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November 14, 2013

 

capital Today's Congressional Action: 

The House and Senate are in session and will consider non-Arctic legislation.

 

 

Media 

 

Marine and Coastal Monitoring. Talk of Alaska considers marine and coastal monitoring issues with Craig Matkin (Director of North Gulf Ocean Society), Kris Holderied (Director of NOAA's Katsina Bay Laboratory), and John Piatt (researcher for the US Geological Survey- Alaska Science Center). From local weather conditions on the other side of the point, to plankton blooms, to current changes, to ice changes, it's all becoming more available to mariners, researchers and subsistence users. APRN 

 

capital 4 Centrists Get Money Seats in Appropriations Gavel Shuffle. The unusual midyear switching comes on the heels of departures by three senior Republicans: C.W. Bill Young of Florida died last month, and Louisiana's Rodney Alexander and Alabama's Jo Bonner both resigned their seats over the summer to begin alternative careers. Rodney Frelinghuysen of New Jersey and Mike Simpson of Idaho are being promoted to more influential subcommittee chairmanships. Ken Calvert of California and Tom Cole of Oklahoma are getting gavels for the first time. Roll Call 

 

Balash Appointed Natural Resource Commissioner. Gov. Sean Parnell has named Joe Balash as his Natural Resources commissioner. Balash has served as acting commissioner since September, and he was previously a deputy in the department. He was one of the governor's point people on the recent overhaul of the state's oil tax system. APRN 

 

ANWR

Cantwell and Kirk Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Yesterday, U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Mark Kirk (R-IL) introduced legislation that would designate 1.56 million acres of land in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) as wilderness. The wilderness designation would protect the Arctic Refuge's coastal plain and preserve subsistence hunting and traditional uses. The Arctic Refuge's coastal plain is the last remaining portion of the original Arctic Refuge without a wilderness designation. It provides critical habitat to migratory birds, polar and grizzly bears, and more than 100,000 caribou. The coastal plain is also crucial to the culture and way of life of the Gwich'in tribe, an Alaskan Native people who hunt on the land. Senator Maria Cantwell 

 

Iceland Aims to Increase All-Round Sustainability. Iceland has detailed its new sustainable initiatives as it prepares to take over as president of the Nordic Council of Ministers in January. Eygló Harðardóttir, Iceland's minister for Nordic co-operation, said the programme identifies various opportunities utilising local resources including the environment and the expertise of the Nordic community. Arctic Journal 

 

Learning How to Die in the Anthropocene. [Opinion] This March, Admiral Samuel J. Locklear III, the commander of the United States Pacific Command, told security and foreign policy specialists in Cambridge, Mass., that global climate change was the greatest threat the United States faced - more dangerous than terrorism, Chinese hackers and North Korean nuclear missiles. Upheaval from increased temperatures, rising seas and radical destabilization "is probably the most likely thing that is going to happen..." he said, "that will cripple the security environment, probably more likely than the other scenarios we all often talk about.'' Locklear's not alone. New York Times 

 

This Senator is Going to Keep Talking About Climate Change Until Somebody Listens. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) has been on a one-man quest to get the Senate to talk about climate change. And talking is exactly what he's been doing, delivering a floor speech on climate change every week the Senate is in session. On Wednesday afternoon, he delivered his 50th speech. "There's literally no way to exhaust this topic," Sheldon told The Huffington Post Wednesday before his speech. "I can exhaust my staff doing the research, but there's no way I can exhaust this topic." Huffington Post 

Legislative Actionfutureevents  

  

S. 1694. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) introduced legislation to designate a portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as wilderness. The bill was cosponsored Mark Kirk (R-IL). The bill was referred to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.  See the media section for additional information on the legislation.

Future Events

 
Alaska Water and Sewer Challenge Request for Proposals Due November 15.  The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, Village Safe Water announces a research and development effort to seek better and more affordable methods to deliver drinking water and sewage disposal services to communities in rural Alaska. The three-month long, international solicitation calls for individuals from a variety of diverse fields - engineering, science and research, behavioral science, and innovative design - to organize as teams and submit Statements of Qualifications. Up to six of the top ranked teams will be funded to develop proposals over a six month period next year. Future phases of the project include building prototypes and testing them in lab and field settings. 

 

For more information about the project please: 

 

 


Canadian Science Policy Conference: Ocean Research and Policy Panel, November 21, 2013. (Toronto, Ontario) Ocean Networks of Canada will host a panel to bring together research and policy leaders to address how ocean science can inform, promote, and implement Canadian policy in key areas such as: hazard mitigation, climate change mitigation and adaptation (particularly because of the amplified changes in the Arctic Ocean), ocean health, renewable and non-renewable resource assessment, sovereignty and security, and socio-economic development. Central to achieving this goal is establishing and strengthening strong partnerships between research organizations and federal and provincial science-based departments and agencies. Executive Director of the US Arctic Research Commission John Farrell is a member of the panel.


Arctic Cities, Global Processes, and Local Realities, December 2-4, 2013 (Rovaniemi, Finland).
 "The conference is organized jointly by the City of Rovaniemi and the Arctic Centre of the University of Lapland, Finland. The goal of the conference is to present the latest scientific research and knowledge about the global processes as they become local realities. Even if the Conference is scientific in orientation, it aims to bridge science and knowledge into action by bringing top scholars to share their research results, and to organize joint discussion with the leaders of the Arctic Cities. Sessions include: Rovaniemi Process: past, present, future; Arctic responses to global environmental problems; people and extractive industries; tourism in the Arctic; the Arctic in global economy; climate change in the Arctic; indigenous peoples in cities; and, Arctic global flows. Cross-cutting themes include: Arctic cities and global processes; management and governance in the Arctic; and, Arctic together with non-Arctic."
 
The Alaska Arctic Policy Commission will convene to continue working on their draft of Alaska's Arctic Policy. This Preliminary Report will be submitted to the State Legislature on January 30, 2014 and will help guide the Commission's work in 2014 as they prepare to submit a final Report in January 2015. At the Anchorage meeting Commissioners will review and discuss draft Arctic policy statements, specific preliminary recommendations, and the supporting background document. See www.akarctic.com for a draft agenda and additional information as it becomes available.

 

Public testimony will be accepted Monday, Dec 9 from 11:15a-12:30p, limited to 3min. Supplementary written testimony can be emailed to aapcgovernance@gmail.com

Meeting will be audio streamed live on akl.tv

 

American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting, December 9-13. (San  Francisco, CA)

The AGU Fall Meeting is the largest worldwide conference in the AGU logo geophysical sciences, attracting more than 24,000 Earth and space scientists, educators, students, and other leaders. For 46 years, scientists from around the world gather at the AGU Fall Meeting to exchange information and broaden their knowledge base. In addition to the scientific programming, the meeting offers over 50 Town Halls and Workshops, including one on Monday, Dec. 9, titled, "Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee (IARPC) and Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH), organized by Helen Wiggins, Brendan Kelly, and Hajo Eicken, from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm in 2018 Moscone West. 

  

Search the AGU meeting for Arctic-related research sessions here

 

Alaska Marine Science Symposium, January 20-24, 2014. (Anchorage, Alaska) The mission of the Alaska Marine Science Symposium is to bring together scientists, policymakers, students, educators, media and the public to share research findings focused on Alaska's marine fisheries and ecosystems. The Symposium is built around regional themes-Bering Sea, Arctic Ocean, and the Gulf of Alaska. Within each theme, there will be discussions on climate, oceanography, lower tropic levels, the benthos, fishes and invertebrates, seabirds, marine mammals, local and traditional knowledge, and socioeconomic research.

 

The agenda is available here.

 

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.

 

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

 

International Congress of Arctic Social Sciences, May 22-26, 2014 (Prince George, British Columbia). "The International Arctic Social Sciences Association (IASSA) announces the 8th International Congress of Arctic Social Sciences (ICASS VIII).ICASS is held every three years, bringing together people from all over the world to share ideas about social science research in the Arctic. ICASS VII, held in Akureyri in June 2011, attracted 450 participants from 30 different countries.  ICASS VIII's theme is Northern Sustainabilities. By using the plural, we underscore both that "sustainability" has social, cultural, economic, political and environmental dimensions, and that definitions of the concept vary."
 
IceTech14: International Conference and Exhibition on Performance of Ships and Structures in Ice, July 28-31, 2014 (Banff, Alberta, Canada). "The focus will be on the general theme of performance of ships and structures in ice - but with emphasis and special sessions on looking to the future in a warming world. Coverage will include technical aspects of offshore operations in Arctic and ice populated waters, as well related ice mechanics, icebreaking and ice resistance, global warming and geopolitical effects, safety and EER, subsea facilities and operations, and other relevant subjects in a polar context particularly in view of current global concerns. Both technical papers and selected panel sessions will be included. We will also continue to host a small commercial exhibition for organizations wishing to set up stand."
 
Abstract Submission Deadline: November 17,  2013
 

Arctic Science Summit Week, April 23-30, 2015. (Toyama, Japan) ASSW is the annual gathering of international organizations engaged in supporting and facilitating Arctic research. The purpose of the summit is to provide opportunities for coordination, collaboration and cooperation in all areas of Arctic science. IASC's (International Arctic Science Committee) 25th anniversary will be celebrated during ASSW2015. The summit presents an opportunity to review IASC contributions and recognize those who have been instrumental in its founding, development and growth. ASSW2015 will also include the 3rd International Conference on Arctic Research Planning (ICARP III) and the 4th International Symposium on the Arctic Research (ISAR-4). These four-day symposia create a platform for exchanging knowledge, inspiring cross fertilization, and promoting collaboration. The summit attracts scientists, students, policy makers and other professionals from all over the world.

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