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February 20, 2014

capital Today's Congressional Action:   

The House and Senate are not in session.

 

 

 

Media 

 

caribou To Avoid Deer Strikes, Finland Is Painting Deer Antlers With Reflective Paint. Every year, about 4,000 reindeer lose their lives on Finnish roads in car accidents, causing 15 million Euros of damage every year. And now, the Finnish Reindeer Herders Association is testing out a new way to make the large mammals more visible to drivers: reflective paint. The idea is to spray the antlers of reindeer with reflective paint that reflects motorists' headlights. "The aim is to prevent traffic accidents. The spray is being tested on fur at the moment, but it may be even more effective on the antlers, because they are seen from every side," Anne Ollila, chairwoman of the Reindeer Herders Association, told the Finnish news source YLE. Smithsonian Magazine

 

This is Why it was so Insanely Cold Last Month. That incredibly cold, it-hurts-to-be-outside weather that much of the U.S. experienced last month may come back to bite the country again next week. So what's causing these temperature extremes? The polar vortex is a mass of winds that form over the Arctic each winter, and tend to move in a circular motion around the region, according to NASA. This year, however, a few factors caused the vortex to dip south, like the jet stream moving further south than usual and a low-pressure system forming over Canada, according to the video. Huffington Post

 

Vortex 540 MASTER high
Vortex 540 MASTER high

 

In a Warming World, Alaska's Icy Bering Sea Bucks the Trend. Like a wayward superstorm in a warming world comes this curveball of an observation: The frigid Bering Sea at the Arctic Ocean's door has gotten colder and icier in recent decades. That's according to scientists at the Alaska Climate Research Center who reviewed 33 years of sea ice records in the Bering Sea, the body of water between Russia and Alaska where the ice melts each spring and begins forming again in October. Alaska Dispatch

 

Alaska Senate Opposes Creation of Beringia International Park. The Alaska Senate has unanimously passed a resolution opposing the Beringia International Park - an idea agreed upon in 1991 by then-Presidents Bush and Gorbachev. Alaska Public Radio

 

Chinaflag Arctic Nations Look Forward to Cooperation With China. The US plan to create the position of Arctic ambassador, and the increasing attention the region is getting from countries such as Denmark and Japan, which have set up so-called 'Arctic envoys', show that competition for the region's untapped natural resources is heating up, experts say. U.S. determined to participate in Arctic affairs: US Secretary of State John Kerry has sent letters on Feb 14, 2014 to Mark Begich and Lisa Murkowski, the two senators from Alaska, the northernmost US state, stating his intention to name a "high-level individual of substantial stature and expertise" to serve as Arctic special representative. People's Daily Online

Legislative Actionfutureevents  

  

No Arctic legislation was formally considered yesterday.

Future Events

 

** New **

The Standing Committee of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region, February 24, 2014 (Ottawa, Canada) The agenda of the meeting includes a report from the Honorable Leona Aglukkaq, current Chair of the Arctic Council, on the progress of the Canadian Chairmanship. The Committee will also look into the role of the Northwest Passage in future Arctic shipping and mental wellness in the Canadian North.

 

Arctic Ambitions, February 27-28, 2014 (Girdwood, Alaska). World Trade Center Alaska will host Arctic Ambitions III: Commercial Development of the Arctic. This conference focuses solely on Arctic international trade and business opportunities. It is anticipated that about 200 business and government leaders attending next year's conference.


Arctic Ambitions III will concentrate on the theme of international trade and business opportunities that flow from resource development in the Arctic. While policy and research inform the discussion, the conference focuses on global markets, international trade and logistics. The previous two conferences brought together presenters from Canada, Finland, Norway, Russia, Korea and Alaska. USARC Chair Fran Ulmer will be a speaker. 
 

Warming Arctic: Development, Stewardship and Science (March 3-4, 2014). The third in a series of Fletcher School International Inquiries on the implications of the Warming Arctic will focus on the economic development of the High North in the years ahead. The 1st Warming Arctic inquiry in March 2012 explored the importance of the 8-country Arctic Council, just becoming of age. The 2nd Inquiry in March 2013 focused on the science of the warming arctic impacting global climate change. This 3rd Inquiry will address the accelerating economic development of the Arctic lands and waters as its plentiful resources become more accessible to be plumbed. 

 

Additional Documents: Save the Date; Hothouse in the Arctic: Planning for Wealth or Balancing Progress; A Witch's Brew: Arctic Warming + Global Climate Change.

  

Arctic 2050, March 12, 2014 (Brussels, Belgium). The 4th European Marine Board Forum will bring together Arctic stakeholders from multiple sectors (science, industry, policy & governance, NGOs, etc.) to: discuss current trends and patterns of change in Arctic Ocean ecosystems, including human activity; identify possible "2050" scenarios for Arctic Change and the corresponding implications for human health and well-being; highlight key research gaps, needs and challenges in support of understanding, mitigating against, or adapting to Arctic change; stimulate dialogue across sectors to aid common understanding, collaborative actions and sustainability targets; promote a vision for a sustainable ecosystem-based management of the Arctic Ocean by 2050.
 
New Vision for Sea Shipping Between Europe-Asia-USA, March 12-14, 2014 (Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Kamchatka Region, Russia). The Tranzit-DV Group, with the participation of the Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East, is holding a conference in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The conference theme is the creation of a logistics complex - MILC (Multimodal Industrial-Logistics Complex) in the Asia-Pacific Region with developed infrastructure and traffic network. Topics include: Seaports in the Primorsky and Kamchatka regions: experience, opportunities, prospects and development of sea transport; use of the Northern Sea Route in the global transport services market; state programs for investment support and development of the Russian Far East; analysis of the situation on the Russian and global container transport and bunkering markets; prospects for port hub development and multimodal carriage; and, maritime insurance issues.

 

44th Annual International Arctic Workshop, March 14-16, 2014 (Boulder, CO). The Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research of the University of Colorado will host the workshop. This year's theme is "Arctic's New Normal." The workshop will consider shifting environmental baselines over decades to millennia and comparisons with the Antarctic. Previous workshops have included presentations on Arctic and Antarctic climate, atmospheric chemistry, environmental geochemistry, paleoenvironment, archeology, geomorphology, hydrology, glaciology, soils, ecology, oceanography, Quaternary history and more.
 

Navigational Developments and the Viability of Commercialized Shipping in the Arctic, March 20, 2014. (Washington, D.C.) The Federal Maritime Commission's Maritime Environmental Committee will be hosting a Brown Bag Speaker Series with a presentation by Dr. John Farrell, Executive Director of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, and Captain David Murk, Senior Maritime Safety and Security Advisor to the Secretary of Transportation at the U.S. Department of Transportation. The speakers will discuss the environmental impact commercial shipping may have in the Arctic, United States' interests in the Arctic, and the viability of commercial shipping in the region.

 

Association of American Geographers Polar Geography Sessions, April 8-12, 2014 (Tampa, Florida).  Polar Geography Sessions are being planned in areas such as Sustainable Development in the Arctic, Urbanization and Transportation in the Arctic, etc. Contact Scott Stephenson (stephenson@ucla.edu) for more information, and see attached flyer. 

 

Arctic Science Summit Week April 5-8, 2014 and Arctic Observing Summit, April 9-11 (Helsinki, Finland). ASSW is a gathering for Arctic research organizations. Any organization engaged in supporting and facilitating arctic research is welcome to participate. The ASSW meeting in 2014 will be arranged during April 5-8 in Helsinki Kumpula Campus, in the facilities of FMI and Physics Department of the University of Helsinki. Second circular here

 

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