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April 1, 2014

capital Today's Congressional Action:   

The House is expected to consider several legislative items, including: H.R. 2413 - The Weather Forecasting Improvement Act of 2014, as amended; and, H.R. 4005 - Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2014, as amended. The Senate is expected to consider non-Arctic legislation.

Media 

  

UN Climate Report Changes Little on Hill. A United Nations report that concludes climate change is negatively affecting every continent arrived with a predictable thud Monday in Washington. Democrats and the Obama administration saw the report as more evidence that leaders must take quick, decisive action on the issue, while skeptics, including much of the Republican Party, held fast in their position that the science is wrong. The Hill

 

Salmon Climate Change a Threat to Security, Food and Humankind-IPCC report. A United Nations report raised the threat of climate change to a whole new level on Monday, warning of sweeping consequences to life and livelihood. The report from the UN's intergovernmental panel on climate change concluded that climate change was already having effects in real time - melting sea ice and thawing permafrost in the Arctic, killing off coral reefs in the oceans, and leading to heat waves, heavy rains and mega-disasters. The Guardian

 

The Great Barrier Reef: An Obituary. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is gathering in Japan to explore the effect of climate change on the natural world. For the Great Barrier Reef, the situation is stark- emissions must be cut radically, and quickly, if it is to survive. The Guardian

 

Polar bear Researchers Use DNA to Trace the Lineage of Polar Bears. The evolutionary history of the polar bear includes a common ancestor with black and brown bears. Studies show that black and brown bears split first as separate species, and then polar bears separated from brown bears. What currently occupies evolutionary biologists is the question of how long ago these lineage separations happened. With a limited fossil record, researchers have increasingly turned to DNA analysis for clues. Anchorage Daily News

 

IPCC Report: Warming Climate Puts Humans in Arctic, Around the Globe at Risk. Climate change, already well underway, poses dangers for people around the world and for biological resources on land and in the oceans, said a sweeping report issued Monday by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The report, titled "Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptations, and Vulnerabilities," was released at a meeting of the IPCC's Working Group II in Yokohama, Japan. Alaska Dispatch

 

EU Flag EU Arctic Sanctuary Solution Far From Certain. For environment groups, the proposal put forward earlier this month by the European Parliament to establish a sanctuary at the North Pole came as something of a surprise political win. But before they can claim victory, the idea must clear pair of important hurdles. First, it needs to win the support of the European Council, the union's executive body. And, even if that happens, EU lawmakers will face an uphill battle: without any territory in the Arctic, the bloc has no legal jurisdiction in the region. Arctic Journal

 

Sweden May Face EU Court Over Emissions. The European Union Commission may take Sweden to court over the country's failure to reduce pollution levels in its cities. Pollution levels in several Swedish cities exceed EU limits and Sweden has also failed to introduce a directive aimed at limiting industrial waste. Now, the EU Commission is launching a process that may involve bringing Sweden to court if the country fails to take appropriate measures. Alaska Dispatch

 

The Arctic Council's Immunity to Crimean Flu. Since Russian forces entered Crimea earlier this month, a host of commentators have been speculating on when and how that crisis might spill over into the Arctic. For those who have promoted the Arctic region's stability and peacefulness, Putin's actions have given pause.  We may all agree that there is no rational reason to use military force in the Arctic, and that there are no ends that could be achieved by doing so.  But we are less and less confident that Putin is guided by rationality in his decision-making. Conflict in the Arctic remains improbable, but less impossible. Alaska Dispatch

 

Papp Papp: Coast Guard Can't Afford New Icebreaker. Disagreement among administration officials over the priority a new U.S. icebreaker should assume within the Coast Guard acquisition budget is one reason why the service has yet to submit a five year capital investment plan. Given the likelihood of Coast Guard acquisition spending hovering around $1 billion annually in the foreseeable future, the service cannot afford a new heavy icebreaker without making cuts to other programs, such as the Offshore Patrol Cutter acquisition, said Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Robert Papp. Fierce Homeland Security 

Legislative Actionfutureevents  

  

S. 2187, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for a five-year extension of the rural community hospital demonstration program. (Introduced by Senator Mark Begich and referred to the Committee on Finance.)

Future Events

 

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

 

Alaska Policy Commission. May 6-7, 2014 (Anchorage, Alaska). The Alaska Arctic Policy Commission (AAPC) has more important work to do in 2014. The Commission will strive to gather public input and engage with Alaskan communities, state agencies, federal partners, and the international organizations working in the Arctic. In order to meet our goals AAPC will convene three in-person meetings over the course of 2014 and focus on implementation and final recommendations. The draft agenda is available here

 

International Congress of Arctic Social Sciences, May 22-24, 2014. 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, ICASS underscores both that 'sustainability' has social, cultural, economic, political and environmental dimensions, and that definitions of the concept vary. Yet, while debating specific definitions, most would agree that working toward sustainable ways of living in the North and on approaches to sustainable engagement with the North, are critical both to the North's and to the world's future. Community sustainability in the North, whether for small settlements or large urban conglomerations, requires new models of food and energy security, and of access to employment, health care and social and cultural services for residents.

 

Arctic in the Athropocene. June 23-July 2, 2014 (Potsdam, Germany). Under the overarching theme "Arctic in the Anthropocene", this two-week interdisciplinary and interactive event will be the first in a series of Potsdam Summer Schools to be held annually. The goal is to bring together early-career scientists and young professionals from research departments, governmental and non-governmental agencies and organizations, as well as the private sector from all around the world. Participants will deal with global challenges and address urgent questions on how to shape sustainable futures in the Arctic and beyond from a scientific and socioeconomic point of view. 

 

Alaska Policy Commission. August 26-27, 2014 (Kotzebue-Nome, Alaska). The Alaska Arctic Policy Commission (AAPC) has more important work to do in 2014. The Commission will strive to gather public input and engage with Alaskan communities, state agencies, federal partners, and the international organizations working in the Arctic. In order to meet our goals AAPC will convene three in-person meetings over the course of 2014 and focus on implementation and final recommendations. 

 

Arctic Circle, October 31-November 2, 2014 (Reyjavik, Iceland).

The Arctic Circle is nonprofit and nonpartisan. Organizations, forums, think tanks, corporations and public associations around the world are invited to hold meetings within the Arctic Circle platform to advance their own missions and the broader goal of increasing collaborative decision-making without surrendering their institutional independence. The Arctic Circle will organize sessions on a variety of issues, such as: Sea ice melt and extreme weather; Polar law: treaties and agreements; The role and rights of indigenous peoples; Security in the Arctic; Shipping and transportation infrastructure; The prospects and risks of oil and gas drilling; Clean energy achievements and sustainable development; Arctic resources; Business cooperation in the Arctic; The role of Asian and European countries in the Arctic; Greenland in the new Arctic; Fisheries and ecosystem management; The science of ice: global research cooperation; Arctic tourism; The ice-dependent world: the Arctic and the Himalayas. 

 

Alaska Policy Commission. November 13-14, 2014 (Anchorage, Alaska). The Alaska Arctic Policy Commission (AAPC) has more important work to do in 2014. The Commission will strive to gather public input and engage with Alaskan communities, state agencies, federal partners, and the international organizations working in the Arctic. In order to meet our goals AAPC will convene three in-person meetings over the course of 2014 and focus on implementation and final recommendations. 

 

The Arctic Biodiversity Congress, December 2-4, 2014. (Trondheim, Norway). The Arctic Biodiversity Congress will present and discuss the main scientific findings of the ABA; facilitate inter-disciplinary discussion, action and status updates on the policy recommendations in the ABA; provide scientific, policy, management, NGO, academia, Indigenous peoples and industry audiences the opportunity to collaborate around the themes of the ABA; advise CAFF on national and international implementation of the ABA recommendations and on the development of an ABA Implementation Plan for the Arctic Council; highlight the work of CAFF and the Arctic Council on circumpolar biodiversity conservation and sustainable development; and, contribute to mainstreaming of biodiversity and ecosystem services, ensuring that the recommendations of the ABA are implemented by not just governments, but many organizations and people across disciplines.

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