbers of goslings were seen as the flocks returned to the Solway and it is thought the situation may be similar this winter.

Posted 19 August 2010; 4:38:21 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: August 2010, Circumpolar News, Conservation and Wildlife, Norway

Begich, Papp to discuss changing Arctic   

(AP via KTUU, 6 August 2010) -- ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - U.S. Sen. Mark Begich and Coast Guard Admiral Robert J. Papp are planning a trip to the Arctic next week. Begich and Papp will discuss the changing face of the Arctic and its impact on the Coast Guard operations in Alaska. They plan to fly to Kotzebue on Tuesday to meet local leaders and review Operation Arctic Crossroads, a joint operation involving several federal agencies. Crossroads includes personnel from the Coast Guard, Air Force, Air National Guard, the Army, Army National Guard and Public Health Service. They go to a number of rural Alaska communities to provide a variety of services including medical treatments, veterinary car and boating safety classes.

Posted 10 August 2010; 9:09:50 AM.   Permalink

Tagged: Alaska, August 2010, Circumpolar News, Climate change response

Inuit opponents of Arctic survey offered observer’s spot on German research ship   

(Randy Boswell/Postmedia News, 6 August 2010) -- The German government has weighed in on the dispute over a planned seismic survey in Lancaster Sound, insisting the controversial Arctic seabed probe has nothing to do with oil exploration and offering Inuit opponents of the project a special place on the German research ship now poised to conduct the tests for the Canadian government. The conciliatory offer — made to angered Inuit communities through a statement from the German Embassy in Ottawa — came as Baffin Island residents opposed to the sea floor scan battled with federal officials in a Nunavut courtroom in a bid to block the survey. In its statement, the embassy said the geological procedure would be "basic research" conducted in an environmentally friendly" manner, calling it "the latest example of Germany's long-standing and fruitful scientific research collaboration with Canada." The crew of the Polarstern research vessel, owned by the German ministry of education and research, "would welcome the opportunity to inform representatives of the Inuit communities concerned about the work to be carried out and are prepared, if so desired, to take on board an additional observer designated by these communities," the embassy stated.

Posted 10 August 2010; 9:07:51 AM.   Permalink

Tagged: August 2010, Canada, Circumpolar News, Expeditions, field trips, tours, Indigenous Issues, Nunavut, Research

Greenland glacier calves island 4 times the size of Manhattan   

(University of Delaware press release, 6 August 2010) -- A University of Delaware researcher reports that an "ice island" four times the size of Manhattan has calved from Greenland's Petermann Glacier. The last time the Arctic lost such a large chunk of ice was in 1962. "In the early morning hours of August 5, 2010, an ice island four times the size of Manhattan was born in northern Greenland," said Andreas Muenchow, associate professor of physical ocean science and engineering at the University of Delaware's College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment. Muenchow's research in Nares Strait, between Greenland and Canada, is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Satellite imagery of this remote area at 81 degrees N latitude and 61 degrees W longitude, about 620 miles [1,000 km] south of the North Pole, reveals that Petermann Glacier lost about one-quarter of its 43-mile long [70 km] floating ice-shelf. Trudy Wohlleben of the Canadian Ice Service discovered the ice island within hours after NASA's MODIS-Aqua satellite took the data on Aug. 5, at 8:40 UTC (4:40 EDT), Muenchow said. These raw data were downloaded, processed, and analyzed at the University of Delaware in near real-time as part of Muenchow's NSF research. Petermann Glacier, the parent of the new ice island, is one of the two largest remaining glaciers in Greenland that terminate in floating shelves. The glacier connects the great Greenland ice sheet directly with the ocean. The new ice island has an area of at least 100 square miles and a thickness up to half the height of the Empire State Building. ... The island will enter Nares Strait, a deep waterway between northern Greenland and Canada where, since 2003, a University of Delaware ocean and ice observing array has been maintained by Muenchow with collaborators in Oregon (Prof. Kelly Falkner), British Columbia (Prof. Humfrey Melling), and England (Prof. Helen Johnson).

Posted 8 August 2010; 10:58:48 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: August 2010, Circumpolar News, Environment and Landscape, Greenland, North Atlantic

Aleutian sea lion decline spurs federal fishing restriction plan   

(Elizabeth Bluemink/Anchorage Daily News, 3 August 2010) -- Federal regulators on Monday proposed new commercial fishing restrictions in the Aleutians to combat a steep decline of Steller sea lions in the western and central portion of the island chain. The federal National Marine Fisheries Service proposes to close all commercial fishing for Atka mackerel and Pacific cod in federal waters near Attu, the farthest island in the Aleutian chain. The agency is also proposing restrictions but not an outright ban on commercial fishing for mackerel and cod in the central Aleutians, west of Dutch Harbor. The proposed restrictions, detailed in a 836-page draft biological opinion published Monday, cover the remote fishing grounds stretching between Dutch Harbor and the Russian border. Fishing groups worry that the agency's recommendations are the end of mackerel and cod fishing in the Aleutians, worth tens of millions of dollars to fishermen. Environmentalists are worried that the fisheries service's proposal is inadequate to reverse the sea lion decline. "It closes 90 percent of the historic fishing grounds (in the Aleutians) to cod and more so to mackerel," said Brent Paine, executive director of United Catcher Boats, a Seattle-based trade group that represents a portion of the trawl fleet in the Aleutians, the Gulf of Alaska and the Bering Sea. But one environmental group said Monday that the agency didn't go far enough. The sea lion decline is serious enough that the fisheries service should use its authority to restrict fishing set to begin this fall rather than waiting until next year, according to Oceana, a marine conservation group. If the current fishery management in the Aleutians isn't working for sea lions, the agency is obligated to take immediate action, said Mike LeVine, a Juneau attorney for Oceana.

Posted 6 August 2010; 12:11:20 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Alaska, August 2010, Circumpolar News, Conservation and Wildlife, Fisheries, North Pacific, United States

The Inuit Way: A Guide to Inuit Culture   

(George Lessard/The MediaMentor, 2 August 2010) -- In 2002, the Nunavut Department of Education decided that this booklet, created by the Pauktuutit Inuit Women’s Association and then out of print, needed to be reproduced so that it could be made available to teachers and others moving to the territory to work so that they could acquire a basic understanding of the Inuit culture. I was asked to scan and redesign the original publication so that it could be easily reproduced as a PDF file with an ordinary computer and printer. This file, The Inuit Way: A Guide to Inuit Culture, contains the English, Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtun versions of the original publication. There is a newer version available at http://www.pauktuutit.ca/publications_e.html ©2002 Pauktuutit Inuit Women’s Association http://www.pauktuutit.ca

Posted 6 August 2010; 12:08:13 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: August 2010, Books, Blogs and Publications, Canada, Circumpolar News, Communications and media, Indigenous Issues, Internet Resources

US, Canada join forces to map Arctic seafloor   

Scientists from the United States and Canada have announced plans to embark on a joint expedition to map the Arctic seafloor this summer. The expedition, which was announced via a July 26 press release, is set to begin today (August 2) and will run through September 6. The five-week mission marks the third straight year that the two North American nations have collaborated to study the Arctic seafloor and the continental shelf. According to the press release, one main focus of the expedition is "to help define the outer limits of the continental shelf…. Each coastal nation may exercise sovereign rights over the natural resources of their continental shelf, which includes the seabed and subsoil. These rights include control over minerals, petroleum, and sedentary organisms such as clams, crabs and coral." "The program seeks to help both nations determine how far north they may extend their sovereignty, a potentially lucrative right in an era of melting Arctic sea ice and worldwide demand for the oil, natural gas and other minerals believed to lie beneath the seafloor," noted Reuters reporter Yereth Rosen in a Sunday morning article. "Under the United Nations [UN] Convention on the Law of the Sea, coastal nations have sovereignty out to 200 nautical miles from their shorelines, including rights to the minerals and natural resources there…. If the nations can prove there is an extended underwater continental shelf, they may be able to claim sovereignty beyond 200 nautical miles," Rosen added. American scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) will set sail on the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy. They will depart from an Alaskan port on August 2, and will meet up at sea with their Canadian colleagues on board the Louis S. St-Laurent. "The ships will alternate breaking through the Arctic sea ice for each other," according to the press release. "The Healy will map the shape of the seafloor using a multibeam echo sounder, and the Louis S. St-Laurent will collect multi-channel seismic reflection and refraction data to determine sediment thickness."

Posted 2 August 2010; 2:20:43 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: August 2010, Canada, Circumpolar News, Expeditions, field trips, tours, Research, United States

Aurora alert: The Sun is waking up   

(Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics press release via EurekAlert! 2 August 2010) -- Sky viewers might get to enjoy some spectacular Northern Lights, or aurorae, tomorrow. After a long slumber, the Sun is waking up. Early Sunday morning, the Sun's surface erupted and blasted tons of plasma (ionized atoms) into interplanetary space. That plasma is headed our way, and when it arrives, it could create a spectacular light show. "This eruption is directed right at us, and is expected to get here early in the day on August 4th," said astronomer Leon Golub of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA). "It's the first major Earth-directed eruption in quite some time." The eruption, called a coronal mass ejection, was caught on camera by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) — a spacecraft that launched in February. SDO provides better-than-HD quality views of the Sun at a variety of wavelengths. "We got a beautiful view of this eruption," said Golub. "And there might be more beautiful views to come, if it triggers aurorae." When a coronal mass ejection reaches Earth, it interacts with our planet's magnetic field, potentially creating a geomagnetic storm. Solar particles stream down the field lines toward Earth's poles. Those particles collide with atoms of nitrogen and oxygen in the atmosphere, which then glow like miniature neon signs. Aurorae normally are visible only at high latitudes. However, during a geomagnetic storm aurorae can light up the sky at lower latitudes. Sky watchers in the northern U.S. and other countries should look toward the north on the evening of August 3rd/4th for rippling "curtains" of green and red light. The Sun goes through a regular activity cycle about 11 years long on average. The last solar maximum occurred in 2001. Its latest minimum was particularly weak and long lasting. This eruption is one of the first signs that the Sun is waking up and heading toward another maximum.

Posted 2 August 2010; 2:11:19 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: August 2010, Circumpolar News, Environment and Landscape

Swedish military approves wind power in Lapland   

(BarentsObserver, 2 August 2010) -- Defence authorities have approved plans for a new wind power plant in Malå, northern Sweden. Defence officials long believed that the 22-windmill park would hamper flight activities in the area. Defence experts now conclude that the wind park does not threaten air traffic in the area, Norran.se reports. The wind park in one of several, which are under planning in northern Sweden. Among them is the Markbygdens Wind Power project outside Pitaå, which includes 1100 windmills and will produce up to 12 TWh. According to Norran.no, new wind power projects with generating capabilities of 16 TWh is currently under planning in Sweden. The authorities intend to boost wind capacity to at least 30 TWh.

Posted 2 August 2010; 12:48:16 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: August 2010, Circumpolar News, Climate change response, Nordic Region, Sweden, Transportation, Infrastructure and Construction

Seven people killed in road accident in Russian Far East   

(RIA Novosti, 1 August 2010) -- Khabarovsk - Seven people were killed and another eight injured after two minivans collided on a highway in the Magadan Region in the Russian Far East, the regional emergencies center said on Sunday. The road accident occurred on the 297th km (185th mile) of the Kolyma highway on Sunday afternoon. The persons injured in the accident have been hospitalized, the emergencies center said. Police are investigating the causes of the accident, the emergencies center said. According to statistics, 30,000 people lose their lives in traffic accidents every year in Russia due to the poor state of highway networks and reckless driving.

Posted 1 August 2010; 10:32:30 AM.   Permalink

Tagged: August 2010, Circumpolar News, Communities, Disasters, etc., Far East Russia, Russia

Yukon MLA Todd Hardy dies   

(CBC News, 28 July 2010) -- Yukon MLA and former NDP leader Todd Hardy died on Wednesday morning in Whitehorse at age 53 after a long fight with leukemia. "He was such an inspiration," NDP MLA and longtime colleague Steve Cardiff told CBC News. "He started a lot of different initiatives in order to improve the lives of Yukoners and that's the work that he leaves us to do. "He was working right up until the end, too. He was a hard worker. He had a lot of courage and enthusiasm." Hardy was diagnosed in 2006 with acute lymphoid leukemia, a blood cancer. In February 2009, Hardy announced he would step down as Yukon NDP leader. He was replaced by Elizabeth Hanson in September. "As a younger person, I used to say I may have lost, but I've never been beaten, ever. And I don't say that anymore," Hardy told reporters when he announced his resignation. "Maybe I was a little bit too arrogant in that kind of statement … and my leukemia, in many ways, has beaten me." In addition to representing Whitehorse Centre in the Yukon legislature, Hardy was a martial arts instructor, hockey coach and carpenter. He was also one of the driving forces behind Habitat for Humanity projects in the territory. Hardy died at home, surrounded by his family. He is survived by his wife, Louise, a former Yukon MP, their four children and a granddaughter. The funeral will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Mount McIntyre Recreation Centre in Whitehorse.

Posted 28 July 2010; 2:51:44 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Canada, Circumpolar News, July 2010, People, Yukon

Abandoned 1854 ship found in Arctic   

(CBC News, 27 July 2010) -- HMS Investigator, abandoned in the Arctic 155 years ago during a search for Sir John Franklin's expedition, has been found. Parks Canada archeologists looking for the ship found it 15 minutes after they started a sonar scan of Bank's Island's Mercy Bay in the Northwest Territories, said Marc-Andre Bernier, chief of Parks Canada's underwater archeology service. "When the team arrived [on July 22], the whole bay was covered in ice," Bernier said. "On July 25, the team had an opening in the ice.… It happened to be where the ship had been abandoned." They started a sonar scan of the area identified by British navy accounts as the spot where the ship had been left. They used a torpedo-shaped scanner, towed behind a Zodiac inflatable boat, which sends out sound waves and produces an image of the floor of the bay. "After 15 minutes, they basically had an image of the wreck," Bernier said. "It's in good condition," he said. "Very good condition, actually — surprising condition." The ship is upright in about 11 metres of water, its bottom buried in sediment if it's still there, and the upper deck under about eight metres of water. While the masts are gone and the bulwarks — the sides of the ship that extend above the deck — are mostly gone, likely damaged by ice, there is potential to find smaller artifacts, Bernier said. "This is very cold water. That helps preservation as well," he said. The Investigator, captained by Robert McClure, was sent in 1850 to search for Franklin's crew and their two ships, the Erebus and Terror.

Posted 28 July 2010; 12:28:29 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Canada, Circumpolar History, Circumpolar News, Expeditions, field trips, tours, July 2010, Research, Transportation, Infrastructure and Construction

US and Canada work together with icebreakers to study disputed Arctic waters   

(Bob Weber/The Canadian Press via Winnipeg Free Press, Online Edition, 26 July 2010) -- Canada and the United States are sending research icebreakers into disputed waters in the western Arctic to study how the two countries could divide up a vast part of the potentially resource-rich sea floor. Although the CCGS Louis St. Laurent and the USCGC Healy have been on two previous joint missions to map the bottom of the Arctic Ocean, this will be the first time they will venture into a pie-shaped slice of the Beaufort Sea both countries claim as their own. Scientists say their work won't sort out that dispute. But it will help both countries make claims over an even larger stretch of the Arctic extending beyond the currently allowed 380 kilometres from the coastline, as well as suggest where those Canadian and American claims are likely to conflict. "What we're doing right now is determining where is the shelf, what is the extent of any overlap," said Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Alison Saunders. Both countries are preparing claims for portions of the Arctic sea floor they are entitled to under the United Nations Law of the Sea. Under that treaty — which the U.S. has not yet signed but is nevertheless preparing for — countries may claim sea floor to the edge of their extended continental shelf, beyond the distance from their coastlines they currently control. The two icebreakers have been working together for two years to help their respective countries prepare data needed for such claims. This will be the first time they've headed into the diplomatically sensitive slice of the Beaufort already in dispute over a disagreement on how to extend the border line from the mainland.

Posted 28 July 2010; 12:25:29 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Autonomy, Sovereignty and Politics, Canada, Circumpolar News, International, July 2010, Research

Iceland-EU accession talks to begin formally   

(Iceland Review, 26 July 2010) -- Iceland will formally begin its accession talks with the European Union at an EU summit which begins tomorrow at noon Icelandic time. Today the foreign ministers of the EU states will in all probability agree to begin membership negotiations with Iceland. “The summit will be short and formal. What happens is that I submit a written statement on behalf of Iceland where the main issues are included. I will follow it up with a short speech where I explain Iceland’s main viewpoints,” Icelandic Foreign Minister Össur Skarphédinsson told Fréttabladid. “The EU Commissioner for Enlargement Stefan Füle will also give a speech as will the Belgian foreign minister, which is the EU’s leading state at the moment,” Skarphédinsson added. Skarphédinsson said he will mention Iceland’s special position in regard to sustainable fishing and renewable energy in his speech, along with the country’s political importance in the Arctic region.

Posted 27 July 2010; 8:28:58 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Circumpolar News, Europe, Iceland, July 2010

Exhibit focuses on exodus from and resilience in northern Russian communities   

(Jamie Hanlon/University of Alberta ExpressNews, 23 July 2010) -- (Edmonton) Abandoned houses strewn across a once-populated northern region, the victim of shifting political and economic conditions, left by many of the North’s former inhabitants who have migrated to more prosperous regions. While the narrative would seem to fit parts of northern Canada, the scene is also descriptive of Magadan, a city in northeast Russia. Magadan is the focus of a project being conducted by Elena Khlinovskaya-Rockhill of the University of Alberta’s Canadian Circumpolar Institute. ... Khlinovskaya-Rockhill also worked in collaboration with two Magadan photographers, Pavel Zhdanov and Andrei Osipov, along with Lawrence Khlinovski-Rockhill, a visiting scholar at CCI, to capture photos of the devastation, but also the resilience and determination of the region’s remaining inhabitants. Images from this collaboration are now on at the Rutherford Library until July 31. This exhibit is part of the Canadian Circumpolar Institute’s 50th anniversary celebration. In October 2010, the display will be moved to Cameron Library. A thriving town during the Soviet era, Magadan’s population once grew due to state-funded migration and settlement allowances, said Khlinovskaya-Rockhill. The Soviet Union used a variety of monetary and non-monetary incentives to attract people to the region, she notes. ... However, she explained, in post-Soviet times, state funding cuts resulted in an unprecedented outmigration towards western Russia. ... Yet, an interesting phenomenon that is part of Khlinovskaya-Rockhill’s research, and is evident in the photo exhibit itself, is the spirit and resilience of the people of Magadan, indigenous and non-native, who have remained. Many prosper, despite the lack of any substantial state support or economic stimulation. The transplanted citizens have developed a level of attachment to the area, and their desire to remain is no longer influenced by state-induced incentives, monetary or ideological. “This is not where they were born, it’s not where they thought they would retire. But for a whole set of reasons, they still remain,” she said. “Some of them consider that place to be their home.”

Posted 27 July 2010; 3:34:36 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Circumpolar News, Far East Russia, July 2010, Research, Social Issues

Norwegian satellite successfully launched   

(Rolleiv Solholm/NRK/Aftenposten/Press release, 13 July 2010) -- The Norwegian observatiion satellite AISSat-1 was successfully launched from Sriharikota, India on Monday. The satellite will greatly improve surveillance of maritime activities in the High North. As we reported earlier, this is the first Norwegian satellite developed in Norway. The AIS (Automatic Identification System) is a short range coastal traffic system used by ships and Vessel Traffic Services around the world. AIS is required to be fitted on every seagoing vessel of 300 gross tons or more. Its purpose is to help ship crews to avoid collision with other vessels as well as to allow maritime authorities to track and monitor ship movements. AISSat-1 will operate in a polar orbit at an altitude of 600 km.The Norwegian Space Centre is project owner. The Norwegian Coastal Administration will receive the data and the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI) is responsible for the technical implementation The total cost of the satellite is approximately NOK 30 million.

Posted 24 July 2010; 2:15:22 AM.   Permalink

Tagged: Circumpolar News, Communications and media, July 2010, Norway, Transportation, Infrastructure and Construction

Northerners oppose census change   

(CBC News, 23 July 2010) -- The federal government's move to make the long-form census voluntary is being harshly criticized by government officials and aboriginal groups across the North. The federal government has said it decided to make the 58-question long forms voluntary because some people object to the longer census as an invasion of privacy. Participation rates among northerners, particularly disadvantaged northerners and Inuit, will drop dramatically, making it difficult to assess educational, housing and social needs, officials across the North say. "We'd end up with, you know, challenges with the immigrant population not filling out the forms, potentially First Nations communities not filling out the forms, and people in low income not filling out the forms," said Greg Finnegan, director of the Yukon Bureau of Statistics. "That would be the expected situation. We do a lot of survey work in Canada and the evidence all points to that." Susie Michael has worked for Statistics Canada in Iqaluit, going door-to-door to help people understand the census forms they were required to fill out. Many Inuit, especially elders, struggle to fill out the forms and won't do it if it isn't required, she said. "If the elder is unilingual in Inuktitut, they weren't going to understand these questions. They would, you know, be confused," she said. "They're going to lose a lot of the information that they're looking for." Nunavut Finance Minister Keith Peterson said the long-form census data is extremely valuable to his government. "We depend largely on information that they gather to help us shape our policies, programs that we deliver in Nunavut in areas such as the homeless issue, health, education," he said. The population of Nunavut is 85 per cent Inuit, creating unique circumstances that the long-form census data illuminates, Peterson said. "I really hope Ottawa changes its mind, has a rethink of this decision," he said.

Posted 24 July 2010; 1:39:57 AM.   Permalink

Tagged: Canada, Circumpolar News, July 2010

Walkers complete 650-km trek across Iceland   

(Iceland Review, 19 July 2010) -- Three women who embarked on a 650-km trek across Iceland 30 days ago will complete their journey today when they walk the remaining 35 kilometers to Fontur, the outermost point of Langanes peninsula in northeast Iceland. “The atmosphere is great and the journey has been amazingly successful. Some parts were more difficult than others but it becomes easier when we think back on it as often happens,” one of the walkers, Kristín Jóna Hilmarsdóttir, told Morgunbladid. Her traveling companions are Anna Lára Edvardsdóttir and Margrét Hallgrímsdóttir. “What stands out is to have waded the powerful Thjórsá river up to our waists—we had to get help crossing it,” Hilmarsdóttir described. “We also met [Finance Minister] Steingrímur J. Sigfússon on the Öxarfjardarheidi heath. He’s from this district and was the first to walk this path called Steimgrímsstígur,” Hilmarsdóttir said. “He had heard about our journey and as we were were walking across the heath a car drove in our direction and stopped. It was Steingrímur asking if we were the great walkers. It was nice talking to Steingrímur,” Hilmarsdóttir said. The three women began their journey on Reykjanes peninsula in southwest Iceland and walked across the country’s interior to the northeast.

Posted 22 July 2010; 11:26:20 AM.   Permalink

Tagged: Circumpolar News, Expeditions, field trips, tours, Iceland, July 2010, People, Tourism

Russia approves strategy for polar bear preservation - ministry   

(RIA Novosti, 6 July 2010) -- Russian Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology Yury Trutnev has approved a strategy for polar bear preservation in Russia, according to a statement published on Tuesday. The ministry's statement said the strategy aims to determine the mechanisms of preserving animal populations in the Russian Arctic and reduce the negative impact of human activity in their habitats. "The strategy is consistent with a five-party agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears [achieved] in 1973 signed in Oslo (Norway) and an agreement between the Russian and the U.S. governments on the preservation and utilization of the Alaska-Chukotka polar bear population, concluded in Washington in 2000," the statement said. "It is also intended to ensure adequate populations of this unique animal in the changing climate in the Arctic and control the growth of human impacts on the marine and coastal ecosystems of the northern circumpolar basin," it continued. There are from 20,000 to 25,000 polar bears in the wild, including up to 7,000 in Russia.

Posted 21 July 2010; 10:33:10 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Circumpolar cooperation, Circumpolar News, Conservation and Wildlife, July 2010, Russia

Oil tankers through North East Passage   

(BarentsObserver, 14 July 2010) -- The two Murmansk registered oil tankers Varzuga and Indiga are right now on their way through the partly ice-covered Northern Sea Route on their way to Chukotka in Russia’s Far East. The Arctic shipping season 2010 is closely followed by the world’s shipping interests as global warming makes the sea ice retreat in record speed. By sailing the Northern Sea route, the ship-owners save both time and fuel-costs as the distance from Europe to Asia via the north is much shorter than traditionally routes through the Suez or Panama canals, or around Africa to Asia. The two oil tankers that left Murmansk this week are accompanied by an icebreaker, reports MBNews. The tankers hold the ice-classification 1A Super with double hull according to the web-portal of Murmansk Shipping Company.  The tankers are loaded with 27,000 tons of petroleum. They are scheduled to arrive in the port-town of Pevek on Chukotka in Russia’s Far East on July 27th. Although Varzuga and Indiga are the first tankers to sail the North East Passage this summer, they are not the only. Russia’s biggest shipping company, Sovkomflot, intends to carry out a first major oil shipment from the Varandey terminal on the coast of the Pechora Sea through the North East Passage to Japan later this summer. Sovcomflot will send one of its purpose-built 70.000 dwt ice-classed shuttle tankers on the route. If successful, the tanker will be the first ever oil tanker to sail the entire Northern Sea Route from Northwest Russia to Asia.

Posted 15 July 2010; 12:17:34 AM.   Permalink

Tagged: Circumpolar News, July 2010, Russia, Transportation, Infrastructure and Construction

New monitoring system for the Barents region   

(Rolleiv Solholm /The Norway Post, 2 July 2010) -- The Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs has been given the responsibility for setting up a new, full-spectrum monitoring and information system for the Northern sea and coastal areas (“BarentsWatch”). The work will be headed up by the Norwegian Coastal Administration (NCA). The Norwegian Mapping Authority, the Norwegian Meteorological Institute and many other specialist bodies will be involved in the work. The plan is for BarentsWatch to be developed in several phases, the first of which will involve the creation of a public information portal for the sea areas. The operations centre for the portal will be located in Tromsø. In parallel with the establishment of this open system, a closed, operational system will be developed to combine information from various sources in order to facilitate dealing with special situations.  The plan is for this closed system to be linked to the Vessel Traffic Service centre at Vardø. BarentsWatch is envisaged as a vital tool for providing the Norwegian authorities with a coherent picture of what may be happening at any time in the very extensive sea areas in the North.  This in turn will serve to strengthen Norway’s role as a responsible manager of the sea areas and thereby safeguard the substantial assets they represent. The Government gave advance notice in its High North Strategy of 2006 that it aimed to develop a full-spectrum monitoring and warning system for the Northern sea areas. This system will provide constant access to quality-assured data on the Northern sea and coastal areas, and ensure clear, up-to-date status information in the event of accidents, for risk evaluation of activities at sea, and for national and international climate, resource and environmental assessments. The system will also be capable of supporting Norwegian foreign policy.

Posted 14 July 2010; 11:46:43 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Autonomy, Sovereignty and Politics, Barents Euro-Arctic Region, Circumpolar News, Conservation and Wildlife, July 2010, Norway

Arctic ship rules keep Iqaluit coast guard busy   

(CBC News, 14 July 2010) -- New rules for ships entering Canada's Arctic mean more work for officers at the Canadian Coast Guard station in Iqaluit. Since July 1, all large vessels sailing into northern Canadian waters — in a designated area known as the NORDREG zone — must provide Canadian authorities with information such as the ship's ice class, where they are going, how much oil they are carrying, and whether they have any hazardous materials on board. The new federal regulations, which apply to ships over 300 tonnes, were introduced after parliamentary committees called on Ottawa to make it mandatory for vessels to register with the coast guard, which was previously voluntary. Making registration mandatory has added to the responsibilities of the Iqaluit coast guard station, which keeps an eye on every known ship from Greenland to Alaska, including vessels in James Bay, Hudson Bay and Ungava Bay. On Tuesday, about 28 ships in or near Canadian Arctic waters were on the coast guard station's radar. "It's a lot for this time of the year," coast guard communications officer Louis Robert told CBC News. The small crew at the Iqaluit station is gearing up for what could be their busiest season.  Commanding officer Jean-Pierre Lenhert said upwards of 75 ships could be in Canadian Arctic waters at any given point this summer.

Posted 14 July 2010; 11:29:31 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Autonomy, Sovereignty and Politics, Canada, Circumpolar News, July 2010, Nunavut, Transportation, Infrastructure and Construction

In D.C., stereotypes still characterize Alaska   

(Molly Dischner/Alaska Dispatch, 13 July 2010) -- What exactly do people in the nation's capital think of when they think about Alaska? That's the question Libby Casey, Alaska Public Radio Network's Washington correspondent, tried to answer on Monday, July 12. Casey spoke to a full house in Schaible Auditorium as part of a University of Alaska Fairbanks Summer Sessions lecture series. In true radio reporter fashion, Casey interviewed inhabitants of the District before flying to Alaska, letting many speak for themselves. Overall, she said, the Outside perspective of Alaska hasn't changed too much. "They still have those old stereotypes," she said before playing clips from her interviews. "I think about really dramatic landscapes," said one unidentified man on the street. Sen. Jim Inhofe, an Oklahoma Republican, said he had flown across the state in a small airplane. "Well, what I think of is the beauty," he said. "It's magnificent." Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, said he thinks Outsiders tend to view Alaska as an unspoiled land where man shouldn't be involved, even if people happen to live there — "this is the greenies talking," he said. Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, the state's senior senator, said Alaska still needs to educate people whose views are based on "The Deadliest Catch" or cruise ships. Casey also talked to reporters from other states; their answers, unsurprisingly, tended more toward the political. "I think about salmon, earmarking, and also Bristol, but not Trig or Tripp," one joked. Another theorized about the state's political leanings: "I guess when you get cold, you get really seriously libertarian." Casey also asked people on the street if they had heard of a variety of Alaskans besides the former governor. No one had heard of Gov. Sean Parnell. Many didn't recognize the names Lisa Murkowski, Susan Butcher or Libby Riddles. Alaska's complex relationship with the feds came up, too, in an interview with Larry Persily, the Obama administration's Federal Coordinator for Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects. The state is as known for strange people and strange happenings under the midnight sun, Persily said, as it is for its dependence on the federal government. "(We're) a state that is always hassling the federal government," Persily said. In other words, Persily said, "We're viewed as kind of a pain in the ass."

Posted 14 July 2010; 9:52:21 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Alaska, Circumpolar News, July 2010, Nordicity, United States

Inuvik buildings destroyed by fire   

(CBC News, 14 July 2010) -- One of the oldest buildings in Inuvik, N.W.T., has burned to the ground, as has the local recycling depot. The Wrangling River Supply furniture store and warehouse caught fire shortly after 1 a.m. MT Wednesday. No one was injured in the blaze, but losses are expected to be in the millions of dollars. Also destroyed in the fire was Inuvik's recycling depot. Tonnes of plastic bottles caught fire and started smoking and melting. Inuvik fire Chief Al German told CBC News that the operation was made more complicated by faulty cellphone service. A taxi driver who first saw the fire had to drive to find a landline and call the fire department. Weary firefighters continued to soak the wreckage on Wednesday afternoon. More than 12 hours after the fire started, flames were still coming from the wreckage, as a mechanical shovel moved debris into a pile to be soaked.

Posted 14 July 2010; 9:44:52 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Canada, Circumpolar News, Communities, Disasters, etc., July 2010, NWT

Nenets studying indigenous media in Canada   

(Barents Indigenous Peoples, 30 June 2010) -- Yasavey, in cooperation with Norway and Canada, is looking into the possibility of establishing a Nenets radio station in Nenets Autonomous Okrug, North-West Russia, aiming at bringing Nenets language, culture and news to the Nenets, inhabiting the large tundra areas. The indigenous peoples in Canada know how to do this, and have shared their knowledge and experiences with the Nenets during a one-week study trip in Ontario, Canada. In June, Yasavey (the Public Association of Nenets People in NAO) visited several media enterprises and culture organizations and institutions in Toronto, Brantford, Six Nations and Ottawa, Ontario. Lewis Cardinal, who is the Vice-President of Aboriginal Voices Radio Network, has been involved in the project since the beginning, and he hosted the Nenets delegation together with Metis Elder, Wil Campbell, who has long experience from indigenous media work, in particular film making. The study tour was financed by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as the project is a result of the Dialogue on the High North between Norway and Canada. In autumn 2009, the two states decided that this pre-project was to be implemented, and the Norwegian Barents Secretariat is currently responsible for carrying out the activities. This study tour will be followed up by a seminar on the establishment of a radio station, and the establishment itself will constitute the main project. Yasavey will host the seminar in Naryan-Mar in March/April 2011, in cooperation with the Nenets Autonomous Okrug Regional Administration, as well as with the Norwegian and Canadian partners. Development of the Nenets language and culture is the core of the project, as Nenets, like several other indigenous languages, are threatened by extinction. Currently, the regional radio station broadcasts in Nenets a few minutes every week, but the signals from this radio station does not reach beyond the city boundary of Naryan-Mar. Approximately 8,000 Nenets inhabit the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, whereas only 746 Nenets live in the city of Naryan-Mar, according to Yasavey.

Posted 12 July 2010; 9:14:26 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Circumpolar News, Communications and media, Education and Civil Society, Indigenous Issues, June10, Language, Northwest Russia, Russia

Enhancing the king crab stock is "voodoo and sabotage"   

(Barents Observer, 9 July 2010) -- Russian scientists have released some 200,000 king crab brood off the coast of the Kola Peninsula. "It can only be described as voodoo and sabotage," says Igor Pakholkov, deputy director of a Murmansk based fishing company. The release of near 200,000 small King Crabs happend earlier this summer from the marine research station at Dalniye Zelentsy east of Murmansk on the coast of the Kola Peninsula. It is the first time Russia release artificially reared king crab brood in such great numbers. The red king crab (or Kamchatka crab) was first introduced to the Barents Sea from Russia’s Far East in the 60-ties. The initiative of scientific institutions to enhance the population of red king crab in the waters of the Barents Sea can only be described as voodoo and sabotage, says Igor Pakholkov in an interview with Regnum. Pakholkov is deputy director and fleet manager of Murmansk fishing company Zolotaya Rybka. The company is a member of the coastal fishery association and focused on coastal Kamchatka crab hunting. The king crab has no natural enemies in the Barents Sea and the stock has increased rapidly since the late 80-ties. In the early 90-ties the king crab started to appear in the fjords of Eastern Finnmark in Norway. Since then, the population has grown immensely. Some estimates say there are more than 20 million in the Barents Sea. Many environmentalists and scientists say the species negatively alters the sea’s natural biodiversity. The consequence of the king crab explosion may be that native species disappear. Igor Pakholkov says the king crab is not a natural inhabitant of the northern seas, and they violate the natural balance in the marine ecosystem. They destroy the traditional fish species, he says. "There is only one way to deal with the king crab, that is, allowing free fishing," Pakholov says in the interview with Regnum.

Posted 11 July 2010; 11:29:20 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Barents Euro-Arctic Region, Circumpolar News, Environment and Landscape, July 2010, Northwest Russia, Norway, Russia

Pennsylvania brewer to make beer in the Arctic   

(AP via PennLive.com, ) -- BETHLEHEM, Pa. — This month, Chris Bowen of Bethlehem and a couple of his friends will lead a motorcycle expedition north — far, far north — to the Canadian Arctic, where they plan to set up a portable brewery and make 100 gallons of a hoppy, potent beer that is exceeded in richness only by its own fanciful history. We'll get back to Bowen in a moment, but first, the beer. It's called Allsopp's Arctic Ale. The first people ever to drink it were British sailors dispatched to the Arctic by Queen Victoria in 1852 to discover the fate of an earlier expedition to that frozen realm. They brought thousands of bottles of the beer, which had been specially crafted by Allsopp's Brewery with loads of hops and a bracing alcohol content — 12 percent, compared with 5 percent in your Budweiser — to ward off scurvy and withstand freezing. ... Now, back to Bowen. In 2007, the 43-year-old financial planner read about an eBay auction in which one of two bottles of Allsopp's Arctic Ale known to exist sold for $500,000. It turned out to be a false bid, but Bowen — a craft beer brewer who has been honored with national awards and built his own private brew pub in a cottage near Stabler Arena — was hooked by the Allsopp's story. He set about investigating its history and, over the course of 2½ years, discovered a couple of things. One was the second Allsopp's bottle, which he now possesses. The other was the recipe for the beer. "This was the Tang of its day," Bowen said, likening Allsopp's to the powdered orangeade touted as the astronaut's choice in the heyday of the space program. Being the sort of man he is — a curious tinkerer with an adventurous streak — he decided the Allsopp's story needed to be told in dramatic fashion. He's been riding a motorcycle for years, so a plan evolved: ride to the Arctic, brew the beer and turn the epic journey into a documentary film. "How am I going to tell the story? I'll tell it from the back of a motorcycle," he said as he stood astride the burly BMW bike that will carry him from here to there. ... Because he isn't a licensed seller, Bowen will give the beer away to promote the film. The Bethlehem Brew Works will host an event to see the brewers off.

Posted 11 July 2010; 8:38:27 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Circumpolar News, Expeditions, field trips, tours, International, July 2010

Red hot chili peppers arrive in sub-zero Arctic seed vault   

(Science Daily, 11 July 2010) -- A new collection of some of North America's hottest foods — an eclectic range of New World chili peppers — were delivered to the cool Arctic Circle environs of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault this week, where their exotic tongue-scorching qualities can be kept safe for centuries. The seeds were delivered to the vault by a seven-person bipartisan delegation from the U.S. Congress, led by Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD), Chairman of the U.S. Helsinki Commission, and including Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL). The seeds were handed over to Dr. Cary Fowler, Executive Director of the Global Crop Diversity Trust, the institution that funds the operation and management of the seed vault, as well as the transport of unique seeds from collections around the world. The latest samples of seeds come from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS) in Fort Collins, Colorado. ... The so-called "doomsday" seed vault now contains seeds of more than 525,000 crop varieties, making it the most diverse assemblage of crop diversity amassed anywhere in the world. Overall, this week's deposit consists of a total of 537 varieties of 13 crops. It includes Wenk's Yellow Hots, a pepper that starts out yellow and hot and cools somewhat to red and medium-hot; Pico de Gallo or "Rooster's beak," a medium-hot salsa staple; and the unpredictable San Juan "Tsile," a New Mexico chili still grown by elder farmers in a Native American pueblo that can be anything from mild to medium to hot.

Posted 11 July 2010; 8:23:00 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Circumpolar News, Climate change response, Flora and Fauna, July 2010, Norway

Arctic magazine's swimsuit issue highlights climate change   

(USA Today, 10 July 2010) -- The 26-year-old northern Canadian magazine, Up Here, has published its first swimsuit issue to draw attention to climate change. Its latest edition, out this week, features 10 swimsuit-clad women posing in threatened northern landscapes such as burnt-out forests and melting icescapes. Why swimsuits? "When you want to get attention in a room full of people talking, you tend to yell," writes Tim Querengesser on Up Here's blog. "So, when we decided to dedicate an entire issue to climate change in the North...we knew we'd have to yell to be heard above the already deafening howl." Up Here, based in Yellowknife and named magazine of the year at the National Magazine Awards in June, focuses on northern culture, lifestyle, arts and travel. "It wasn't long ago that you'd never see a bikini up North," the magazine says in introducing its swimsuit spread. "But if our territories keep warming a degree per decade, swimsuits will one day replace parkas. What may be jarring now won't be jarring soon."

Posted 10 July 2010; 5:42:41 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Books, Blogs and Publications, Canada, Circumpolar News, Climate change response, July 2010

United States review of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples   

(U.S. Department of State/Office of the Spokesman media note, 7 July 2010) -- As part of the U.S. Government's review of U.S. position on the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the State Department, together with other Federal agencies, will host dialogues with interested non-governmental organizations and other stakeholders. The first dialogue will be held on July 8 from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm in the Rasmuson Theater, National Museum of the American Indian, 4th Street and Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20013-7012. An additional dialogue will be held in the fall. During President Obama's first year in office, tribal leaders, stakeholders and non-governmental organizations encouraged the United States to reexamine its position on the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. On April 20, 2010, Ambassador Susan E. Rice, United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations, announced that the United States decided to review its position on the Declaration. ... Details on consultations with tribes and dialogues with stakeholders and NGOs will both be posted on the State Department's website located at:  http://www.state.gov/s/tribalconsultation/declaration/index.htm

Posted 9 July 2010; 10:59:38 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Circumpolar News, Indigenous Issues, International, July 2010, United States

Cree now landlords within far-off corner of Nunavut   

(Nunatsiaq News, 8 July 2010) -- The James Bay Cree of Quebec gained ownership over most of the land covered by the Nunavut territory’s most southerly chain of islands, through an offshore claim agreement signed July 7 in Chisasibi, Quebec. “This is an agreement in every sense of the word — no court orders, no arbitration, just plain, old-fashioned good-faith negotiation,” Chuck Strahl, the northern affairs minister, said at the signing ceremony. Nunavut Premier Eva Aariak and Matthew Coon Come, Grand Chief of the Grand Council of the Crees, also signed the agreement, which covers islands and waters in James Bay and Hudson Bay lying off the coast of Eeyou Istchee, the Cree region of northern Quebec. The offshore James Bay islands covered by the deal lie wholly within the boundary of the Nunavut territory, though not within the boundary of the Nunavut land claim settlement area. (See the map at the bottom of this page.) The Cree now own 80 per cent of the land mass of those islands, about 1,050 square kilometres, under a form of title that includes subsurface rights. This collection of small islands within Nunavut all lie south of Long Island just below the top of James Bay, and stretches almost to the southern end of the bay. Because these islands are not part of the Nunavut land claims settlement area, no overlap agreement with the Inuit of Nunavut was required. But because they do lie within the Nunavut territory, they’re subject to territorial legislation. The Cree Regional Authority will manage the Cree-owned islands, while Canada will retain rights to seabed, tidelands and waters.

Posted 9 July 2010; 2:25:25 AM.   Permalink

Tagged: Canada, Circumpolar News, Governance, Indigenous Issues, July 2010, Nunavut, Provinces

Inuit Circumpolar Council wants resource summit   

(CBC via Alaska Dispatch, 6 July 2010) -- The 11th Inuit Circumpolar Council general assembly wrapped up its conference Friday in Nuuk, Greenland, by calling for an urgent Inuit leaders summit on resource development. Sixty-five Inuit delegates from Russia, Alaska, Canada and Greenland spent five days in Greenland's capital discussing issues of mutual concern, including uranium development and offshore oil and gas drilling. Delegates passed the Nuuk Declaration, which calls on the council to lobby member nations of the Arctic Council to confirm their commitment to that forum. The ICC is a permanent participant on the Arctic Council along with eight northern countries: Canada, Denmark — including Greenland and the Faroe Islands — Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the United States. Akkaluk Lynge, president of the Inuit Circumpolar Council in Greenland, who was elected at the assembly as the ICC's new chair, said the assembly is concerned about a recent meeting by governments of the five countries — Canada, Russia, the United States, Norway and Denmark, which administers Greenland — that border the Arctic Ocean. Inuit were not included in those discussions, he said. "We are the only ones that are living in the Arctic, in the Arctic coastal areas," Lynge said. "No one else does, except for oil explorers and mineral resources developers. We are staying there the whole winter."

Posted 8 July 2010; 8:51:48 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Circumpolar cooperation, Circumpolar News, Indigenous Issues, International, July 2010

UK group begins oil drilling in Arctic   

(Ed Crooks/Financial Times, 7 July 2010) -- A British independent oil company has started drilling an exploration well in the Arctic waters between Greenland and Canada, having won approvals from the Greenland authorities in spite of the concerns raised by BP’s huge oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Industry experts and environmentalists say the consequences of a spill in the Arctic could be much more serious than the impact of the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the gulf. Yet the lure of the potentially vast resources of the region is so strong that companies and governments are pushing ahead with exploration programmes, albeit with heightened levels of attention to safety and scrutiny from regulators. Cairn Energy, a London-listed, Edinburgh based oil company that had spectacular success finding oil onshore in north-west India, is placing its next big bet off the coast of Greenland, near the Davis Strait on the maritime border with Canada. It plans to drill four wells off Greenland in the three-month drilling season this summer, at a cost of about $100m each. Canada’s National Energy Board has imposed a moratorium on issuing permits for drilling in the Arctic seas while it reviews safety procedures, as has the US administration. Those bans will mean that Royal Dutch Shell, which had hoped to drill explorations wells off the north coast of Alaska this summer, will miss drilling season for another year. Greenland, however, decided last month to award Cairn permits to drill its first two wells, and is expected to agree permits for the second two. Last week, Cairn began drilling its first well.

Posted 8 July 2010; 8:48:12 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Circumpolar News, Economic issues, Greenland, July 2010, Oil, gas, non-renewable resources, Transportation, Infrastructure and Construction

Yukon park's toxic waste to be cleaned up   

(CBC News, 5 July 2010) -- Toxic waste chemicals such as DDT and arsenic are set to be removed from a former military site within Ivvavik National Park in northern Yukon. The chemicals have been in the soil since the 1960s, when a Distant Early Warning Line station existed for a few years in a small part of what is now the national park. "There are a number of contaminants, ranging from arsenic and antimony; there's also DDT, PCBs, lead and fuel contamination," Nelson Perry, an ecosystems scientist with Parks Canada in Inuvik, N.W.T., told CBC News. Ivvavik National Park was established in 1984 under the Inuvialuit land claim, spanning 10,000 square kilometres of mostly undisturbed land. About seven years ago, the Inuvialuit asked the federal government to clean up the former site from the DEW Line of Cold War arctic radar installations. The station was in their traditional hunting grounds. Consultations have wrapped up and work is about to begin, with $7 million in federal funding. "Most of the contamination is within the soil, below the vegetation," Perry said. "So it's not visible, but it is there. That will be excavated." Cleanup workers will dig tainted soil from sites within about one square kilometre, with the waste being transported away by barge. Workers will also remove old barrels and structures from the DEW Line site. What will remain are some modern facilities, such as a radar system used by the Canadian Forces.

Posted 7 July 2010; 2:19:32 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Canada, Circumpolar News, Contaminants and Pollution, Environment and Landscape, July 2010, North America, Transportation, Infrastructure and Construction, Yukon

Inuit health a challenge worldwide: summit   

(CBC News, 5 July 2010) -- Improving the health and well-being of Inuit in Canada and other Arctic nations is a major challenge, according to a circumpolar Inuit health committee. The Inuit Circumpolar Council's steering committee told delegates at the council's general assembly last week in Nuuk, Greenland, that Inuit in Canada, the United States, Russia and Greenland have health indicators below national averages. The committee also found that Inuit have among the highest numbers of health and social problems, from lung cancer and tuberculosis, to suicide, substance abuse and domestic violence. "I will not say I'm saddened by our state. All I can say is that it is a challenge and we're up for that challenge," Minnie Grey, a Canadian member of the health committee, told CBC News in Nuuk. "I believe that [the Inuit Circumpolar Council] can be a really good vehicle to inform the international world, the national governments and so on, and the Inuit themselves that they can stand up to take charge of their own health and well-being."

Posted 6 July 2010; 5:50:42 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Circumpolar News, Conferences, Indigenous Issues, International, July 2010

Ancient fossils show Arctic now near climate tipping point   

(ENS, 29 June 2010) -- BOULDER, Colorado - Current levels of Earth's atmospheric carbon dioxide may be high enough to bring about "irreversible" shifts in Arctic ecosystems, according to new research published today by scientists from the United States, Canada and The Netherlands. The Arctic climate system is more sensitive to greenhouse warming than previously known said the researchers, who gathered evidence on what is now Ellesmere Island in Canada's High Arctic from a time period 2.6 to 5.3 million years ago. This period, known as the Pliocene Epoch, occurred shortly before Earth was plunged into an ice age. "Our findings indicate that CO2 levels of approximately 400 parts per million are sufficient to produce mean annual temperatures in the High Arctic of approximately zero degrees Celsius (32 degrees F)," said lead author Ashley Ballantyne of the University of Colorado at Boulder. "As temperatures approach zero degrees Celsius, it becomes exceedingly difficult to maintain permanent sea and glacial ice in the Arctic. Thus current levels of CO2 in the atmosphere of approximately 390 parts per million may be approaching a tipping point for irreversible ice-free conditions in the Arctic," Dr. Ballantyne warned. ... The research paper is being published in the July issue of the journal Geology. The study was funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation, the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council in Canada, the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research and the European Research Council.

Posted 4 July 2010; 2:06:25 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Circumpolar News, Climate change response, June10, Research

Inuit need greater role in protecting Arctic: Committee   

(Juliet O'Neill/Canwest News Service, 17 June 2010) -- OTTAWA — The government should get cracking on implementing Nunavut land claims and involving Indigenous peoples more in protecting Arctic sovereignty, the House of Commons defence committee said Thursday. An all-party report expressed "concern" that Indigenous peoples have not been accorded proper recognition for their historic role in helping ensure Canada's sovereignty in the Arctic by living in the region. "The assertion that our sovereignty depends largely on Inuit occupation of the region are a bit hollow if we continue to lag on our commitments to the Inuit and prolong the failure to implement the Nunavut land claims agreement," Jack Harris, New Democratic Party defence critic, said at a news conference by committee members. The MPs also recommended the Arctic Council should be strengthened, the government should re-establish the office of Arctic ambassador, create a cabinet committee on Arctic affairs and give priority to resolving a dispute over the Beaufort Sea with the United States. The report generally supported the broad direction of government policy but chair Maxime Bernier said the recommendations aim to ensure Canada has the right tools. While the committee concluded the Canadian Forces are equipped to defend the region, it was concerned the building of Arctic patrol ships and the icebreaker John G. Diefenbaker are falling significantly behind schedule. The committee recommended the government make development and long-term maintenance of viable Indigenous communities a priority and ensure that the Inuit be included in Northern environment scientific projects. "It is especially important that Canada's Indigenous peoples be an integral part of any decision making process affecting policies regarding the Arctic," the report said. "In line with this, we believe it important that outstanding land claims in the region be settled quickly."

Posted 4 July 2010; 2:03:06 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Canada, Circumpolar News, Climate change response, Governance, Indigenous Issues, June10

Environment, sovereignty focus of new Arctic marine rules   

(Randy Boswell/Canwest News Service, 22 June 2010) -- The Canadian government has put the world on notice that ships entering the country's Arctic waters will be subject to new mandatory vessel-tracking rules next week aimed at preventing terrorist activity and pollution while improving search-and-rescue capabilities in the Far North. But the strict new measures — generally welcomed by opposition parties and specialists in northern geopolitics — have raised some concerns with the U.S. government, it was revealed at a news conference in Ottawa on Tuesday. Polar experts had pressured the federal government for years to replace Canada's voluntary NORDREG ship-registration system for northern maritime traffic, widely seen as inadequate in an era when melting ice and rising global interest in Arctic tourism, science and economic development are increasing ship traffic in the region. The government announced in late February it was doing just that. And at Tuesday's news conference, Fisheries Minister Gail Shea — whose department oversees Canadian Coast Guard operations — reiterated that the new rules coming into effect on Canada Day aim to both protect the northern environment and assert Canadian sovereignty. "Our government and Prime Minister Harper have always asserted that a strong and sovereign Canada depended on a healthy, prosperous and secure North," said Shea.

Posted 24 June 2010; 1:39:25 AM.   Permalink

Tagged: Autonomy, Sovereignty and Politics, Canada, Circumpolar News, June10

EU promises more cash for Greenland education   

(IceNews, 21 June 2010) -- Greenland’s government is to receive a cash injection from the European Union to help support training efforts. The subsidy of 200 million kroner (USD 33 million) will be given to the country every year until 2013 to help boost Greenland’s educational facilities. Greenland must produce reports explaining how the money is being used and the results of training in exchange for a cut of the cash. The current EU-Greenland partnership is to be evaluated and renegotiated next year, when a new agreement for the period of 2014 to 2020 will be reached. Last year, the country achieved 97 percent of stated objectives and received almost 100 percent of the 200 million kroner kitty. The money makes a big different to Greenland and its annual budget, according to Siku News. Along with the fisheries agreement, the EU assistance sees around 320 million kroner (USD 52 million) pumped into to Greenland each year. This amounts to around 5.3 percent of the government’s total revenues for 2010. A spokesperson for the EU said the money was offered “to support Greenland’s exceptional education efforts.”

Posted 22 June 2010; 7:47:56 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Circumpolar News, Economic issues, Education and Civil Society, Greenland, June10, Social Issues

Arctic Bay man learns many lessons en route to biology degree   

(Gabriel Zarate/Nunatsiaq News, 22 June 2010) -- Sometimes getting an education teaches you more than you expected. Robby Qammaniq graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biology in September 2009, a three-year degree that took him eight to complete. Qammaniq once thought of studying biology as a way into medicine, but university was so difficult that he found a new reason to continue: to help other Inuit who want a university education. Now 30, he’s only one summer away now from earning a diploma in adult education. “Inuit are starting to get used to the education system and it’s still very difficult for young people,” he said. “I had a really hard time in university and I want to make it easier for them.” ... the specialized language of university-level science was challenging for him. “The words are very technical and they are so wordy,” he said. “I had to learn it from the books and it took me a while. I’m still struggling with writing lab reports.” Qammaniq said that he quickly realized the English vocabulary used by many students from the south was much wider than his and he realized one of the main reasons for it. “The Inuit are not prepared for university because they don’t read a lot,” he said. “Because in the south the students start reading at a very young age and they can read and read and sit still for a long time rather than doing something else.” That difference, Qammaniq explained, means Inuit in university often need a little extra help understanding what certain words mean. “To understand those contexts, you have to bring out some props and media instead of reading, reading all the time,” he said. ... Once he wraps up his teaching diploma this summer, Qammaniq has a one-year contact with Nunavut Sivuniksavut as an instructor trainee. “I really want to go back up north,” Qammaniq said. “I want to be among Inuit and I want to teach them because there’s so many people who have dropped out of high school and aren’t doing anything.

Posted 22 June 2010; 3:07:18 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Canada, Circumpolar News, Education and Civil Society, June10, Nunavut, People

Arctic ice scan dispels meltdown: study   

(Margaret Munro/Canwest News Service, 16 June 2010) -- An electromagnetic "bird" dispatched to the Arctic for the most detailed look yet at the thickness of the ice has turned up a reassuring picture. The meltdown has not been as dire as some would suggest, said geophysicist Christian Haas of the University of Alberta. His international team flew across the top of the planet last year for the 2,412-kilometre survey. They found large expanses of ice four to five metres thick, despite the record retreat in 2007. "This is a nice demonstration that there is still hope for the ice," said Haas. The survey, which demonstrated that the "bird" probe tethered to a plane can measure ice thickness over large areas, uncovered plenty of resilient "old" ice from Norway to the North Pole to Alaska in April 2009. The thickness had "changed little since 2007, and remained within the expected range of natural variability," the team reports in the Geophysical Research Letters. There is already speculation about how the ice will fare this summer, with some scientists predicting a record melt. Haas said he doesn't buy it. He said the ice is in some ways in better shape going into the melt season than it has been for a couple of years. "We have more thick ice going into the summer than we did in 2009 and 2008," he said. Much will depend on the intensity of the winds, and how the ice fractures and is blown around, he said. "But any talk about tipping points, a sudden drop and no recovery . . . I don't think it is going to happen."

Posted 21 June 2010; 9:51:52 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Circumpolar News, Climate Change and Weather, June10, Research

Clinton: Happy Independence Day, Iceland!   

(Iceland Review, 17 June 2010) -- U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, has wished the Icelandic people a happy Independence day, saying that the American people will celebrate with them today, honoring their shared history and friendship. Clinton also pointed out that Iceland and the United States both honor democracy and human rights, sharing strong economical, cultural and family bonds. According to her, the United States are proud to have been the first nation to recognize Iceland’s independence on June 17th 1944. Americans fondly remember Iceland’s hospitality through the years, she said, mentioning in particular leader summits and international conventions hosted by Iceland. She concluded by saying that currently, Iceland and the United States are working together worldwide towards peace, progress and prosperity. Now, with Iceland’s difficult economy, they can rest assured that they have the full support of the United States.
 

Posted 17 June 2010; 11:04:26 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Autonomy, Sovereignty and Politics, Celebrations, Circumpolar News, Iceland, June10

Seitas, sacred places of the indigenous Sámi people, have become subjects of renewed interest   

(Jussi Konttinen/Helsingen Sanomat, 13 June 2010) -- Inari, Finnish Lapland - The low rays of the sun caress the rough surface of a strange stone arrangement on the shore of Inari Lake in Sápmi, or Finnish Lapland. In the shallow water sits a boulder, on top of which rests the Päällyskivi (“Top Stone”), the shape of which resembles the head of an elk. The top stone is supported by three smaller stones. “Everything suggests that this is a seita", says Inari Sámi seita expert Ilmari Mattus, while observing the construction." ... Seitas, or the old sacred places of the Sámi people, have become the subject of renewed interest. The name varies, depending on the local Sámi dialect, and the places are also known as sieidis or Storjunkare. The Academy of Finland is funding a four-year research project, in connection with which six seitas have already been examined. The archaeologists from the University of Oulu have performed small-scale excavations in the vicinity of the seitas. The studies have already produced some results. “Based on radiocarbon dating, the oldest findings have been dated back to the 12th century”, says archaeologist Tiina Äikäs. Next to most of the examined sacred places the bones of animals, such as reindeer, goats, sheep, or various types of bird and fish species have been located. Animal offerings were presented to seitas in hopes for better luck with fishing or hunting. Sometimes such proceedings included brushing the stone with blood or fat. This summer season the excavations will continue in Termisvaara in the far northern municipality of Enontekiö. Divers will start exploring the seitas surrounded by water. Most known seitas are unusually shaped stones. At one time Christian priests destroyed seitas, but the indigenous Sámi people themselves are also known to have taken them apart, if they have not been propitious.

Posted 16 June 2010; 11:45:32 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Circumpolar History, Circumpolar News, Finland, June10, Research

Labrador Inuit leader remembered   

(CBC News, 10 June 2010) -- People in Labrador are mourning the passing of an outspoken Inuk elder. Mary Adams, 76, is being remembered as someone who spoke for people who didn't have a voice, such as Inuit women. When Adams was appointed to the provincial human rights commission in 2009 she called the justice system must do more to help Inuit women in jails. "We put them in the penitentiaries and things, we lock them up and there's no help for them, there's nothing for them to do," she said. Adams was raised near Rigolet, Labrador. She went to the boarding school in North West River, central Labrador, and eventually moved to nearby Happy Valley-Goose Bay. Adams worked as a translator in the courts and in the health system. She also served on the provincial legal aid commission. Alex Saunders was a friend. "The number one thing I would remember Mary for would be her willingness to let anyone know what she was on her mind," he said. Adams suffered a heart attack as she was flying home from St. John's on Monday.

Posted 13 June 2010; 3:32:34 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Canada, Circumpolar News, Communities, Nunatsiavut, People, Provinces

Extreme warming in Arctic will cause colder winters—and political gridlock   

(Tom Laskawy/Grist, 11 June 2010) — The political (or at least the Senatorial) tides are running strongly against a muscular policy response to climate change. Now a top NOAA scientist tells us that even the winds are blowing in the wrong direction — actual winds, mind you, not political. Via Science Daily: "A warmer Arctic climate is influencing the air pressure at the North Pole and shifting wind patterns on our planet. We can expect more cold and snowy winters in Europe, eastern Asia and eastern North America. 'Cold and snowy winters will be the rule, rather than the exception,' says Dr. James Overland of the NOAA/Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in the United States. Dr. Overland is at the International Polar Year Oslo Science Conference (IPY-OSC) to chair a session on polar climate feedbacks, amplification and teleconnections, including impacts on mid-latitudes." ... This news represents more than just the irony that extreme warming at the top of the world is resulting in snowier winters in the media and governmental capitals of the developed world. A paper  from last year by Patrick Egan and Megan Mullin demonstrated that it's not just our imagination: Public opinion on climate change does indeed move with the weather. For every three degrees of above average heat, there's a 1 percent increase in a "belief" in climate change, especially among so-called "low information" voters. Sadly, the reverse is also true — above-average cold causes support to drop. Climate skeptics will no doubt rejoice — and the rest of us will rue the fact — that any late-fall debate over climate legislation this year will likely involve senators making jokes about dodging snowplows on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Posted 13 June 2010; 3:30:11 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Circumpolar News, Climate Change and Weather, IPY, June10, Opinion, Research, United States

Kotzebue library to close doors [mp3]   

(Lori Townsend/APRN Anchorage, 9 June 2010) -- The Northwest Arctic Borough Assembly in Kotzebue voted yesterday to discontinue $125,000 in funds for the public library that will force it to close, leaving the region with no access to a public library. The library is a consortium with the University of Alaska Chukchi campus. The college portion will remain open but the public side will close unless the borough assembly reconsiders. Calls to Borough Mayor Martha Whiting, and Borough assembly members were not returned by air time, but Stacy Glaser, who was the library’s director for 15 years before leaving the position last year, says past attempts to close the library have always brought an outcry from the community.

Posted 13 June 2010; 3:28:18 PM.  ann-20100609-02.mp3 Permalink

Tagged: Alaska, Circumpolar News, Communities, Education and Civil Society, June10, United States

Arctic Ocean ice retreating at 30-year record pace   

(Randy Boswell/Canwest News Service via Canada.com, 13 June 2010) -- Arctic Ocean ice cover retreated faster last month than in any previous May since satellite monitoring began more than 30 years ago, the latest sign that the polar region could be headed for another record-setting meltdown by summer’s end. The U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center had already warned earlier this spring that low ice volume — the result of repeated losses of thick, multi-year ice over the past decade — meant this past winter’s ice-extent recovery was superficial, due mainly to a fragile fringe of new ice that would be vulnerable to rapid deterioration once warmer temperatures set in. And, driven by unusually hot weather in recent weeks above the Arctic Circle, the polar ice is disappearing at an unprecedented rate, reducing overall ice extent to less than that recorded in May 2007 — the year when a record-setting retreat by mid-September alarmed climatologists and northern governments. The centre reported that across much of the Arctic, temperatures were two to five degrees Celsius above average last month. “In May, Arctic air temperatures remained above average, and sea ice extent declined at a rapid pace,” the Colorado-based centre said in its June 8 report. The centre pegged the retreat at an average of 68,000 square kilometres a day, noting that “this rate of loss is the highest for the month of May during the satellite record.”

Posted 13 June 2010; 1:04:37 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Arctic Ocean, Canada, Circumpolar News, Climate Change and Weather, Environment and Landscape, June10

Wild reindeer under threat   

(YLE, 13 June 2010) -- Finland's rare wild forest reindeer may be facing total extinction, says the Finnish Hunters' Association. The group is calling for Finland and the EU to jointly protect the wild reindeer by further regulating the population of large predators. The sharp drop in the number of wild Finnish forest reindeer (Rangifer tarandus fennicus) is attributed to the growing numbers of wolves, lynx and bears that prey upon them. The Hunters' Association is calling for more permits to hunt these predators in parts of the country where they threaten wild reindeer. In Kainuu, in the northwest, the wild forest reindeer population has decline by half over the past decade. Counts now give an estimate of only about 800 of the animals left there. In addition to the wild forest reindeer in Kainuu, there are about 1000 in the old-growth forest areas of west-central Finland. The wild Finnish forest reindeer are the last population of their species in the world.

Posted 13 June 2010; 12:05:53 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Circumpolar News, Conservation and Wildlife, Finland, Flora and Fauna, June10

Conference: 2010 Northern Communicators' Forum   

(NCF conference web site, 8 June 2010) -- This is the third bi-annual communications forum for communicators who work, live, serve or want to network in the Canadian North. The North is often described as vast, remote, cold... and yet beautiful. While it lives up to its reputed landscape, the North is also dynamic, growing and complex. Northern communicators are enviably positioned to learn and participate in a politically evolving environment that is geographically and culturally diverse. “Learning, Growing, Connecting” is the theme of 2010 Northern Communicators’ Forum. This year, with leading experts in social media, we will examine its burgeoning force in communications and how the North can be integrated and meaningfully engaged. The Forum will also offer hands-on social media 101 sessions and marketing Web 2.0. Take a site tour of Giant Mine, one of Canada’s largest and certainly the North’s most notorious contaminated industrial sites. This session will be followed by a frank discussion on the essential transparency in public and media communications. The Forum will also offer sessions on crisis and risk communications as well as tools for measuring communication performance and success. On Twitter: #ncf2010

Posted 8 June 2010; 10:32:44 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Canada, Circumpolar News, Communications and media, Conferences, June10, NWT

Thriving at 75: Mat-Su marks Colony anniversary   

(Anchorage Daily News, 4 June 2010) -- The Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman has kicked off a summerlong series of articles marking the 75th anniversary of the Matanuska "Colony," established as part of the Depression-era New Deal in an attempt to create a new local farm economy and give 200 struggling Midwest families a chance at a better life. Palmer resident Gerry Keeling, whose mother was pregnant with her when her family arrived in Palmer in 1935, looks back in Part 1 of the series.

Posted 7 June 2010; 9:48:39 AM.   Permalink

Tagged: Alaska, Circumpolar History, Circumpolar News, Communities, June10, North America, United States

Up Here top magazine but Walrus snags prizes   

(CBC News, 5 June 2010) -- The Walrus grabbed the lion's share of Canada's annual National Magazine Awards, winning in nine categories, but Yellowknife-based Up Here was named magazine of the year. Up Here, a northern travel and culture magazine that beat out finalists Maisonneuve and Report On Business magazine, was lauded for its "real personality." The Walrus's nine wins included best single issue (October 2009) and the investigative reporting prize, for Carol Shaben's "Fly at Your Own Risk."

Posted 7 June 2010; 1:24:22 AM.   Permalink

Tagged: Books, Blogs and Publications, Canada, Circumpolar News, Communications and media, June10, North America, Prizes, awards and recognitions

Russia’s Arctic expedition heads for Murmansk   

(Itar-Tass, 6 June 2010) -- THE ICEBREAKER ROSSIA - Russia’s High-Latitude Arctic expedition is heading for the northern port of Murmansk. Russian polar explorers, members of the “High-Latitude Arctic-2010” expedition and the crew of the icebreaker Rossia officially closed the North Pole–37 drifting station in the Arctic on Saturday. “Over the past nine months fifteen polar explorers represented the interests of Russia and the whole mankind in the extremely harsh conditions of the Arctic,” Vladimir Sokolov, the head of the high-latitude expedition, said. “The scientists who worked on the North Pole–37 Arctic station have done a huge amount of work vital for the development of science and the exploration of the Arctic. The research they carried out is particularly important in conditions of changing climate,” Sokolov went on to say.

Posted 7 June 2010; 1:14:41 AM.   Permalink

Tagged: Circumpolar News, Expeditions, field trips, tours, June10, Northwest Russia, Research, Russia

Eurasia highest volcano erupts in Russia's Far East   

(RIA Novosti, 7 June 2010) -- PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY - Eurasia's highest volcano on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia's Far East has shown again signs of intensified activity throwing clouds of smoke and ash into the air to a height of 2.5 kilometers. The Klyuchevskoy, which lies 220 miles north of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, is one of the largest active volcanoes in the world and reaches an altitude of 15,584 feet. It erupts about every 2-3 years. Local seismologists said on Monday there was no immediate threat to the residents or tourists in the area, but issued an ash emission warning for air traffic in the vicinity of the volcano. The Klyuchevskoy started a new active cycle with an eruption in August 2009. There are more than 150 volcanoes on Kamchatka, 29 of them active. Another volcano in the area, the Bezymyanny, erupted on May 31, sending clouds of ash to the height of 10 kilometers for about 20 minutes.

Posted 7 June 2010; 1:05:16 AM.   Permalink

Tagged: Circumpolar News, Environment and Landscape, Far East Russia, June10, Russia

TB ravages Greenland community   

(The Copenhagen Post via JP.DK/News in English, 3 June 2010) -- A survey carried out in the remote village of Kuummiut on Greenland’s east coast revealed that 43 percent of its inhabitants were at risk of developing the dreaded lung disease. It is estimated that as many as 8 percent of adults infected with TB risk contracting the disease, while a quarter of children and adolescents infected with the bacteria are likely to develop full-blown tuberculosis. The nearby Tasiilaq Hospital is currently investigating how many of the settlement’s 360 inhabitants need to be treated immediately or require preventative care only. Tuberculosis has been a problem for centuries in Greenland but a campaign started by Danish authorities in 1955 managed to reduce the number of TB cases by 90 percent, bringing it into line with the rates of the disease seen in Denmark. However, since 1990 the semi-autonomous territory has seen a steep rise in the number of people contracting TB. According to Greenland’s Semitsiaq newspaper, there has been an average of 73 cases annually during the last five years, which places Greenland on a par with several African and Asian countries.

Posted 4 June 2010; 11:32:23 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Circumpolar News, Greenland, Health and wellness, June10

UArctic may join carbon neutral network   

(Mandy Garner/University World News, 30 May 2010) -- The University of the Arctic, situated in one of the regions most associated with climate change, is considering joining a new United Nations initiative to promote climate neutrality. The university was formed nine years ago and is to hold a breakout session on incorporating the UN-led UNEP Climate Neutral Network initiative at a council meeting in Siberia in June. The network was set up in 2008 and aims to encourage information exchange and networking to achieve a lower carbon emission and, eventually, a carbon neutral society. Countries involved include Costa Rica, the Maldives, New Zealand and Iceland, and cities range from Cape Town to Brisbane to Nagareyama while companies such as Microsoft and Japan Airlines are also on board. ... Environment and sustainable development are key issues for the University of the Arctic. Its Fourth Rectors' Forum in August is on Sustainability, Resilience and Community Adaptation to Climate Change in the North: Postsecondary education its role. It will also hold an international symposium on the challenges of sustainable development and sovereignty in the Arctic at Université Laval in Quebec.

Posted 30 May 2010; 5:19:18 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Circumpolar News, Education and Civil Society, International, May10

Citing gulf oil spill, Obama to suspend Arctic drilling   

(Steven Thomma/McClatchy Newspapers via Anchorage Daily News, 26 May 2010) -- WASHINGTON - The Obama administration Thursday will suspend planned exploratory oil drilling in the Arctic Ocean off Alaska until at least 2011, a casualty of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.The suspension will be part of a report that Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will give to President Barack Obama, who's likely to address the suspension as well as other proposals growing out of Salazar's report, at a White House news conference Thursday. The move will stop Shell from drilling five wells in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas off northern Alaska weeks before it had hoped to start work, an administration official told McClatchy. The move will stop for now a controversial expansion of oil drilling in a part of the world that could hold vast stores of oil and natural gas, but which environmentalists warn would come at great risk. Despite a late appeal from Shell that it would employ new safety measures in the wake of the gulf spill, Salazar was unconvinced that the exploratory drilling even in the much shallower waters of the Arctic would be safe. "He is suspending proposed exploratory drilling in the Arctic," an administration official said on condition of anonymity to talk before Salazar's report is officially released Thursday. "He will not consider applications for permits to drill in the Arctic until 2011 because of the need for further information-gathering, evaluation of proposed drilling technology, and evaluation of oil-spill response capabilities for Arctic waters."

Posted 26 May 2010; 10:02:13 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Alaska, Circumpolar News, May10, Oil, gas, non-renewable resources, United States

Alert level raised for Cleveland volcano in Aleutians   

(AP via Anchorage Daily News, 25 May 2010) -- Scientists are raising the alert level for Cleveland Volcano in Alaska's Aleutian chain after satellite data has indicated thermal anomalies. The Alaska Volcano Observatory today raised the level to advisory status. There is no real-time seismic network at the volcano. Scientists say unrest there is frequent, and short-lived explosions with ash plumes up to 20,000 feet can occur without warning and may not be detected by satellites. Cleveland is about 940 miles southwest of Anchorage, on a remote and uninhabited island in the Aleutians chain. The observatory says the last significant eruption of the 5,676-foot volcano began in February 2001 and eventually produced a lava flow that reached the ocean. There were minor eruptions in January, June and October 2009.

Posted 26 May 2010; 9:57:25 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Alaska, Circumpolar News, Environment and Landscape, May10, North America, United States

Icelandic Glacial to open new water factory   

(IceNews, 25 May 2010) -- The framework for a new bottled water factory in Iceland is now complete. Icelandic Glacial Waters hopes its new Snaefellsnes factory will be in operation by next year. The planning of the new factory restarted this winter after several delays but when it opens next year it is set to create new jobs for the Snaefellsnes peninsula in West Iceland, RUV reports. The provision of fresh spring water from Lind under Snaefellsjokull glacier to the new site is already nearing completion. Icelandic Glacial markets itself as a carbon neutral brand and was recently chosen exclusive world water supplier to Hilton Hotels.

Posted 26 May 2010; 9:52:18 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Circumpolar News, Economic issues, Iceland, May10

Requiescat in pace: Keith “Tulugaq” Crowe   

(Advocatus diaboli, 23 May 2010) -- Just found out about this: Keith Crowe: Jan. 30, 1927 — May 16, 2010. I first encountered Keith Crowe’s name through his wonderful little book: A History of the Orginal Peoples of Northern Canada. First published in 1974 to serve as a text book for high school and college students, then revised in 1991, it has yet to be surpassed. But many Inuit of a certain age remember him for a much better reason: he was one of those rare government officials who never failed to treat others with love and respect. I’ve already received several forwarded emails from those who can describe the essence of his personality far better than I can. I haven’t had time to get permission to quote them yet, so I’ll let them speak anonymously until I do: Taipsumani tamaani Aatuvaami takujariulaursimajara Tulugaq, 1967-mi. Inungnut tunnanarutimmarialuulaurtuq tamaani Aatuvaami, uvagut Inuktigut ungasiktualuutilluta angajuqqaaptinnut. Inungnik nagligusummarilaurtuq, nalunalaunngittuq. Kinguniqarniartuq inuusia. When we Inuit were sent down south by the Canadian Government in the 1960's, I first met Tulugaq in 1967 in Ottawa. Keith was always a “welcoming committee” for all Inuit. He made our life easier in those days, especially, when we were all so far away from our parents. It was pretty obvious to me that he loved Inuit very much. He spoke Inuktitut. It seemed he always had time for everybody. We Inuit lived down south, during the time of colonialism of government in Canada. Keith was always an advocate for Inuit and our cause. He worked on issues that matter to Inuit. He will be remembered fondly by all those who met him. ...

Posted 25 May 2010; 1:40:49 AM.   Permalink

Tagged: Books, Blogs and Publications, Canada, Circumpolar News, May10, People

Greenland rising [mp3]   

(CBC/Quirks and Quarks, 22 May 2010) -- The fact that Greenland's ice cap is melting is not a surprise to scientists like Dr. Tim Dixon, a Canadian professor of Geophysics at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. What is surprising is the rate at which the land is actually rising. The dense ice cap, which is up to 2 kilometres thick, presses the land beneath it down and lowers its elevation. As the ice melts around the edges of the glacier in coastal areas of Greenland, the land rises by at least one millimetre per year. This rate of this rise has been accelerating since it began in the mid 1990's and could double by 2025. [See related CBC story.]

Posted 25 May 2010; 1:31:36 AM.  quirks_20100522_32740.mp3 Permalink

Tagged: Circumpolar News, Climate change response, Greenland, May10

Canada to get tough with Greenland over Arctic drilling: environment minister   

(Shannon Montgomery/Canadian Press via Metro News Halifax, 20 May 2010) -- CALGARY - Environment Minister Jim Prentice says he will demand the highest environmental standards be followed as Greenland explores offshore oil drilling just outside of Canada's territorial waters. Prentice said he'll make Canada's position very clear at a meeting of Arctic countries next month. "We certainly want to be sure that the highest possible environmental standards are being followed and we intend to make our views known," he said at an event in Calgary. "Obviously drilling offshore wells in the Arctic environment, particularly deep wells, is something that we are concerned about. Greenland recently accepted bids to drill in Baffin Bay near the mouth of Lancaster Sound, which is close to where Canada hopes to establish a marine conservation area. The territory hopes to drill along thousands of kilometres of the maritime border it shares with Canada starting this summer.

Posted 23 May 2010; 9:53:27 AM.   Permalink

Tagged: Canada, Circumpolar News, Contaminants and Pollution, Greenland, International, May10, Oil, gas, non-renewable resources, Resource Issues

Transmode builds fiber optic network for Ishavslink inside Arctic Circle   

(Transmode press release via Webwire, 20 May 2010) -- Stockholm - Transmode, a leading provider of Optical Networking Solutions, today announced that Ishavslink, a Norwegian regional network operator, has built a digital highway providing the whole Finnmark territory (North-West Norway) with an optical communications network. Ishavslink has used Transmode’s TM-Series optical networking platform and in addition Transmode also project-managed the installation, commissioning and testing of the network. Following the installation of the TM-Series in over 12 hubs, Ishavslink now has the infrastructure that gives regional and international carriers the ability to offer their customers triple-play services, including high-speed broadband, Internet, TV and telephone. Ishavslink’s network stretches over 800 km and reaches 35-40,000 homes with a fiber ring from Kirkenes near the Russian border in the east, to Alta in the West. (See attached map). The fiber ring allows remote communities to stay in touch with the rest of the world. Finnmark is strategically situated at the northernmost part of continental Europe inside the Arctic Circle where Norway meets Russia.

Posted 21 May 2010; 5:02:19 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Circumpolar News, Communications and media, May10, Norway, Transportation, Infrastructure and Construction

Spring floods threaten northern Sweden   

(The Local, 21 May 2010) -- Sweden's meteorological agency SMHI has issued flood warnings in several areas across northern parts of Sweden as water levels rise with the spring floods. In Jämtland water levels are extremely high and there are fears that Hammerdal hydro-electric power station remains under threat from flooding despite some easing off during the night. "Water levels have dropped back 2.5 centimetre during the night. But we have been building barriers with sand bags around the station during the night and will continue," said Nicolas von Essen at the emergency services. Recent flooding has caused a number of road closures in Västerbotten and Norrbotten in the far north of Sweden with water levels suddenly climbing around half a metre as melting snow filtered down into rivers and tributaries. While the situation in the far north is starting to ease, the worst problems remain in Jämtland and around Hammerdal with several properties reported to be flooded. "We are waiting on a new forecast from SMHI at around 10am and will spend the day photographing all the rivers to check developments," von Essen said. SMHI expects water levels to rise for a couple more days but indicates that the peak has been reached in the far north.

Posted 21 May 2010; 2:43:30 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Circumpolar News, Climate Change and Weather, Environment and Landscape, May10, Sweden

Indigenous people of Russia battered by hardships   

(Jane George/Nunatsiaq News, 20 May 2010) -- QUEBEC CITY - Many of the 280,000 indigenous peoples of Russia’s north are watching their communities and cultures teeter on the brink of extinction as economic hardships force them to leave their homelands and migrate in droves to the city. Many of those who remain behind have abandoned traditional values and become “profit-driven in their search for compensation for their traditional lands,” Larissa Abryutina of the Russian Association of the Indigenous People of the North said May 18 in a presentation to a conference at Laval University on sustainable development and sovereignty in the Arctic. Like other speakers, Abryutina revealed a striking irony: that it’s much easier to find bad examples of development and self-determination in the Arctic than good ones. Abryutina, a Chukchi, is herself a casualty of the desperate choices facing northern Russian indigenous people: a doctor of radiology, she left her home region of Chukotka due to its declining standard of living. Since the 1990s, and the fall of the Soviet Union’s Communist government, things have gone from bad to worse for northern indigenous people in Russia, Abryutina said. And their life expectancy has fallen to between 40 and 45 years due to the environmental pollution, alcoholism and poor health care.

Posted 21 May 2010; 1:52:29 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Circumpolar News, Conferences, Health and wellness, Indigenous Issues, May10, Russia, Social Issues

New direct flight to Chukotka, to the white nights, dog and reindeer sleds   

(Russia Info, 19 May 2010) -- The air carrier of Yakutia has opened a new direct regular flight Moscow Ц Anadyr Ц Moscow. This route provides new traveling possibilities for the residents of Chukchi Autonomous Area (Chukotka) and for the tourists who choose eco-tours on dog sleds and thrill seekers who wants to research this northern exotic land as well. The flight is carried out from this Wednesday, May19 from the Moscow international airport of Vnukovo, which provides different possibilities for transit flights. The service takes place on the modern aircraft of Boeing 757-200 on Wednesdays (Moscow - Anadyr) and on Thusdays (Anadyr - Moscow). The trip time amounts to 8 hours.

Posted 21 May 2010; 1:48:39 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Circumpolar News, Far East Russia, May10, Tourism, Transportation, Infrastructure and Construction

Most students stay in Northern Norway   

(Barents Observer, 20 May 2010) -- Two out of three students at the University of Tromsø stay in Northern Norway after graduation, a poll shows. "It is both surprising and joyous that so many find work in the northern parts of the country," says Rector Jarle Aarbakke, according to NRK.no. A poll amongst graduates from the University of Tromsø shows that nine of ten students were in work six months after graduation. Half of the students with Bachelor, Master or Doctoral degrees from 2007 and 2008 are now working in Troms County. 8.5 percent of the students are working in Nordland County and 7.3 percent in Finnmark County. Other studies have showed that eight of ten psychologist and doctors educated at the University in Tromsø are working in one of the country’s three northernmost counties. The main argument for the need to establish a university in Northern Norway was precisely to supply Northern Norway with highly educated workers. The University was founded in 1968 and opened four years later. The University of Tromsø offers studies in medicine, law, psychology, pharmaceutics, dentistry.

Posted 21 May 2010; 11:13:40 AM.   Permalink

Tagged: Circumpolar News, Education and Civil Society, May10, Norway, Social Issues, Youth

Historic meeting for Barents region   

(Government of Sweden press release, 20 May 2010) -- Representatives of the Barents countries met in Umeå on 18-19 May to discuss raw material and energy assets in the region. Minister for Enterprise and Energy Maud Olofsson invited her counterparts to this meeting, which was the first of its kind within Barents cooperation. The meeting focused on strengthening the region through more effective use of natural resources and the potential for renewable energy. It discussed how to strengthen growth and increase job opportunities in the region, and how to strengthen understanding of the strategic importance of the region, both in the EU and globally. "Having been on the periphery, we are now the centre of attention. The entire world needs raw materials and renewable energy, and this can provide many new jobs in the region. I believe in increased cooperation in the area of knowledge; businesses in the region face the same kinds of issues and challenges. One example is how to make most effective use of our forests," says Ms Olofsson. A declaration was adopted at the meeting, establishing that the region holds very great economic potential and stating that we must move together towards sustainable development. It also highlighted the importance of shaping policy and market conditions so as to stimulate investment, innovation and entrepreneurship towards a green economy. Work will now continue on a more concrete level in the working groups that form part of the cooperation process.

Posted 20 May 2010; 2:34:55 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Barents Euro-Arctic Region, Circumpolar cooperation, Circumpolar News, May10

Effects of cold winter still felt on train tracks   

(YLE, 18 May 2010) -- Frost damage to railway tracks following the harsh winter continues to slow down rail traffic in Finland. VR says damage to tracks will delay millions of train trips. The problems, which have been going on for weeks, are expected to last until mid-June. Trains across the country are forced to run at lower speeds due to the damaged tracks. Speed reductions are in force on a total of 550 kilometres of track. The problems are most pronounced on the main line between the towns of Kokkola and Oulu. VR says delays as long as 1.5 hours can be expected.

Posted 20 May 2010; 12:21:51 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Circumpolar News, Climate Change and Weather, Finland, May10, Transportation, Infrastructure and Construction

Eroding village continues relocation work   

(The Arctic Sounder, 29 May 2010) --  As erosion creeps ever closer, residents of a tiny Southwest Alaska village continue their slow but steady work to relocate to higher ground. The Yup'ik Eskimo village of Newtok has completed construction of a landing barge, part of an ambitious multi-government endeavor driven by local leaders. The barge is a crucial piece of infrastructure for the new site nine miles from the flood-prone community of 350. A landing strip has not yet been built, but road construction is set to begin. The Marines and other military branches are providing personnel and heavy equipment to build a 3,800-foot road this summer between the site of a planned evacuation center and their base camp that they built last year near the barge landing. Stanley Tom, Newtok's tribal administrator, said locals also hope three new houses will be added to three homes already there. "We're making progress," he said. "We will gradually build houses." The evacuation center will serve as a bridge for residents and could later function as tribal offices or some kind of community center once the move is complete. Tom said the erosion that has fueled a sense of urgency among locals continues. Newtok has one of the shortest projected life spans among scores of Alaska native villages affected by erosion and flooding blamed in part to rising temperatures.

Posted 19 May 2010; 5:10:01 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Alaska, Circumpolar News, Climate change response, Communities, Disasters, etc., May10

EU, Russia, Norway and Iceland embark on closer cultural partnership   

(Nordic Council News, 18 May 2010) -- The EU member states, Russia, Norway and Iceland are to work more closely together on cultural issues after the joint International Forum for the establishment of new tools for cultural co-operation in Northern Europe. High-level officials from the countries will sign a Memorandum of Understanding in Saint Petersburg, 20-21 May. The Forum in St. Petersburg brings together individuals involved in the cultural sphere, creative enterprises, cultural institutions and officials from 11 countries to look at ways of boosting the creative economy in the area covered by the Northern Dimension. All of the European countries are currently discussing how to adopt these concepts and develop the potential for a creative economy, a growth sector capable of creating jobs and prosperity but which lacks funding and investment tools. The Northern Dimension Partnership on Culture (NDPC) is a new initiative for Northern Europe scheduled to be up and running in 2011. Its main objective is to facilitate access to funding for long-term projects and for enterprises capable of generating jobs and becoming self-sustainable. The NDPC will complement existing national and international organisations and institutions working on cultural co-operation and exchange, providing an extra platform to facilitate and promote dialogue and the exchange of best practices in the cultural sphere.

Posted 19 May 2010; 4:37:32 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Circumpolar News, Cultural Matters, International, May10, Nordic Region, Russia

Canada Post to lose Food Mail Program   

(Globe and Mail, 17 May 2010) -- A federal program that subsidizes the shipping of nutritious, perishable foods by air to remote northern communities will be awarded to three retailers instead of Canada Post, CBC News has learned. The government is expected to make an announcement this week that North West Company, Arctic Co-operatives Limited and La Fédération des coopératives du Nouveau-Québec will be provided with the multi-million dollar subsidy instead of the national postal service, the CBC's Laurie Graham reported. Canada Post declined to comment. Ottawa has been providing Canada Post with a $60-million annual subsidy to deliver fresh food to the North under the Food Mail Program. Along with letters and packages, the national postal service trucks food and other items from warehouses to places such as Val-d'Or, Que., where they're then flown to remote northern communities. It's a method that has long been criticized as too expensive and time-consuming. Last year, officials with the Indian and Northern Affairs Department said they were contemplating running the program without the carrier service, and dealing directly with food suppliers in an effort to shave transportation costs. In April, Indian and Northern Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl told the House of Commons the program had to change. "Northerners deserve to have a program they can count on, and we are going to deliver that to them," he said. The hope is that by cutting out the middleman, the retailers will be able to get nutritious food to northern grocery shelves more efficiently, Graham reported.

Posted 17 May 2010; 10:58:45 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Canada, Circumpolar News, Communities, May10, North America

Greenland’s success shows Canada's child mortality disgrace   

(Globe and Mail, 16 May 2010) -- Greenland faces many of the same challenges as Nunavut. Both have small, dispersed populations spread over cold expanses of land. Both are territories where indigenous peoples have advanced far in self-determination, and both struggle with social ills. Yet infant mortality – one of the key indicators of a successful health-care system – is dramatically lower in Greenland. At 15.1 deaths per 1,000 live births, Nunavut's infant mortality rate is double Greenland's – and nearly four times the Canadian average. Canada can do much better. Inuit children in Nunavut also have the highest rate of hospital admission for lower respiratory tract infections in the world. These statistics are a black eye for Canada. Every Inuit life should be precious, as precious as the lives of other Canadians. The government of Nunavut, and the people of that territory, must confront the reasons for these terrible health outcomes. Canada, and Nunavut in particular, should look to Greenland, which has succeeded in reducing its infant mortality rate. People there are taking responsibility for their health, and improving their lifestyle. Greenland has specific programs to remove some of the underlying causes of infant mortality. For example, the country has a successful anti-smoking campaign. Instead of advocating a complete ban on smoking, it educates women not to smoke in front of their children and babies. There has also been a gradual improvement in housing, and a decline in the average number of inhabitants in one dwelling. ... Canada, which boasts one of the best standards of living in the world, should not tolerate such unacceptably poor health practices. Nor should Nunavut. The territory can use Greenland as a model and break the silence around self-harm. Honest debates around the harm of smoking, drug use, and sexual abuse, will help people learn how to parent better, and raise healthier children.

Posted 17 May 2010; 11:18:06 AM.   Permalink

Tagged: Circumpolar News, Greenland, Health and wellness, May10, Women, Children and Families

Canada to review Arctic drilling after U.S. spill   

(Alexandre Deslongchamps/Blomberg Businessweek, 12 May 2010) -- Canadian national and provincial energy regulators will review the safety requirements for offshore drilling projects in a bid to prevent an oil spill similar to the one in the Gulf of Mexico. The Calgary-based National Energy Board will review procedures for Arctic drilling, while Canada’s easternmost province of Newfoundland said today it appointed Mark Turner, former chief operating officer of North Atlantic Pipeline Partners and Newfoundland LNG Ltd., to probe its ability to prevent and respond to a spill. While Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said Canada’s rules are safe, the opposition Liberal Party said yesterday it wants to conduct a review of offshore drilling and that a moratorium could be necessary if current rules aren’t stringent enough. “We need to learn from what happened in the Gulf,” Gaetan Caron, the regulator’s chair, said in a statement released yesterday. “The information taken from this unfortunate situation will enhance our safety and environmental oversight.” The National Energy Board will announce the details of the review in the “near future,” according to the statement. It takes the place of a separate review the Board had begun into the need for Arctic operators to be able to drill relief wells during the same season. The watchdog said there is currently no offshore drilling in the Arctic and it hasn’t received any applications for such a project.

Posted 13 May 2010; 4:47:27 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Canada, Circumpolar News, May10, Oil, gas, non-renewable resources, Resource Issues

Walrus attacks on spectacled eider ducks caught on film   

(Jody Bourton/BBC News, 12 May 2010) -- Walruses have been filmed attacking spectacled eider ducks in the Bering Sea, behaviour never seen before. Walruses are known to feed on bottom-dwelling animals such as clams, so it is highly unusual to see them attempt to catch and eat ducks. A BBC natural history crew captured footage of the odd behaviour from a distance using a specialist camera mounted on a high-flying helicopter. Details are published in Arctic, the journal of the Arctic Institute of North America. The spectacled eider (Somateria fischeri) is a large sea duck that breeds on the coasts of Alaska and northeastern Siberia. During winter and spring migration they gather in huge flocks on the Bering Sea, concentrating in relatively small areas of open water within the sea ice. "This is where the world's entire population of spectacled eider comes during winter," says Mr Jeff Wilson, who directed the shoot for the BBC natural history documentary Frozen Planet due to broadcast in 2011. Studying and filming this spectacular gathering is difficult, due to the remote location. However, in March 2008 the film crew joined a scientific research expedition to the region. ... Using a ship-based helicopter, Mr Wilson and cameraman Mr David McKay flew over the sea ice to film the ducks from high-altitude. As they did so, they noticed some unusual activity on the surface. "There were certain pockets of ducks that started to fly away in big starbursts. It's not normal for ducks to expend energy like that," says Mr Wilson. "Suddenly in the middle of the starburst a walrus came up. It then started to chase the ducks. It was pretty obvious it was hunting them." During 75 minutes of filming the walrus made eight attempts to catch a duck. The behaviour is so unusual that it has been studied by zoologist Professor James Lovvorn from Southern Illinois University, Illinois, US, who wrote up his findings in the journal. Walruses have previously been known to feed on birds, but the majority of their diet consists of molluscs and small prey found on the sea floor. "No one has reported such attacks on large flocks of ducks by walruses before," Prof Lovvorn told the BBC.

Posted 13 May 2010; 4:45:04 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Circumpolar News, Expeditions, field trips, tours, Flora and Fauna, May10, Research

Fight over Arctic wildlife refuge heats up   

(Mary Pemberton/AP via Forbes, 12 May 2010) -- ANCHORAGE, Alaska - The fight over oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge heated up Tuesday over the possibility that a new management plan could put the refuge and its billions of barrels of crude off-limits for good. At issue is the refuge's 1.5-million-acre coastal plain and whether an updated plan would designate the oil-rich area as wilderness. The coastal plain — believed to contain an estimated 11 billion barrels of recoverable oil — has been a battleground for decades between environmentalists who don't want drilling and oil companies and Alaska officials that see a large, untapped resource that could ease the country's dependence on foreign oil. Production at Prudhoe Bay, North America's largest oil field, is declining by about 10 percent a year. The refuge's coastal plain, and its large pool of oil just to the east, is enticingly close. It's also onshore. In the update of the 22-year-old refuge management plan, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spokesman has said the federal agency might recommend the coastal plain be designated as wilderness. If that should happen, it would be off-limits to oil companies, perhaps permanently. The agency expects the plan to be finalized by 2012.

Posted 13 May 2010; 4:13:53 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Alaska, Circumpolar News, Conservation and Wildlife, Environment and Landscape

Patrick Webber awarded with the first IASC Medal   

(IASC, 12 May 2010) -- IASC is proud to announce that the  first IASC Medal will be awarded to Professor Emeritus Patrick John Webber. Patrick Webber is recognized for his life-time scientific contributions to arctic and alpine tundra ecology and plant taxonomy and the promotion of arctic research in general through his inspiring mentorship and leadership. The medal will be presented by the IASC President, David Hik, on the 9th of June 2010 from 13.20-14.00 at the IPY Oslo Science Conference. The award ceremony will be followed by a 30 minute lecture by the awardee.

Posted 12 May 2010; 10:30:21 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Circumpolar News, May10

South Korean icebreaker ship will explore Arctic Ocean this summer   

(Bernama, 10 May 2010) -- SEOUL - South Korea's first dedicated icebreaker ship will set out to explore the Arctic Ocean in the summer, a state-run oceanographic research institute said Monday, its news agency Yonhap said. The Korea Ocean Research and Development Institute said the Araon, a 7,487-tonne icebreaker and research ship, will leave Incheon harbor on the west coast of South Korea on July 1 to survey the ocean until the end of August. Scientists aboard the ship will be tasked with examining carbon dioxide flux in the polar region, conducting research via various atmospheric mooring buoys and collecting information on floating ice, it added. Christened in November 2009, the Araon is equipped with various oceanographic, geophysical and arctic environment laboratories. The ship has an endurance of 37,000 kilometers, or about 70 days. It also is designed to sail through sheet ice up to 1 meter thick at 5.5 kilometers per hour. The ship is expected to stop over at Nome Alaska on its outbound voyage and, after conducting surveys for about a month, return to Incheon on August 30. The voyage will be the second for the ship after it inspected two prospective sites for South Korea's second Antarctic base early this year. Seoul has picked Terra Nova Bay located near the Ross Sea on the southeastern tip of the frozen continent.

Posted 12 May 2010; 3:13:11 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Arctic Ocean, Circumpolar News, Expeditions, field trips, tours, International, May10, Research

Wilder weather from climate change   

(Barents Observer, 11 May 2010) -- Northern Norway should start preparing for a warmer, wilder and wetter climate, researchers from the Norwegian Polar Institute say. A new report from the institute concludes that climate changes in the High North are proceeding quicker than previously anticipated and that they will be felt by “everybody in the region”. According to the report, which is part of the NorACIA project, temperatures at Svalbard will in the next 90 years increase 9 degrees, while the northern parts of the Norwegian mainland will see a 2–2,5 degree temperature increase. -Humans, animals and nature will feel the changes, and society planners should consider carefully where to build houses, Ellen Øseth, adviser at Polar Institute, told newspaper Aftenposten. -The only thing we are sure about is that the changes will be felt by everybody, she adds. The warmer water in the Arctic seas will attract new fish stocks to the region. While the cod over the next 100 years might have moved from Norwegian to Russian waters, the mackerel will increasingly like it in the region. Also industrial activities will seek towards the region as the ice contracts, the researchers say. The NorACIA report is based on findings from more than 100 Norwegian and international researchers. It is the last of five reports, which all are part of the Norwegian contribution in the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA). The Norwegian Polar Institute has had the secretariat for the international project, which has been going on since 2005.

Posted 12 May 2010; 3:10:31 PM.   Permalink

Tagged: Circumpolar News, Climate Change and Weather, May10, Norway

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