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January 28, 2014

 

Building Climate Solutions, January 28-30, 2014 (Washington, DC). The conference is organized by the National Council and Environment with the assistance of a variety of partnering organizations. The conference is expected to engage over 1,200 key individuals from many fields of sciences and engineering, government and policy, business and civil society to advance solutions to climate change.The conference will be organized around two areas: [1] The Built Environment; and, [2] Agriculture and Natural Resources. Under these two themes, 24 tracks connect the conference to specific initiatives led by partnering organizations that advance solutions. In this manner, participants will engage with and have lasting impact on real world responses to climate change.

 

capital Today's Congressional Action:   

The House and Senate are expected to consider non-Arctic legislation today.  The House and Senate will meet in a joint session to receive President Obama's State of the Union address tonight. 

Media 

 

Alaska Legislature Despite Shrinking Funds, Alaska Legislators Make Push for Investment in Arctic Port. Arctic development opportunities are opening at a time when Alaska is running out of money, but legislators are trying to find new ways to get investment to fill the gap.  Sen. Lesil McGuire, R-Anchorage, said it is becoming clear that the state couldn't do it all and that there was a crunch coming. Alaska Dispatch

 

First Nations, Environmentalists Sue Yukon Over Peel Plan. The lawsuit will be filed Monday afternoon in Yukon Supreme Court by the Nacho Nyak Dun, the Tr'ondek Hwech'in, the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society Yukon and the Yukon Conservation Society. The Peel River watershed in northeast Yukon covers almost 70,000 square kilometers. The groups say the Yukon government's land use plan for the Peel River watershed violates land claims signed with First Nations. Eye on the Arctic

 

Animal Rights Groups Manipulated Data on Polar Bear Hunt: Researchers. Animal rights groups misled the public during a 2013 campaign to ban all trade in polar bear products, say two researchers from Canada and Britain. Douglas Clark of the University of Saskatchewan's school of environment and sustainability and Martina Tyrell, a geographer from the University of Exeter, looked at media coverage of a March 2013 proposal that, if adopted, could have severely limited or prohibited trade in polar bear parts under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, better known as CITES. Nunatsiaq Online

 

Researchers Explore Polar Vortex. With unseasonably warm weather reaching all the way up into the Brooks Range in Alaska and bitterly cold weather dipping deep into the Lower 48 states, everybody wants to know more about the Polar Vortex - the jet stream that wobbles around the Arctic. Last month in San Francisco a team of scientists with the Byrd Polar Research Center came out with a study that takes one more step toward better understanding that wobble by putting a lot more detail into high-latitude weather records of the past. Alaska Public Radio

 

Admiral Ostebo Discusses Future of Port Clarence. The U.S. Coast Guard owns Port Clarence, and many entities want a piece of the property, but the Coast Guard intends to hold on to at least some of the real estate. As marine traffic escalates through the Bering Strait, the passage is gaining global prominence. And nearby on the Seward Peninsula sits Port Clarence, one of Alaska's few naturally deep water ports. Alaska Public Radio 

 

Why High Suicide Rates in Arctic Russia? Back at DW headquarters in Bonn after returning from Arctic Frontiers in Tromso at the weekend, I am sorting out notes and interviews with a wide range of experts on Arctic issues from all over the world. One interview I would like to share with you here on the Ice Blog is a talk I had with Dr. Yuri Sumarakov from the Northern State Medical University in Archangelsk in north-west Russia. It is the northernmost medical school in Russia and has a special focus on research into Arctic medicine and issues affecting the health of people in the Arctic. DW

Legislative Actionfutureevents  

  

No legislative action was formally considered yesterday.

Future Events

 

The Arctic Encounter Symposium, February 7-8, 2014 (Seattle, Washington). The goal of the Arctic Encounter Symposium is to engage participants in a focused discussion, through a balanced forum, highlighting shared interests and concerns of the United States and the global community as we look north to the last emerging frontier - the Arctic. The Symposium will incorporate a diverse group of leaders and experts to debate how a rapidly changing Arctic will impact international law, domestic policy, business and commerce, the environment, and the people of the Far North. Speakers include policy makers, industry leaders, scientists, and academic experts. The two-day Symposium will take place at Seattle University School of Law with a dinner reception at the Seattle Aquarium on Pier 59. US Arctic Research commissioners Fran Ulmer and Edward Itta will be speaking.

Arctic Technology Conference, February 10-12, 2014 (Houston, TX). Founded in 1969, the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) provides offshore resources in the fields of drilling, exploration, production and environmental protection. The Arctic Technology Conference (ATC) is built upon OTC's successful multidisciplinary approach, with 14 technical societies and organizations. The conference is an international event focused on continuing innovative technologies and solutions needed for exploration and production of energy within the circum-Arctic.

 

Developing Alaska's Marine Workforce, February 14, 2014. (Anchorage, Alaska, USA). The North American Marine Environment Protection Association (NAMEPA) hosts the luncheon. Discussion will focus on industry strategies for moving forward to secure Alaska's future needs for an educated and trained workforce are met. Feature presentations include a recap of NAMEPA's 2012 meeting, University of Alaska updates on the FSMI (Alaska's Fisheries, Seafood, Maritime Initiative) Workforce Development Plan and trends in education and training. 

 

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. 

 

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.

 

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.

 

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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