Circumpolar Musings: Circumpolar News

New Arctic group gives Canada political competition

Amanda Graham — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 07:43:01 GMT

( The Globe and Mail, 15 April 2013) -- China, India and big oil will all be welcome at a new circumpolar forum launched Monday by Iceland’s President Ólafur Grímsson in a move that seems certain to irk some northern nations. The Arctic Council – the group that includes Canada and the seven other circumpolar countries – has been grappling with a slew of demands for participation from China, India and other non-northern nations. Now the launch of the Arctic Circle, which Mr. Grímsson announced on the same day Iceland became the first western nation to sign a free-trade pact with China, will be seen as complicating, if not challenging, the primacy of the Arctic Council in the rapidly changing north. The Arctic Circle forum will be open to all. “Google is interested,” Mr. Grímsson said during a launch speech at the National Press Club in Washington, adding so too were those countries, such as France, currently frustrated by being relegated to non-speaking observer status at the Arctic Council. “We want to be an open tent or a public square,” Mr. Grímsson said, in a pointed reference to the limited membership and governmental Arctic Council that critics regard as exclusive and unwelcoming. “We hope to foster a new type of dialogue,” he said, starting in October when the first gathering of the Arctic Circle opens in Iceland’s capital Reykjavik. ... Mr. Grímsson was careful to say that the Arctic Circle wasn’t intended as a rival or replacement for the Arctic Council. But just as Davos – the high-profile annual gathering of political and business leaders, celebrities and NGOs – often eclipses the more staid and official fora, it’s clear that the Arctic Circle is intended as a high-profile, dynamic conference where India and Google and Greenpeace – and countless others with a stake in the Arctic – need not wait for years hoping they may be allowed to speak.

Art program launched in Arctic Canadian community

Amanda Graham — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 21:20:32 GMT

(CBC News via Eye on the Arctic, 8 April 2013) -- The principal of Peter Pitseolak High School in Cape Dorset, a community in Canada’s eastern Arctic territory of Nunavut, is trying to improve arts programming in the school. Mike Soares says he was surprised to find that arts were not a strong subject in the school when he arrived in the hamlet three years ago since Cape Dorset is famous around the world for Inuit art. “It had pretty much got to the point where art was just paint by numbers,” he said. He says he has a good reason to try to turn that around. “Some of our students over the years have left school because they’ve found that they can produce art and sell it and then school becomes less important, in the same way that in Fort McMurray kids might leave school to go work in the oil patch,” said Soares. Almost half the kids have a carver in their family. Soares has been working with a foundation willing to pay local artists to come and work in the school. Last week, some grade 11 students met with Wen Xie, a Chinese jade carver who was in town for a month to work with other artists. Xie said he feels that students are interested when he talks about the history of carving in China. “I know a lot of kids, like 13, 14, also younger, like 11 years old, they don’t come to school, but they do some soapstone carving. I try to find them to bring them here. I really want to find them,” said Xie. Soares is also working with the National Art Gallery and the Northwest Company to repatriate some works of art so that he can put them on display in the school and inspire others.

Google maps Iqaluit with backpack cameras

Amanda Graham — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 04:01:15 GMT

(CBC News, 21 March 2013) -- Over the next couple of days, residents of Iqaluit may see pedestrians carrying some strange-looking equipment on their backs. They’re members of a team working for Google Maps to photograph the city for Google Street View. Team members wear a backpack called a trekker, which has a camera system mounted on it to capture 360-degree street level images. Chris Kalluk, who works with Nunavut Tunngavik in the land department in Cambridge Bay, is one of the trekker operators. "I want more people to be able to visit here without leaving their homes,” he said. “Also to be able to see the place before they come up. They'd have an essential feeling of what it's like up here before they actually move up here or come visit." Kalluk said he's excited to be part of Google's first winter visit to Nunavut. Last summer, the company was in Cambridge Bay taking photos there for Street View. The Google team will be in Iqaluit until Sunday.

Arctic resource row brings down Greenland government

Amanda Graham — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 19:18:56 GMT

( Duncan Geere/Wired.co.uk, 16 March 2013) -- Greenland's government has fallen in the wake of an argument in the country over the extent to which foreign oil and mining countries should be allowed to operate in the Arctic. The left-leaning government of the Prime Minister, Kuupik Kleist was rejected by voters in the Arctic country, which has a population of 56,000 that is 89 percent Inuit. The election was dominated by a debate over foreign investors working in Greenland. Speculation that a company called London Mining was planning to use 2,000 Chinese workers to build a vast iron ore mine to serve steel mills in Beijing, and the activities of Cairn Energy who drilled for oil off the Greenland coast in 2011 divided opinion. The election was won in the end by the Siumut party, which secured 42% of the vote, allowing it to form a coalition government, led by Alequa Hammond. She pledged to increase royalties on mining operations, and be more critical of foreign investments. "We are welcoming companies and countries that are interested in investing in Greenland," she told the BBC. "At the same time we have to be aware of the consequences as a people. Greenland should work with countries that have the same values as we have, on how human rights should be respected. We are not giving up our values for investors' sake."

Is Arctic walrus next protected species?

Amanda Graham — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 03:13:56 GMT

(Ben Anderson/Alaska Dispatch, 12 March 2013) -- Recently, a federal appeals court ruling determined that polar bears, those poster children of the effects of climate change, could keep their "threatened" status as listed under the Endangered Species Act, despite objections from the state of Alaska and other entities. Now, the Pacific walrus -- another species that calls Alaska home -- may become another animal to be listed on the basis of climate change's negative effect on its summer sea ice habitat. Another recent court ruling said that a determination can now be made on whether or not to include a backlog of more than 260 species for the endangered species list. ... The walrus was originally listed as a candidate for protection under the ESA in 2011, when a yearlong review by the FWS found that the walrus may merit eventual ESA safeguards. "After review of all the available scientific and commercial information, we find that listing the Pacific walrus as endangered or threatened is warranted," the agency wrote. "Currently, however, listing the Pacific walrus is precluded by higher priority actions to amend the Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants." A big part of the recommendation came as a result of receding levels of summertime Arctic sea ice, widely attributed to warming temperatures related to climate change. 2007 marked a record low for Arctic sea ice extent, a record broken again just last year. In 1980, the U.S. Geological Survey says that Arctic sea ice covered about 7.5 million square kilometers. In 2012, it covered less than 3.5 million square kilometers. Those low ice extents were also what led to the polar bear's initial listing as threatened under the ESA in 2008, and Pacific walruses may now face the same fate.

'Protect reindeer' say Sweden’s indigenous Sami

Amanda Graham — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 02:58:33 GMT

(Radio Sweden via Eye on the Arctic, 11 March 2013) -- The Sami, an indigenous people living in northern Sweden, want higher compensation for their reindeer that are killed by other animals, reports Swedish Radio news. More than 5,000 bear, lynx, wolverine, and wolves are found in Sweden today. That's double the number of predatory wildlife from the time the reindeer compensation system was put in place in the mid-1990s. Most predatory animals live in reindeer areas. The Swedish National Sami Association says many of the 51 Sami reindeer herding communities are having a tough time. The association wants to reduce the numbers of predatory animals in their areas and get more in compensation for reindeer losses. Lena Ek, Sweden's Environmental Minister, says the issue will be taken up this fall when the government presents its plan for predatory wildlife. Sweden needs to be prepared to pay if it wants to continue to protect such animals, she says.

PM announces final transfer of power deal for N.W.T.

Amanda Graham — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 23:32:54 GMT

(CBC News, 11 March 2013) -- Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced a final Northwest Territories devolution deal at the territory's legislature in Yellowknife today. "Negotiators have reached a consensus on the terms of a final devolution agreement," Harper said. The final agreement, as it stands, gives the Northwest Territories more control over its natural resources — it stands to get half the money collected from oil, minerals and diamonds. Based on last year's numbers, that would have added about $69 million to the territory's budget. Five of the territory's seven aboriginal groups signed a consensus document, including Nellie Cournoyea, a former N.W.T. premier and the current chair of the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation. "Being part of the agreement, then we're able to ensure we can work together with what we received in our land claims agreement. So it gives us a parity with the territorial government," she said. Harper called it a historic day and applauded the territorial government led by Premier Bob McLeod. He also made a note that the final agreement will not be signed just yet. "Before this agreement is signed, our government will do its part to consult with all impacted aboriginal groups," he said. Lastly, Harper said, "It is time for the people of the Northwest Territories to take control of their destiny."

Reindeer capacity of pastures will be calculated in Yamal

Amanda Graham — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 23:27:10 GMT

(Sever-Press via Yamal.org, 6 March 2013) -- This year the Department of Agro-industrial Complex, Trade and Provision of Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug plans to undertake scientific and research work "Elaboration of the methodology for calculation of reindeer capacity of pastures on the territory of the region". The director of the department, Vyacheslav Kucherenko, explained the project to the conference of Yamal Union of Reindeer Herders, and said the methodology is intended to yield information for substantiating and taking administrative decisions on planning economic and nature-protecting activities and also use for practical aims by economic subjects. By his words, intensive industrial development of Yamal brings to decrease in territories of pastures. At the same time, number of domestic reindeer in the territory of Yamalskiy and Tazovskiy districts stays on the high level, which brings to more intensive use of reindeer pastures. Thus, it is necessary to elaborate the methodology and to calculate reindeer capacity of pastures on the territory of the region.

Proposed dam presents economic and environmental challenges in Alaska

Amanda Graham — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 03:56:17 GMT

(Felicity Barringer/New York Times, 6 March 2013) -- At a time when large dams are being taken down, not put up, the state of Alaska is proposing to construct one of the tallest and most expensive hydroelectric dams ever built in North America. The Alaska Energy Authority is planning to build a 735-foot, $5.2 billion structure on the Susitna River in a largely empty south-central part of the state, which is watered by runoff from the arc of the Alaska Range. The dam, designed to generate up to 600 megawatts of electricity, would create a new power supply for more than two-thirds of the state’s population. But in Alaska, where natural energy resources and wildlife are both foundations of the economy, the proposed dam presents twin conundrums. One is economic: which is better, creating a reliable source of hydroelectricity and weaning some of the state off natural gas, or building a spur off a proposed pipeline to bring gas from the North Slope to the populated region from Fairbanks to the Kenai Peninsula? Or both? The other is environmental: what serves the environment best, replacing natural gas-fired electricity with hydroelectricity, which is free of greenhouse gas emissions, or keeping the Susitna watershed untrammeled and avoiding the risks involved in changing the dynamics of a major salmon stream? ...

Ottawa signs $288M contract for design of Arctic ships

Amanda Graham — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 02:26:24 GMT

(CBC e, 6 March 2013) -- Ottawa has signed a $288 million contract for the design of new Arctic offshore patrol ships as part of its shipbuilding procurement project. The federal government and J.D. Irving signed a 30-month planning and engineering definition contract that will establish what ships to build and how to build them. The contract with Irving Shipbuilding of Halifax was announced by Defence Minister Peter MacKay and Public Works Minister Rona Ambrose on Thursday. Neither would say how many Arctic patrol ships would be built under the deal. The original estimate was between six and eight. The contract is expected to support up to 200 jobs in Nova Scotia. Irving said there will be an additional 75 jobs in other provinces. Ambrose said the design contract will ensure that construction of the ships can begin once the build contract is signed. Construction of the vessels is expected to begin in 2015.

World's largest blimp headed for Alaska

Amanda Graham — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 02:23:58 GMT

(Laurel Andrews/Alaska Dispatch, 10 March 2013) -- It’s a bird, it’s a plane – no wait, it’s a blimp! For the first time since the 1920s, a modern day airship will travel to Alaska this summer to conduct field work and show off its potential for becoming a permanent fixture in Alaska’s skies. Francis Grover, business manager with Skyship Services, said the company is “quite excited” for the northward journey. The blimp, a Skyship 600, will arrive in early July and plans to stick around until September. Lifting off from Orlando, Fl., the blimp will travel for 6 weeks at speeds of 40 miles per hour before it lands in the 49th state, making stops along the way. The Skyship 600 is the largest blimp in operation in the world, at a length of 200 feet; it's able to carry a 2 ton payload, and 15 passengers at a time. The blimp will usually cruise for around 18 hours at a time, but its record for staying aloft is 50 hours straight, Grover said. During its time in the state, the airship will conduct surveys for oil companies of wetlands and other vegetative areas; Grover declined to name the companies it will be working for. He also hopes the company will “spead some goodwill” during its time in Alaska and show off the potential airships have in the Last Frontier. The company hopes to make return trips to the state, and eventually have airships based in Alaska full-time. According to a press release sent out by Alaska Sen. Lesil McGuire, blimps have potential as “outstanding platforms for aerial surveys” due to their slow speeds and low altitude flying.

Tlicho to officially sign on to N.W.T. devolution

Amanda Graham — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 02:22:01 GMT

(CBC News, 8 March 2013) -- The Tlicho Government will formally sign on to the N.W.T.’s devolution agreement-in-principle at a ceremony today at 3:30 p.m. in Behchoko. The Tlicho are the last aboriginal group with a settled land claim to sign on to the agreement to transfer control of public land and resources from the federal government to the N.W.T. Prime Minister Stephen Harper is expected in Yellowknife on Monday, and it is anticipated he will announce a final devolution agreement has been reached. However, the final agreement won't be signed right away as the territorial government still plans to do community consultations before sealing the deal.

Amplified greenhouse effect shifts North's growing seasons

Amanda Graham — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 02:13:14 GMT

(NASA/ Goddard Space Flight Center press release via Science Daily, 10 March 2013) -- Vegetation growth at Earth's northern latitudes increasingly resembles lusher latitudes to the south, according to a NASA-funded study based on a 30-year record of land surface and newly improved satellite data sets. An international team of university and NASA scientists examined the relationship between changes in surface temperature and vegetation growth from 45 degrees north latitude to the Arctic Ocean. Results show temperature and vegetation growth at northern latitudes now resemble those found 4 degrees to 6 degrees of latitude farther south as recently as 1982. "Higher northern latitudes are getting warmer, Arctic sea ice and the duration of snow cover are diminishing, the growing season is getting longer and plants are growing more," said Ranga Myneni of Boston University's Department of Earth and Environment. ... Myneni and colleagues used satellite data to quantify vegetation changes at different latitudes from 1982 to 2011. Data used in this study came from NOAA's Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometers (AVHRR) onboard a series of polar-orbiting satellites and NASA's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instruments on the Terra and Aqua satellites. The study was published on March 10, in the journal Nature Climate Change.

Visas hamper tourism to Russian Arctic

Amanda Graham — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 01:51:04 GMT

(Trude Pettersen/Barents Observer, 8 March 2013) -- The national park “Russian Arctic” could have had 20-25 000 more tourists if it had been easier to get a visa and if there had been a border-crossing point on Novaya Zemlya and Franz Josef Land, the park’s administration says according to the web site travel.ru. The national park lacks every kind of infrastructure, but this is precisely what the tourists come to experience. The Russian settlements of Svalbard are other places that many foreign visitors would like to visit if it was easier accessible. Norwegian hotels on Svalbard are visited by nearly 80.000 people every year, with an annual growth of 10 percent over the last years. Meanwhile, the Russian settlements of Barentsburg and Piramida draw less than 2500 people annually. The niche of Arctic winter tourism is booming as the world opens its eyes for the combination of winter, ocean and northern lights, and tourists are willing to pay a high price to experience the untouched nature. Russia has big plans for developing tourism in the Arctic. The national park “Russian Arctic” was established in 2011. It includes the northern part of Novaya Zemlya, Franz Josef Land and Victoria Island and covers almost 1,5 million hectares of territory. The Russian Federal Tourism Agency is planning to develop a brand that can help promote the Russian part of Svalbard as a tourist destination, as BarentsObserver wrote.

U.S. proposal to ban cross-border polar bear trade fails

Amanda Graham — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 08:37:21 GMT

(CBC News, 7 March 2013) -- A proposal by the United States to ban cross-border trade in polar bears and their parts was defeated Thursday at an international meeting of conservationists, marking a victory for Canada's Inuit over their big neighbour to the south. Delegates at the triennial meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, or CITES, rejected Washington's proposal to change the status of the polar bear from a species whose trade is merely regulated, not banned. The proposal fell far short of the two-thirds needed to pass, garnering 38 votes in favour, 42 against and 46 abstentions. A similar proposal was defeated three years ago at the last CITES meeting. While support for most of the meeting's 70 proposals covering the trade in other species fell along predictable lines, the U.S. proposal made for some odd bedfellows. Russia endorsed Washington's proposal, which was also supported by a cluster of animal humane societies. Canada was joined in opposition by some of the larger conservation organizations, including the CITES Secretariat and the Wildlife Trade Monitoring Network, better known as TRAFFIC. The worldwide population of polar bears is estimated to be 20,000 to 28,000, with about two-thirds in Canada. The United States had contended that climate change was dangerously shrinking the bears' habitat, and that pre-emptive measures were needed to save them. ... The U.S. delegation said it was disappointed that the trade ban proposal had failed.

Greenland walrus spotted in Scotland

Amanda Graham — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 08:22:12 GMT

(IceNews, 7 March 2013) -- Scottish residents discovered the presence of a rare northerly visitor at the weekend. Thirty-two-year-old birdwatcher Mark Warren from Orkney came across the massive mammal at a beach in North Ronaldsay on Saturday 3 March. But when he told his 28-year-old wife Fleur that he had just spotted a walrus, she had a hard time believing him. According to a report published by the UK news agency the Daily Record, there haven’t been any Walrus sightings in the region for more than two-and-a-half decades. Mrs Warren tod the paper, “I thought Mark was joking at first. It’s just amazing that he has turned up here. He seems happy enough and gives out a grunt. We would not like to get too close, because even though he’s young, he’s still a big animal.” Experts say the visitor is a young male thought to have made its way all the way from Greenland. “I would guess he is about eight or nine years and ready to breed,” said Ross Flett from Orkney Seal Rescue. However, he added, “I doubt he will find love here. It’s bad enough for humans on North Ronaldsay. There’s only about 70 people on the island – and now one lonely walrus too. It may be the search for a mate brought him here but he is certainly disorientated and off course.” The last confirmed sighting of a Walrus on in the area was in 1986, when a walrus managed to end up on a shore in Eynhallow.

In rare joint effort, Russia and US team to help polar bears

Amanda Graham — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 00:35:49 GMT

(David M. Herszenhorn/New York Times via Anchorage Daily News, 4 March 2013) -- MOSCOW -- With relations between Russia and the United States increasingly frosty because of entrenched disagreements over Syria, child adoptions, missile systems and other issues, the two countries have quietly joined forces to help polar bears. Russia and the United States, two of the five countries where polar bears live, are now the main allies pushing for greater protection for the bears under a global treaty on endangered species, which is being reviewed this week at a conference in Bangkok. "It really seems that both countries were willing to put aside their differences in order to work together to help save the polar bear," said Jeffrey Flocken, North American regional director for the International Fund for Animal Welfare. Russia's decision to cooperate with the United States not only defies a recent wave of anti-Americanism here, but it also reverses Moscow's opposition to a similar U.S. proposal at the endangered species conference three years ago. The impetus for this shift may be the increasing danger to polar bears and the return to the presidency of Vladimir V. Putin, who often expresses his personal affection for wildlife and has declared 2013 to be the "Year of the Environment" in Russia.

No separate riding for Nunavik: federal boundaries commission

Amanda Graham — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 23:34:31 GMT

(Nunatsiaq News, 4 March 2013) -- The federal electoral district of Abitibi-James Bay-Nunavik-Eeyou keeps its name and gains two new communities in the south. That’s according to a new map of the riding released last week by the federal Electoral Boundaries Commission. The independent commission proposes every 10 years, following a national census, how to redistribute Canada’s federal ridings to reflect population changes in Canada. After this redistribution, there will be 338 seats in the House of Commons. The commission’s recommendations for change don’t affect Nunavut, which, like the other two territories, keeps its own riding. The commission had first suggested that the name of the riding that includes Nunavik should change from Abitibi-Baie James-Nunavik-Eeyou to Abitibi-Nunavik, but its proposal doesn’t call for a separate riding for the Nunavik region, something Nunavik has lobbied for since 1972. “The redistribution of boundaries of federal electoral districts by which the territory of Nunavik would fall under two electoral districts do not take into consideration community of interest and identity,” stated a resolution passed last September at a meeting of the Kativik Regional Government councillors in Kuujjuaq. The commission said its main goal is to set boundaries so each riding would contain roughly the same number of people — 101,321 — for all of Quebec’s 78 federal ridings.

Geography in the News: Iditarod, The race of Arctic champions

Amanda Graham — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 23:31:11 GMT

(Neal Lineback and Mandy Lineback Gritzner/Geography in the News&tm;, 3 March 2013) -- One of the world’s most grueling races, Alaska’s Iditarod Dog Sled Race, began today, March 3rd. The history and geography of this magnificent race excite followers all over the world as the race is one of the most challenging for humans and their teams of dogs. Sixty-six teams registered for the race and many are repeat entries. The Iditarod is an annual race through Alaska where mushers and teams of dogs cover about 1,150 miles (1,853 km) in eight to 15 days. The Iditarod competition began in 1973 as a test of the best dogs and mushers in the state and has evolved into a highly competitive and popular race. Teams often encounter blizzards with whiteout conditions, aggressive wild game animals, and sub-zero weather and gale-force winds that can create wind chill temperatures reaching minus 100 degrees F (-75 degrees C).

Army to scale back Arctic operations because of budget cuts

Amanda Graham — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 23:19:13 GMT

(David Pugliese/Ottawa Citizen, 3 March 2013) -- OTTAWA — Conservative government budget cuts are forcing Canada’s army to scale back activities in the Arctic and cease training in other areas such as deserts and mountains, according to documents obtained by the Citizen. The army is bearing the brunt of cuts to the Canadian Forces and will see its budget reduced by 22 per cent over the next several years. The budget will drop from $1.5 billion to just under $1.2 billion by 2015. The reductions will affect how the army trains as well as its operations. The decision to scale back on Arctic missions flies in the face of the Conservative government’s high-profile efforts to increase the military’s presence in the North. The army, however, indicates it has no other choice as it is struggling with the excessive price tag of operating in the Arctic. “Recent Northern exercises and operations highlight the fact that conduct of these activities can cost from five to seven times more than if they were conducted in Southern Canada,” noted the Jan. 31 planning document from army commander Lt.-Gen. Peter Devlin. “The Army will have to limit/reduce the scope of its activities in the North, thus directly impacting on Canada’s ability to exercise Arctic sovereignty.” The document, to provide direction on how the army will conduct its business this year and next, was leaked to the Citizen.

NOAA’s Coast Survey plans for new Arctic nautical charts

Amanda Graham — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 21:23:50 GMT

(NOAA press release, 28 February 2013) -- NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey has issued an updated Arctic Nautical Charting Plan, as a major effort to improve inadequate chart coverage for Arctic areas experiencing increasing vessel traffic due to ice diminishment. The update came after consultations with maritime interests and the public, as well as with other federal, state, and local agencies. “As multi-year sea ice continues to disappear, vessel traffic in the Arctic is on the rise,” said Rear Admiral Gerd Glang, NOAA Coast Survey director. “This is leading to new maritime concerns about adequate charts, especially in areas increasingly transited by the offshore oil and gas industry and cruise liners,” Glang said. Commercial vessels depend on NOAA to provide charts and publications with the latest depth information, aids to navigation, accurate shorelines, and other features required for safe navigation in U.S. waters. But many regions of Alaska’s coastal areas have never had full bottom bathymetric surveys, and some haven’t had more than superficial depth measurements since Captain Cook explored the northern regions in the late 1700s. “Ships need updated charts with precise and accurate measurements,” said Capt. Doug Baird, chief of Coast Survey’s marine chart division. “We don’t have decades to get it done. Ice diminishment is here now.” NOAA plans to create 14 new charts to complement the existing chart coverage.

Russia launches program on Arctic development to 2020

Amanda Graham — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 07:56:18 GMT

(Trude Pettersen/Barents Observer, 20 February 2013) -- The Russian Government has approved the strategic program on Arctic development up to 2020, signed by President Vladimir Putin. The strategic program, which was published by the government today and signed by President Vladimir Putin, includes development of an integrated transport system in the Arctic, establishment of a competitive scientific and technological sector, development of international cooperation and the preservation of the Arctic as a zone of peace. The document, which is quite general in its formulations and covers almost every aspect of management of this huge area, guarantees state support to the development of infrastructure for transport, industry and energy, as well as to scientific, scientific-technical and innovational activities. During the first stage of implementation of the program (to 2015) Russia plans to focus on development of infrastructure for communication and information in the High North, establishment of centers for search and rescue along the Northern Sea Route, strengthening of FSB’s coast guard service and development of an integrated national system for environmental monitoring of the Arctic zone. The program on Arctic development states the main priorities for state investment policy, regulations of labor relations and social politics in the Arctic zone.

Alaska Fish & Wildlife to survey WWII debris, contamination on Attu [mp3]

Amanda Graham — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 07:46:24 GMT

(Kelsey Gobroski/KTOO Juneau, 20 February 2013) -- Attu Island is overdue for some spring cleaning. Seventy years after World War II, the island is still littered with shards of old Coke bottles, lead-based batteries, leaking fuel drums and unexploded artillery. This summer, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which manages the remote island as a refuge, will survey the extent of World War II debris and contamination. As KTOO news intern Kelsey Gobroski reports, the entire ecosystem could be affected by the decades of pollution. Listen to the full story

New gold deposit discovered in Yakutia

Amanda Graham — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 07:37:38 GMT

(RIA Novosti, 21 February 2013) -- YAKUTSK, February 21 (RIA Novosti) - A new gold deposit has been discovered Russia’s Siberian republic of Yakutia, the region’s economics ministry said on Thursday. The Gora Rudnaya in the republic's Aldan District deposit may hold about 200 metric tons of gold, according to the statement. The deposit has already been registered with the Federal Agency for Subsoil Usage. It will be auctioned shortly after its value is determined. The Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), a vast Siberian land of taiga and permafrost, is known for its vast gold and diamond reserves. From Voice of Russia: "Experts knew that it was worth looking at after they assessed the content of gold and ore parameters. The deposit will be put up for auction in three years. Yakutia’s gold output amounted to 21.2 tons last year. "

Frosty time machine coughs up arrowheads

Amanda Graham — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 07:23:24 GMT

(Ida Korneliussen/ScienceNordic, 20 February 2013) -- When Stone Age hunters missed their targets they inadvertently turned snow patches into treasure chests. ... The bow is nocked and released. The arrow zings through the air. But this was an especially unfortunate shot. Not only did it miss the prey, the arrow drove deep into a snow patch. For some reason it wasn’t retrieved. But it didn’t disappear for good. “We archaeologists are reliant on hunters missing like that,” says Martin Callanan, from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), where he teaches in the Department of Archaeology and Religious Studies. “When arrows disappeared deep into snow they sometimes froze there for keeps, until we find them,” he says. One of his favourite artefacts is the arrow that disappointed a hunter 5,400 years ago. Callanan and other NTNU researchers are working with an international project called Snow Patch Archaeology Research Cooperation (SPARC), which has as one of its goals the finding and analysing of hunting weapons in perennial mountain snow patches around the country.

U.N. worried by arctic resource drive

Amanda Graham — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 07:11:45 GMT

(UPI, 20 February 2013) -- NAIROBI, Kenya - Awareness of the issue of melting arctic sea ice is much higher than the international community's attention to the matter, a U.N. official said from Nairobi. Changing climate patterns means international oil and gas companies are looking to exploit the estimated 30 percent of the world's unrecovered natural gas and 70 percent of the world's undiscovered oil under in arctic waters. The U.N. Environment Program, in its annual report, said summer ice sheet in 2012 was 18 percent smaller than the previous low record set in 2007. "Changing environmental conditions in the arctic -- often considered a bellwether for global climate change -- have been an issue of concern for some time, but as of yet this awareness has not translated into urgent action," UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner said in a statement. Problems with Shell's exploration campaign in northern Alaskan waters last year raised concerns about the potential risk of operating in extreme environments. UNEP said no plans for arctic exploration should move ahead without taking steps to ensure the pristine environment, and those who rely on it, is protected.

Russia explores old nuclear waste dumps in Arctic

Amanda Graham — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 06:24:25 GMT

(Laurence Peter/BBC News, 25 January 2013) -- The toxic legacy of the Cold War lives on in Russia's Arctic, where the Soviet military dumped many tonnes of radioactive hardware at sea. For more than a decade, Western governments have been helping Russia to remove nuclear fuel from decommissioned submarines docked in the Kola Peninsula - the region closest to Scandinavia. But further east lies an intact nuclear submarine at the bottom of the Kara Sea, and its highly enriched uranium fuel is a potential time bomb. This year the Russian authorities want to see if the K-27 sub can be safely raised, so that the uranium - sealed inside the reactors - can be removed. They also plan to survey numerous other nuclear dumps in the Kara Sea, where Russia's energy giant Rosneft and its US partner Exxon Mobil are now exploring for oil and gas. Seismic tests have been done and drilling of exploratory wells is likely to begin next year, so Russia does not want any radiation hazard to overshadow that. ... On the western flank is a closed military zone - the Novaya Zemlya archipelago. It was where the USSR tested hydrogen bombs - above ground in the early days. Besides K-27, official figures show that the Soviet military dumped a huge quantity of nuclear waste in the Kara Sea: 17,000 containers and 19 vessels with radioactive waste, as well as 14 nuclear reactors, five of which contain hazardous spent fuel. Low-level liquid waste was simply poured into the sea. Norwegian experts and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are satisfied that there is no evidence of a radiation leak - the Kara Sea's radioisotope levels are normal. But Ingar Amundsen, an official at the Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority (NRPA), says more checks are needed. The risk of a leak through seawater corrosion hangs over the future - and that would be especially dangerous in the case of K-27, he told BBC News.

Canadian Arctic, Australia share surprising similarities

Amanda Graham — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 06:20:25 GMT

(Mia Bennett/Foreign Policy Blogs via Eye on the Arctic via Alaska Dispatch, 12 February 2013) -- Australia and the Arctic aren't often mentioned in the same sentence. One tends to hear more about Australia and Antarctica, since the country has an Antarctic Division and carries out scientific research at the icy continent not so far away from Tasmania. But I think that a comparison of Australia and the Arctic, particularly the Northern Territory (NT) and the Canadian Arctic, is a fruitful one. When I came across an Economist article on the NT from last September entitled "Northern lights," I began thinking about the lands under the Aurora Borealis and Australis. Both Australia and the Arctic seen as exotic and remote, albeit at opposite ends of the earth. The NT constitutes Australia's landmass but contains only one percent of the population. Canadian territories, which make up 39.5 percent of the country's land, are similarly sparsely populated, with only 100,000 people (0.3 percent of the population). Both the NT and Canada's territories are resource-rich frontiers with large indigenous populations. The indigenous populations in the NT and in northern Canada, particularly Nunavut, are a higher percentage of the overall population than in the rest of Australia and Canada, respectively. Yet although both regions are in countries that enjoy some of the world's highest living standards, they are relatively underdeveloped hinterlands.

Ptarmigan, gyrfalcon numbers drop in Canada's Yukon: study

Amanda Graham — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 06:13:28 GMT

(CBC News via Eye on the Arctic, 20 February 2013) -- A Yukon biologist says ptarmigan and gyrfalcon populations could be in decline across Canada's northwestern Yukon territory. Dave Mossop says the fluctuations in these two "key" species could be a sign of greater trouble across the food chain. Both populations usually peak in a 10-year cycle but recent bird surveys do not indicate a peak as expected. Mossop says the unexpected change in the cycle could be a result of climate change or other factors. "For the last cycle yes, it declined, for reasons that we don't understand," says Mossop. "But the great hope is that things will re-establish themselves. The 10-year cycle in the boreal system is one of the most obvious things that's happening, and for some reason it faltered. That's kind of where we are now." Mossop says gyrfalcons depend on ptarmigan as a source of food and that the predatory birds will stop breeding when there aren't enough ptarmigan to eat. He says the Yukon Research Centre has access to a database on arctic birds which dates 50 years. Mossup says tracking willow ptarmigan and gyrfalcons is important because the birds are respectively at the bottom and top of the food chain. ... Mossup has studied birds for 40 years. He says he is not certain the birds' decline is irreversible. Still he says it is a curious anomaly in what is usually a well-balanced natural system. "For the ptarmigan, it won't dissapear. But those wonderful peaks we've seen in the past, we're hoping they will restablish themselves. But over the broad scale, so far we haven't seen it happen."

Canada continues to eye airships for Arctic communities

Amanda Graham — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 04:53:07 GMT

(CP via Alaska Dispatch, 19 February 2013) -- It's time to rethink the blimp, a Canadian House of Commons committee suggests in a new report. Airships are often associated with the Hindenberg crash of the 1930s, and their development was overtaken by that of the airplane, reducing their use in recent years mostly to props in ad campaigns. But there's room for certain kinds of them to play a new role in Canada, especially when it comes to reaching remote communities in the North, the transportation committee recommended in a recently released report. "Hybrid air vehicles may one day provide a superior solution, as they can travel over snowfall, frozen water or impenetrable terrain, and require no roads or rail installations to operate," says the report. The committee's look at airships was part of a broader study examining more creative ways to address some of the shortfalls in Canada's transportation sector. When it comes to airships, a number of barriers exist to putting them into more widespread use, the committee heard. Among them is a lack of infrastructure, trained personnel and licensing regimes, said Barry Prentice, a professor at the University of Manitoba and president of ISO Polar Airships, a research institute that promotes the use of the vehicles. His was one of two groups that testified before the committee. Prentice is adamant the time to start developing those capabilities is now.

Sami population declining in Murmansk

Amanda Graham — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 21:50:05 GMT

(Trude Pettersen/Barents Observer, 13 February 2013) -- The Sami population on the Kola Peninsula is in a hard demographic situation. Their numbers have declined nearly 10 percent in eight years. According to the 2010 population census there were 1599 Sami living in the region. This is 170 less than in the 2002 census. The sex ratio in the Sami population is changing for the worse; while there were 1173 women for every 1000 men in 2002, the ratio was 1236 to 1000 in 2010. The Sami are the youngest nationality in Murmansk, with an average age of only 31.6 years. The average age of the total population is 37 years. While the majority of the Russian population on the Kola Peninsula lives in towns, most of the Sami in are living in non-urban areas. The settlement of Lovozero in the center of the peninsula is known as “the Sami capital of Russia”. The Sami language is also in a difficult situation in the Murmansk region. Only 17 percent of the Sami population in Murmansk considered Sami language to their native in the 2010 census, m51 reports, citing Murmanstat.

Notes from the pole of cold

Amanda Graham — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 20:40:34 GMT

(Maxim Shemetov/Reuters, 18 February 2013) -- Oymyakon valley, Russia - One loses all bearings when faced with the shroud of white that obscures all things mid January in the Siberian city of Yakutsk. Only the traffic lights and gas pipelines overhanging the roads help you to find your way. Wrapped in frosty fog the city life seems frozen in a sleepy half-light. It is -48 C (-54 degrees Fahrenheit) outside. Before venturing out, I put on two layers of thermal underwear, trousers, two-sweaters, pants winterized up to my waist, and huge low-temperature boots. I pull close the hood of my down jacket and fasten it so that only my eyes are exposed. Lastly, I slip on two pairs of gloves and head for the entrance hall – the airlock. Now only the ice-bound door separates me from the cold. There is Space outside and I feel like an astronaut. However I do not have enough time to freeze today – the minibus is waiting for me at the corner and I pile in with my gear. Our routes lies along a Stalin-era road that is officially called “Kolyma Federal Highway”. Locals call it “the road on bones” after the thousands of Gulag prisoners who built it in the middle of the 20th century perished. ... After two days on the road, we finally arrive in the Oymyakon valley – the Pole of the Cold. This is the coldest known place in the Northern hemisphere. Thermometers registered a record chill of -67.7 degrees Celsius (-88 degrees Fahrenheit) in 1933 – shortly after weather monitoring began here in the end of the 1920s. [Follow the title link for Shemetov's pictures from the trip.]

Berlin's beloved polar bear Knut returns on show

Amanda Graham — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 20:21:52 GMT

(Reuters, 15 February 2013) -- Knut, the hand-reared polar bear who captured Germans' hearts before his early death in 2011, returned to his adoring Berlin public on Friday as a life-sized model bearing the animal's real fur. Knut will stand for a month in the entrance foyer of the city's natural history museum, which has modified its entrance for the anticipated rush of visitors, a museum spokeswoman said. The museum is keen to stress that Knut has not been stuffed. Rather, a replica of the bear was made, based on Knut's skeleton, in one of his favorite poses, and this was covered with the creature's pelt, in a procedure known as dermoplasty. The model has expressive eyes and a damp nose, museum director Johannes Vogel said. "I think people will accept Knut, because this is a very dignified model.. People who knew Knut very well while he was alive recognize their Knut here again." Knut was the star attraction of Berlin zoo during his four-year life. His mother rejected him as a new-born leaving the fluffy white cub to be reared by a zookeeper. Thousands of visitors queued for hours to watch him frolic in his enclosure, and he inspired a dizzying array of merchandise. Other German zoos have tried in vain to create celebrity animals. None have ever come close to matching Knut's fame. The bear died suddenly of an epileptic fit in March 2011.

Norway gets Arctic university

Amanda Graham — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 20:18:51 GMT

(Trude Pettersen/Barents Observer, 18 February 2013 ) -- The Norwegian Government last week decided to establish a new, large university in Norway, the University of Tromsø – Norway's Arctic University. “Together we can develop higher education and research within Norway’s most important target area,” the rectors of the two institutions Jarle Aarbakke and Sveinung Eikeland say in a joint statement. “The name clearly shows the Government’s emphasis on the university as a central tool to ensure the nation’s interests in the north,” the University of Tromsø’s web site reads. Both the establishments are the world’s northernmost in their category. The University of Tromsø was established in 1968 and is the largest research and educational institution in northern Norway. The main focus of the University's activities is on the Auroral light research, space science, fishery science, biotechnology, linguistics, multicultural societies, Saami culture, telemedicine, epidemiology and a wide spectrum of Arctic research projects. The close vicinity of the Norwegian Polar Institute, the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research and the Polar Environmental Centre gives Tromsø added weight and importance as an international center for Arctic research. Finnmark University College was established in 1994 and has with three campuses in Alta, Hammerfest and Kirkenes. Minister of Education and Research Kristin Halvorsen says the name of the new university underlines the responsibility the region has: “Through the merge the two institutions will unite, strengthen and develop research and higher education of high quality in the north and in Norway”, NRK writes. The merge will be effective from August 1, 2013.

Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan resigns from cabinet

Amanda Graham — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 21:29:39 GMT

(CBC News, 15 February 2013) -- Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan has resigned from cabinet, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Friday. Duncan will continue to serve as an MP for Vancouver Island North. Heritage Minister James Moore will become acting minister of aboriginal affairs and northern development until a new minister is named, Harper said in a statement released by email late Friday afternoon. Duncan was heavily criticized in 2011 for his handling of a housing crisis in the northern Ontario community of Attawapiskat. Duncan released a statement minutes after Harper's, in which he admitted to writing a reference letter for someone with a case in front of the Canada Revenue Agency. The letter was sent in June 2011 to the Tax Court of Canada. "While the letter was written with honourable intentions, I realize that it was not appropriate for me, as a Minister of the Crown, to write to the Tax Court. I have therefore offered my resignation as Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development to the Prime Minister, which he has accepted," Duncan said in the statement. "I take full responsibility for my actions and the consequences they have brought."

Global warming may make the northernmost ocean less productive, not more so

Amanda Graham — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 23:44:10 GMT

(The Economist, 9 February 2013) -- ON SEPTEMBER 16th 2012, at the height of the summer melt, the Arctic Ocean’s ice sheet had shrunk to an area of 3.41m square kilometres (1.32m square miles), half what it was in 1979. And its volume had shrunk faster still, .... The world’s average temperature in 2012 was nearly 0.5°C above the average for 1951-80. In the Arctic, it was up almost 2°C. This sudden warming is like the peeling back of a lid to reveal a new ocean underneath. That prospect is spreading alarm (among greens) and excitement (at the natural resources and other economic opportunities that could be unveiled). Though most of the excitement has been about oil and gas, and the opening of sea routes between the Atlantic and the Pacific, some people hope for a fishing bonanza .... But they may be disappointed. At the moment, the waters around the Arctic account for a fifth of the world’s catch. There are few fish, however, under the ice itself. A fishing bonanza would require big ecological change. Arctic Frontiers, a conference organised at the University of Tromso in January, looked at how warming will change the ecology, to estimate whether it will bring one about. The consensus was that it won’t—not because the Arctic will change too little, but because it will change too much. ... The most important reason, though, for thinking that global warming will not produce an Arctic feeding frenzy is that it may increase ocean stratification. This is the tendency of seawater to separate into layers, because fresh water is lighter than salt and cold water heavier than warm. The more stratified water is, the less nutrients in it move around. ... A warming Arctic will not, in other words, be full of fish. It will simply be an ice-free version of the desert it already is.

Police seize 600 kilos of mammoth tusks in Far East

Amanda Graham — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 22:49:39 GMT

(RIA Novosti, 11 February 2013) -- BLAGOVESHCHENSK, February 11 (RIA Novosti) – Police in Russia’s Far East Amur Region have seized some 600 kilograms (1,320 pounds) of mammoth tusks from residents of the neighboring Republic of Yakutia, the regional interior affairs department said on Monday. “Police found 71 tusks weighing about 600 kilograms at a warehouse [in Blagoveschensk],” the department said, adding three men were planning to sell the tusks to Chinese nationals. Police are currently investigating whether the fossils were obtained legally. The world market price of mammoth tusk is almost equal to the price of silver. One kilogram is worth 5,000 rubles ($166) at international auctions in Yakutsk, capital of Yakutia. Some 90 percent of the mammoth remains found so far have come from Yakutia. The region’s extreme weather conditions and permafrost allow scientists to find their remains largely intact.

Arctic: competition for resources on the horizon

Amanda Graham — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 20:55:47 GMT

(Nikita Sorokin/Voice of Russia, 1 February 2013) -- Russia’s Regional Development Ministry continues consultations with experts on a proposed ‘Law on the Russian Arctic’. According to the United States Geological Survey, the bed of the Arctic Ocean contains one fourth of the world’s reserves of oil and natural gas. This treasure trove is quickly opening as climate change melts the Arctic Ice Cap. Dr Mikhail Babenko is an oil and gas expert of the Worldwide Fund for Nature: "Seabed minerals, fish and promising transport routes are also becoming available. In 2012, traffic along the Northeast Passage from Europe to Asia posted a sharp rise. Many governments are now after tapping these resources for the sake of speeding up economic growth." Dr Sergei Pryamikov is in charge of international cooperation programmes at Russia’s Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute in St Petersburg: "Active Arctic exploration brings together some 15 nations. The treaty on the Svalbard Archipelago now brings together as many as 40. Importantly, China, Japan, South Korea and India are also showing great interest in Arctic resources. Several countries advocate a borderless international zone in the Arctic Ocean. Russia, however, continues to insist that Arctic borders do exist, and drawing them must comply with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea."

China, Korea, EU woo Arctic Council at Norway conference

Amanda Graham — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 14:54:13 GMT

(Nunatsiaq News, 22 January 2013) -- Officials from China, South Korea and the European Union, all of whom seek a higher level of participation in circumpolar affairs, wooed the Arctic Council Jan. 22 at an Arctic conference in Tromsø, Norway. All three entities seek permanent observer status on the Arctic Council, an upgrade in status that could give them more influence over circumpolar issues. The Arctic Council will decide on new permanent observer applications at a ministerial meeting to be held this May in Stockholm, just before Sweden relinquishes the chairmanship to Canada. The Chinese ambassador to Norway, Zhao Jun, said in a keynote speech Jan. 21 that the accelerating pace of climate change “will significantly influence the landscape of global shipping, trade and energy supply,” matters that are of crucial interest to China. At the same time, he said the international community has so far approached these issues in a spirit of co-operation. “With expanding areas and a tremendous potential, the Arctic co-operation has become more and more institutionalized and mature,” Jun said. To that end, he said China believes the Arctic Council is the most important international forum for discussions about environmental protection and sustainable development in the Arctic.

Murkowski introduces bill to restore subsistence harvest of gull eggs in southeast Alaska

Amanda Graham — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 06:52:27 GMT

(Office of Senator Murkowski press release via Alaska Native News, 29 January 2013) -- WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, yesterday reintroduced legislation restoring the traditional rights of the Huna Tlingit to gather glaucous-winged gull eggs in Glacier Bay National Park as part of their subsistence hunting activities. “The Huna Tlingit have gathered gull eggs as part of their traditional subsistence activities for centuries – certainly long before Glacier Bay was made into a national park,” Murkowski said. “Gull eggs are part of their traditional diet and cultural identity, and I believe it’s an activity they should be allowed to continue legally.” Glacier Bay National Park in Southeast Alaska is the ancestral homeland of the Huna Tlingit, who traditionally harvested gull eggs at rookeries from the cliffs of Glacier Bay prior to, and following, establishment of the park. Collection was prohibited in the 1960s under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and National Park Service regulations. The National Park Service determined in 2010 that annual harvests would not harm the gull populations in the park, but congressional action is still required to authorize gull egg collection. Murkowski’s legislation would allow tribal members of the Hoonah Indian Association to collect gull eggs up to two times a year at as many as five locations within Glacier Bay National Park. Murkowski introduced similar legislation in 2011, during the 112th Congress. Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, plans to introduce companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Common redpolls a circumpolar species

Amanda Graham — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 20:38:38 GMT

(Elizabeth Kellog/Northumberland Today, 24 January 2013) -- Common redpolls are a circumpolar species. That is, they occur in the Arctic regions of Europe and Asia, as well as North American. They breed on the taiga where they build nests in the scattered, stunted trees that occur so far north. They line their nests with ptarmigan feathers and the fur of arctic fox. Among the common redpolls are frequently found a few of the much less common hoary redpolls. The latter are much whiter in colour with a shorter bill that looks somewhat pushed in. There is some debate at present as to whether these are really two separate species. Recent DNA analysis seems to indicate that they may simply be two colour variants of the same species. The taxonomy jury is still out on this.

Shell's plans in Arctic at risk as Obama advisers call for halt to oil exploration

Amanda Graham — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 02:25:01 GMT

(Suzanne Goldenberg/The Guardian, 18 January 2013) -- The entire future of Shell's drilling plans in the Arctic was put in doubt on Friday after two of Barack Obama's most trusted advisers called for a permanent halt to oil exploration. In a piece for Bloomberg news, Carol Browner, who was Obama's climate adviser during his first two years in office, and John Podesta, who headed his 2009 transition team, said they now believed there was no safe way to drill for oil in the Arctic. Their opinions come at a critical time for Shell, which has invested six years and nearly $5bn trying to gain access to the vast undersea reserves of oil and natural gas in the Arctic ocean. The Obama administration this month launched a high-level review of Shell's plans for the Arctic, after a series of equipment failures and safety and environmental lapses. The company is also struggling to repair or replace its Kulluk oil rig, which ran aground over the New Year, in order to return to the Arctic when the drilling season re-opens in July. Now two of Obama's advisers are suggesting Shell and other companies should not be operating in the Arctic at all. "Developers and Barack Obama's administration assured us these operations would be safe, thanks to strict oversight and new technology. Now it seems that optimism was misplaced," Browner and Podesta write in a piece for Bloomberg View. "Following a series of mishaps and errors, as well as overwhelming weather conditions, it has become clear that there is no safe and responsible way to drill for oil and gas in the Arctic ocean."

BCE’s NorthwesTel proposes $233M plan to boost Northern telco services, roll out 3G

Amanda Graham — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 02:21:27 GMT

(National Post via Vancouver Sun, 17 January 2013) -- Dozens of communities in the country’s North, say hello to the iPhone — or BlackBerry Bold. BCE Inc.’s northern subsidiary, NorthwesTel, announced sweeping modernization plans for Canada’s northern parts Thursday that include rolling out third-generation or “3G” mobile services to 67 communities for the first time. This will be the most ambitious expansion of communications technology ever undertaken in Northern Canada In total, nearly a quarter of a billion dollars will be spent over the next five years deploying more advanced wireless services as well as doubling — and in some cases tripling — Internet speeds across the phone company’s copper network in the Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut. “This will be the most ambitious expansion of communications technology ever undertaken in Northern Canada,” the BCE unit said in a release. A filing was made Wednesday with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, which is holding a public consultation on the $233-million proposal. ... Spurred by the Ottawa’s aims to increase economic development across the region and guard the country’s sovereignty in the Arctic, the commission has made modernizing the North a priority. The CRTC plans to hold public hearings on the plan in June in Inuvik and Whitehorse.

Coca-Cola kickstarts Arctic campaign with WWF donation

Amanda Graham — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 02:50:54 GMT

(Reuters, 17 January 2013) -- Coca-Cola will give 3 million euros ($4 million) to conservation group WWF over the next three years to help kickstart a campaign to protect the Arctic from the impacts of global warming, the world's biggest soft-drinks maker said. The Europe-wide campaign, which launched on Thursday in London, is aimed at raising awareness and funding to help protect the natural habitat of the polar bear, which is under threat from climate change. ... The campaign aims to raise awareness and funds in European countries for the plight of the polar bear. The money raised will go towards protecting an area in the Arctic where summer sea ice should last the longest, WWF and Coca-Cola said.

Arctic Fibre plans to extend subsea cable network to northwest Alaskan communities

Amanda Graham — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 02:47:07 GMT

(Subsea World News, 18 January 2013) -- Arctic Fibre Inc. announced that it will partner with Anchorage-based Quintillion Networks, LLC to provide broadband telecommunications services to more than 26,500 Alaska residents living along the Alaskan North Slope and Bering Sea coastline, and to provide a geographically diverse alternate fibre route for traffic from the United States to Europe and Asia. This provision of virtually unlimited bandwidth will enable government to reduce the cost of providing services to citizens and enable consumers to access faster Internet speeds now available in most urban communities in Alaska. Arctic Fibre was established in 2009 to explore deploying a fibre optic telecommunications system through the Canadian Arctic. Arctic Fibre plans to construct a 15,167 km (9,424 mile) subsea fibre optic cable extending from Tokyo, Japan to London, England via the Bering Strait, Beaufort Sea and Canadian Arctic with a planned in-service date of November 2014. Arctic Fibre’s backbone network will reduce the cost of wholesale bandwidth by more than 85% in the Canadian communities of Cambridge Bay, Gjoa Haven, Taloyoak, Igloolik, Hall Beach, Cape Dorset and Iqaluit. The company successfully concluded a capacity nomination process for Canadian carriers in late 2012 and is now moving to formal contracts with a group of Canadian carriers and government agencies. In December 2012, Arctic Fibre entered into an agreement with Quintillion Networks to serve the Alaska market as a wholesaler providing bandwidth to existing Alaska telecommunications carriers on a non-discriminatory basis. ... Quintillion’s Chief Operating Officer, Hans Roeterink, said Quintillion also intends to construct a 490-mile fibre parallel to Alaska’s Dalton Highway from Prudhoe Bay south to Fairbanks, and then to connect with existing terrestrial fibre networks to Anchorage and south through existing subsea fibres to mainland US. “This terrestrial portion of Quintillion’s network will enable high capacity connectivity for Alaskan customers as well as an alternative route for customers from the United States to other regions of the world”, added Roeterink.

Nunavut MP sets off on four-nation Scandinavian tour

Amanda Graham — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 02:43:39 GMT

(Nunatsiaq News, 18 January 2013) -- Nunavut MP Leona Aglukkaq, the federal minister responsible for the Arctic Council, is visiting Iceland, Denmark, Finland and Norway Jan. 14 to Jan. 22 to meet with government representatives, indigenous groups, and members of the business sector in each country, a news release said. The trip is to help prepare for Canada’s two-year chairmanship of the Arctic Council, which begins May 2013. The trip’s goal is to seek the views of Arctic Council states on “the themes Canada has set out for its chairmanship,” Aglukkaq said in the release. “Canada is committed to helping the North realize its true potential as a healthy, prosperous and secure region,” she said. ... The theme for Canada’s chairmanship will be: development for the people of the North, with sub-themes that include responsible Arctic resource development, safe Arctic shipping, and sustainable circumpolar communities. “The North is an integral part of our heritage, and holds tremendous promise for the future,” Aglukkaq said. She said there should be a greater focus on creating conditions in the North for economic growth, vibrant communities, and healthy ecosystems, she said. The trip will begin in Reykjavik, then goes on to Copenhagen and Helsinki before a final stop in Tromsø, Norway.

Inuk artist Kenojuak Ashevak dies at 85

Amanda Graham — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 22:02:57 GMT

(CBC News, 12 january 2013) -- World-renowned Inuk artist Kenojuak Ashevak died this morning at home in Cape Dorset, Nunavut, at age 85. Ashevak is considered a pioneer of Inuit art. Her drawings, prints and sculptures have been bought and displayed around the world. Her work has also been featured on several Canada Post stamps over the years, including her most famous print, Enchanted Owl. Ashevak was born in 1927 in a camp on Baffin Island and lived the traditional nomadic life on the land before settling in Cape Dorset. Okpik Pitseolak, an artist from Cape Dorset who knew Ashevak personally, said she brought Inuit art to the world but was "very humble about her work." Pitseolak said that when she appeared on the radio to talk about her art, she didn't want to come across "as someone who brags" about it. But she was "thankful for the fact that she was given this gift.” Ashevak died after a long battle with cancer. Director of Feheley Fine Arts Patricia Feheley, a Toronto dealer who handled Ashevak’s work, said she should be remembered as one of Canada’s great artists. ... Ashevak first became famous in her 20s, when the NFB film Kenojuak, made in 1962, showed her at work. She was creating drawings, prints and even sculptures in the 1960s. As her reputation grew, so did the reputation of Cape Dorset, the Inuit studio on Baffin Island that evolved into one of Canada’s most important artistic communities. ... Her legacy in Cape Dorset is “almost immeasurable,” Lalonde said. “She was so important to the print studio, the development of it – she influenced artists in the community to continue their artwork and become artists.”

Kenojuak Ashevak, artist from the Canadian Arctic, dies at 85

Amanda Graham — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 21:32:33 GMT

(Ian Austin/New York Times, 12 January 2013) -- Kenojuak Ashevak, a once-nomadic artist from Canada's Arctic regions whose prints and drawings helped introduce Inuit art to much of the world, died on Tuesday at her home in Cape Dorset on West Baffin Island in the northern territory of Nunavut. She was 85. The cause was lung cancer, The Canadian Press news agency reported. Kenojuak as she was universally known, is probably best remembered for "The Enchanted Owl," a 1960 print showing an owl with wildly exaggerated feathers and a piercing stare. It became one of Canada's most famous works of art, appearing on a Canadian stamp in 1970 commemorating the centennial of the Northwest Territories.

Arctic trash doubled in past decade: Study

Amanda Graham — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 18:41:32 GMT

(Jack Phillips/Epoch Times, 1 November 2012) -- Debris like plastic bags and other waste are continuing to pile up on the Arctic Ocean’s seabed, with the amount doubling in the past ten years, according to a new study. Marine biologist and deep sea expert Melanie Bergmann, in a study published [22 October] in the Marine Pollution Bulletin, examined 2,100 photographs of the Arctic seafloor at a depth of around 8,200 feet in the Fram Strait, which is located between Greenland and the Svalbard Islands. The trash, Bergmann said, is impacting local sea life, with almost 70 percent of plastic litter coming “into some kind of contact with deep-sea organisms.” “For example we found plastic bags entangled in sponges, sea anemones settling on pieces of plastic or rope, cardboard and a beer bottle colonized by sea lilies,” Bergmann says in a press release. The photos Bergmann used were from a camera stationed near the seabed, that takes a photograph every 30 seconds. The camera is primarily used by scientists for documenting changes in the biodiversity, mainly in regards to sea cucumbers, sea lilies, sponges, fish, and shrimp. Bergmann said she went through all the photographs from 2002, 2004, 2007, 2008, and 2011 to make a comparison of the trash on the seafloor. “The study was prompted by a gut feeling. When looking through our images I got the impression that plastic bags and other litter on the seafloor were seen more frequently in photos from 2011 than in those dating back to earlier years,” Bergmann said in a release. Trash and other pollutants that make it to the Arctic Ocean come from sources around the world via air and ocean currents, says the Pew Environment Group think tank. It argues that as Arctic ice continues to melt, more ships will be using the Northwest Passage and other routes that are subsequently opened up further, increasing the amount of garbage and sewage dumped into the ocean. Article highlights: Litter on the deep Arctic seafloor over time was quantified by image analysis. Litter density increased from 3635 to 7710 items per square km between 2002 and 2011. ? The majority of litter recorded was plastic. Sixty-seven percent of the litter items was entangled or colonised by benthic invertebrates.

Faroese shipbuilding industry seeing renewed progress

Amanda Graham — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 23:44:37 GMT

(Invest in the Faroes, 8 January 2013) -- After a recent slow period, Faroese shipbuilding yards are seeing progress again. This year Faroese shipbuilding companies will build and repair ships for an estimated 11 million Euros – a figure that is expected to more than double by 2015. The order books of Faroese shipbuilding yards are filling up again, and companies are expecting significant growth in the next three years. One estimation conducted by the shipbuilding companies themselves shows that 2013 will see the industry building and repairing ships for approximately 11 million Euros, with growth continuing for the following three years. By 2015, the industry is estimated to have an annual turnover of 23 million Euros. 'We currently have between 15 and 20 ships on our hands, which is more than usual', said Mouritz Mohr, director of the shipbuilding company Mest, in an interview with the newspaper Dimmalætting. He added that most of the orders were small repairs, but that there were also some larger, more long-term jobs. Mest is the largest shipbuilding company in the Faroe Islands, and in addition to its main operations in Tórshavn, the company also has departments in Skála, Rúnavík and Vestmanna. Aside from Mest's facilities, there are also three smaller shipbuilding yards in Klaksvík, Rúnavík and Fuglafjørður, all run by other companies.