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December 16, 2014
  

PHOTO CONTEST: The U.S. Arctic Research Commission (USARC) is holding a photo contest titled "Observing the Arctic" to identify compelling Arctic images to be included in USARC's publication "Report of the Goals and Objectives for Arctic Research 2015-2016." This report, to the President and Congress, outlines scientific research goals and objectives for the Arctic.

 

We invite you to submit original photos of Alaska and the greater Arctic region in the following categories:

  • Environmental Change
  • Human Health
  • Natural Resources
  • Civil Infrastructure
  • Indigenous Cultures and Identities
  • Nature
One overall winner and six runners up will be selected. Consistent with U.S. Federal Government Challenge.gov regulations, the winner will receive a prize of $400.00, and the winning photo will be prominently exhibited in USARC's Alaskan and Washington offices, displayed on the USARC website, and published on the cover of USARC's 2015-2016 Goals Report. The six runners up will receive prizes of $150.00 each, and will also have their photos displayed on the USARC website and published in the report. For details, click here. 

 

capitalToday's Congressional Action:  

The House is not in session. The Senate is expected to consider several appointments.

Media  

 

capital Senate Has End of 113th Congress in Sight.The Senate will vote Tuesday to clear two of President Obama's more controversial nominees, clearing a major hurdle to finishing the 113th Congress this week. Senators will vote to end debate and confirm Sarah Saldaña, Obama's nominee to head Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, and Tony Blinken, the choice to serve as Deputy Secretary of State. The Hill 

 

Murkowski Lauds Alaskan Priorities in 2015 Funding Bill. Several provisions championed by Senator Lisa Murkowski are included the federal spending bill that passed the Senate today and heads to the President's desk.  The bill to fund the federal government operations for Fiscal Year 2015 - with the exception of the Department of Homeland Security, which is funded through March - includes vital items related to the Arctic, military rural infrastructure, transportation, energy, education, and veteran support. "This bill is not perfect, but it is the product of bipartisan negotiations and directs resources critical to our state - protecting the health and well-being of Alaskans and our fisheries, prioritizing our defense and investing in infrastructure for our state's needs and America's Arctic future," said Murkowski. "I thank my colleagues for coming together to avoid another unnecessary government shutdown, and I thank them for recognizing the importance of these provisions for Alaska." Senator Lisa Murkowski

 

Sullivan Delighted to US Senate Committee Assignments. The Republicans in the U.S. Senate today announced their committee assignments for the next two years. Alaska's Dan Sullivan will come in with the lowest seniority of the 100 senators, primarily because he's never held elected office before. But it doesn't seem to have hurt him on the committee score. Sullivan will serve on Armed Services, Veterans Affairs, Commerce, and Environment & Public Works, and he says he can hardly pick a favorite. Alaska Public Radio

 

Climate Change and Alaska Natives: Health. Alaskans have heard a lot about the effects climate change has had on land in the state, but new studies suggest it's also having a big impact on the health of residents. Alaska Public Radio

 

Climate Change Takes a Village: As the planet warms, a remote Alaskan town shows just how unprepared we are. It's a Wednesday morning in late August, the first day of classes at the Shishmaref School. The doors of the pale blue building haven't opened yet, and the new principal is hurriedly buttering toast in the kitchen for the students' breakfasts. Teachers are scrambling to make last-minute adjustments to their classrooms, while anxious kids, ranging from pre-K students through high schoolers, wait on the porch, their jackets zipped against the chill of the early-morning air. It's all so incredibly normal, you might not know that, just a few years ago, no one thought Shishmaref would be here anymore. Huffington Post

 

Applications Due for Girls on Ice: January 31. Girls on Ice (http://girlsonice.org) is a unique, FREE, wilderness science education program for high school girls. Each year a team of 9 teenage girls and 3 instructors spend 12 days exploring and learning about mountain glaciers and alpine landscapes through scientific field studies with professional glaciologists and mountaineers. Applications are now available for the Girls on Ice 2015 Expeditions. For more information, please visit: http://girlsonice.org

 

honey bucket Acknowledging Progress Against the Honey Bucket in Rural Alaska. In her Alaska Dispatch News commentary published Dec. 2, "Ridding Alaska of honey buckets is a good but all too familiar goal," Elise Patkotak paints a bleak picture of the sanitary conditions in rural Alaska, which is true, because many village residents still must haul water and use honey buckets. However, in other villages, sanitary systems have been installed and health conditions are improving. So is the glass half full of dirty water or clean water? A little more information will help the readers decide. Alaska Dispatch News

 

Fairbanks Hosts Meetings About Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, Other Rural Issues. Earlier this year, a Fairbanks senator drew criticism and ridicule for his comments for a plan to put pregnancy tests in bars as a public awareness campaign against fetal alcohol syndrome. But as Sen. Pete Kelly will tell you, that was only a small part of part of the overall plan to eradicate fetal alcohol syndrome in Alaska. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

 

Ikaarvik Bridging the Gap Between Arctic Science and Northern Needs. It's an all-too-common scenario: southern scientists jump on a plane to the Great White North, research their favourite exotic bird, and fly home again. Oftentimes, little thought is put into what the communities might actually think is important to study, and what would make a difference in their day-to-day lives. Nunatsiaq Online

 

Legislative Actionfutureevents  

 

S. 1474, Alaska Safe Families and Villages Act (Introduced by Senator Begich.  Yesterday, S. 1474 was presented to the president.)

 

Future Events

   

"Arctic Modeling: Improving Models and Predictions in the Arctic" January 13, 2015. (Remote access, see here). The Modeling, Analysis, Predictions, and Projections (MAPP) program will host this webinar. Additional information will be released soon.

 

AGU Fall Meeting, December 15-19, 2014 (San Francisco, CA, USA). With nearly 24,000 attendees, the AGU Fall Meeting is the largest Earth and space science meeting in the world. The AGU Fall Meeting brings together the entire Earth and space sciences community for discussions of emerging trends and the latest research. The technical program includes presentations on new and cutting-edge science, much of which has not yet been published.

 

Arctic Frontiers: Climate and Energy, January 18-23, 2015. The earth is in the midst of major climate changes. The Arctic is experiencing the impact of these changes more and faster than other parts of the globe. Processes starting in the Arctic may have deep and profound impacts on other parts of the globe. At the same time the Earth's population is rising and with it the global energy demand. New and greener energy sources are gaining market shares, but still the energy mix of the foreseeable future will have a substantial fossil component. The Arctic is expected to hold major oil and gas resources, while the regions green energy potentials are less explored. The Arctic Frontiers conference is a central arena for discussions of Arctic issues. The conference brings together representatives from science, politics, and civil society to share perspectives on how upcoming challenges in the Arctic may be addressed to ensure sustainable development. Arctic Frontiers is composed of a policy section and a scientific section. 

  

Alaska Marine Science Symposium, January 19-23, 2015 (Anchorage, Alaska, USA). The symposium will feature a session on the Communicating Ocean Sciences, keynote addresses, poster sessions, and workshops. As in past years, the main content of the symposium is organized by large marine ecosystem. The 2015 schedule will be: Tuesday, January 20 - Gulf of Alaska; Wednesday, January 21 - Bering Sea; and Thursday, January 22 - Arctic Ocean. The details of the 2015 Alaska Marine Science Symposium program will be available in mid-November.

 

Symposium on Law and Governance in the Arctic, UCI LAW, January 30-31, 2015 (Irvine, California, USA).  The symposium will explore the effectiveness of existing governance in the Arctic region, strategies for improving effective implementation, and possible alternative governance regimes. A segment of the presented papers will be published in the UCI Law Review as a symposium. Presenters include: Betsy Baker, Michael Byers, Joseph DiMento, Tore Henriksen, Brian Israel, Timo Koivurova, Tullio Scovazzi, and Oran Young. 

 

Arctic Encounter Symposium 2015: Charting a Path to US Leadership in the Far North, January 30-31, 2015 (Seattle, Washington, USA). The second annual Arctic Encounter Symposium will focus on the role of the U.S. as an Arctic nation and the challenges it will confront in its upcoming chairmanship of the Arctic Council, including: climate change, natural resources, investment opportunities, and international relations. The goal of the 2015 Arctic Encounter is to facilitate a creative environment for the development of a proactive agenda, short and long-term domestic and international priorities, and a strategic execution plan.The two-day program will take place at the University of Washington with a dinner reception on January 30, 2015 at the Museum of History and Industry.

 

International Symposium on Northern Development, February 25-27, 2015 (Quebec, Canada). The Québec government, in collaboration with Université Laval, will co-chair with the Nordic Council of Ministers the International Symposium on Northern Development. The event will allow for the pooling of knowledge, experience and perspectives in the realm of northern development. It will assemble representatives of the northern countries, the universities and local populations, including the Aboriginal nations, and businesspeople and enterprises. The key themes will be the North as a living environment; the North as a physical territory; the North as a hub of economic development; and, the North as a hub of knowledge training and research. 

 

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


The Polar Geography and Cryosphere, April 21-25, 2015 (Chicago, IL, USA). The Polar Geography and Cryosphere Specialty Groups of the Association of American Geographers will host its annual meeting in Chicago to consider: current topics in human-environment interactions; current topics in politics, resource geographies, and extractive industries; current topics in Antarctic research; advances in cryosphere research; high latitude environments in a changing climate; an mountain ice and snow.

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