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March 4, 2014

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.


capital Today's Congressional Action:   

Many Washington, D.C., government operations are still delayed because of this weekend's snow. No votes are expected in the Senate. The House is expected to consider non-Arctic legislation.

 

 

Media 

 

Graphite Mining Surges: Deposit North of Nome Called 'World Class.' Tear apart an electric car's rechargeable battery and you'll find a mineral normally associated with No. 2 pencils. It's graphite. And experts say the promise of expanded uses for "pencil lead" in lithium-ion batteries -- used in cars, cellphones and tablet computers -- as well as a decrease in supply from China has helped touch off the largest wave of mining projects in decades. Anchorage Daily News

 

Polar bear Polar Bears Grab Spotlight of First World Wildlife Day. Maybe, like me, you were not aware that up to now there had been no World Wildlife Day. Sometimes I have the feeling every day on the calendar must have been designated the day of several different causes. In fact, the United Nations decided only in 2013 that March 3, 2014 should be the first World Wildlife Day. As I have commented on similar occasions, the danger of these "international day of whatever" events is that the inflation can actually mean less attention. Nevertheless, these designated days can be an opportunity to focus on particular topics. World Wildlife Day is a fine chance to remind ourselves once again of the need to protect biodiversity, especially in such a key region as the Arctic, which is being affected so drastically by climate change. Alaska Dispatch

 

Swedish Coast Guard Seeks Answers on Birds Covered in Oil. Some 25 oil-covered birds were discovered Saturday off the southern coast of the Baltic island of Gotland, prompting the Swedish Coast Guard to search for the source of the spill. The Coast Guard was contacted by bird watchers on Gotland, which lies about 55 miles to the east of Sweden, about the injured birds, one of which was found dead. So far, the agency's satellite images and aerial reconnaissance haven't turned up any signs of a spill. Alaska Dispatch

 

Humans May Have Been Stuck on Bering Strait for 10,000 Years. The ancestors of Native Americans may have lived on and around the Bering Strait for about 10,000 years before streaming into the Americas, researchers argue. In the new Perspectives article, published February 27th in the journal Science, the researchers compile existing data to support the idea, known as the Beringia standstill hypothesis. Live Science

 

Arctic Oil Exploration Stills Years Away. Swedish explorer Lundin Petroleum AB (LUPE) has said there is little chance any new oil output will take place in the Arctic in the next 15 years because of logistical and technical challenges. Ian Lundin, the chairman of the company that focuses on Norway, said he doesn't think there'll be any Arctic oil production in the near future, noting that the commercial challenges are simply too great. The Arctic holds an estimated 30 per cent of the undiscovered natural gas reserves in the world and 13 per cent of the undiscovered oil, the US Geological Survey says. However, in recent years there have been numerous setbacks in exploring the ocean floor, where an estimated 84 per cent of resources are believed to be trapped. Ice News

Legislative Actionfutureevents  

  

No Arctic legislation was formally considered yesterday.

Future Events

 

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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