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February 24, 2014

 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.


capital Today's Congressional Action:   

The House is not in session.  The Senate will consider several judicial nominations.

 

 

 

Media 

 

'Arctic Ambassador' Position Draws Mixed Reaction from Alaska Delegation. Secretary of State John Kerry announced last week that he's creating a new position called Special Representative for the Arctic Region. It's been referred to as an "Arctic Ambassador" in some reports, but it's not exactly that, and the reaction of Alaska's two U.S. senators has been mixed. Alaska Public Radio

 

With Ice Melting, U.S. Pushes for Limits on Fishing in Arctic Ocean. U.S. officials are heading to Greenland for a three-day meeting to persuade other Arctic nations to place a moratorium on high-seas fishing in the Arctic Ocean, where climate change is melting the permanent ice cap and allowing trawlers in for the first time in human history. The United States is proposing an agreement "that would close the international waters of the Arctic Ocean to commercial fishing until there is a good scientific foundation on which to base management of any potential fishing," said David Benton, a member of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, who will be part of the negotiations in Nuuk, Greenland. Los Angeles Times

 

Changes in the Arctic: Background and Issues for Congress. The diminishment of Arctic sea ice has led to increased human activities in the Arctic, and has heightened interest in, and concerns about, the region's future. The United States, by virtue of Alaska, is an Arctic country and has substantial interests in the region. On May 10, 2013, the Obama Administration released a national strategy document for the Arctic region. On January 30, 2014, the Obama Administration released an implementation plan for this strategy. A link to the Congressional Research Service report is available here.

 

Deepwater Horizon Informs Arctic Oil Spill Debate. The Polar Code will not include a ban on use of heavy fuel oil, and environmentalists fear a shipping accident causing a heavy fuel oil spill will have dramatic consequences for fragile Arctic eco-systems. Russia has already started to upgrade Northern Sea Route infrastructure and plans to build ten new search-and-rescue centers. At a recent conference, Anton Vasiliev, Moscow's ambassador to the Arctic Council, expressed his confidence in Russia's readiness for the next wave of northern shipping within three or four years. Maritime Executive

 

Senate Candidates Weigh in on Arctic Issues. In the lead-up to this year's elections, The Associated Press plans to publish an occasional list featuring the positions of the highest-profile Alaska U.S. Senate candidates on different issues. The focus this time is the Arctic. The White House recently released an implementation plan for its Arctic strategy, which includes broad goals of advancing U.S. security interests, pursuing responsible stewardship and strengthening international cooperation. Kansas City Star

 

Oil Companies Push Ahead in Russia, Canada While Sidelined in the U.S. Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal reported that more crude oil is being sent by sea and inland waterways as a supplement to railways and pipelines. Since 2010, the amount of oil shipped on barges from the Midwest down the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico has increased 13 times. Much of this oil from the Midwest is coming from fracking in North Dakota's Bakken Shale and the oil sands in Alberta. Without the Keystone XL pipeline, the oil still has to get to market somehow, so barges are the answer. Companies are seeking out "alternate routes where pipelines don't exist or have sufficient capacity." Alaska Dispatch

 

BLM Document Could be Step Toward Oil Production at Mooses Tooth in NPR-A. Federal regulators have released a draft environmental study of options for developing what would be the North Slope's westernmost commercially producing oil field, a site within the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska where ConocoPhillips hopes to start pumping oil in late 2017. The Bureau of Land Management's draft supplemental environmental impact statement analyzes five alternative outcomes for the company's plan to develop its Greater Mooses Tooth 1 project, also known as GMT1. The draft, issued by BLM on Wednesday, is scheduled for publication in the Federal Register Friday and available for public review through April 22. Alaska Dispatch 

 

Alaska North Slope Communities Divided as Arctic Drilling Delayed. The recent court decision that could stop Royal Dutch Shell from drilling in the U.S. Arctic Ocean might be felt strongest at the ocean's doorstep, where something of a civil war -- played out partly in the pages of the local newspaper -- has erupted on the North Slope. Alaska Dispatch

Legislative Actionfutureevents  

  

No Arctic legislation was formally considered Friday.

Future Events

 

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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