Arctic Update Header
March 20, 2014

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.


capital Today's Congressional Action:   

The House and Senate are not in session.

 

Media 

 

White House White House Goes Local on Climate Change. White House officials launched a new initiative Wednesday that they said would help local communities plan for the effects of climate change by providing them with troves of government data. The Obama administration hopes to "leverage open data resources and other data sets to make communities more resilient," White House adviser John Podesta told reporters. The Hill 

 

Ancient Migration Patterns to North America Are Hidden in Languages Spoken Today. A few weeks ago, scientists announced an intriguing finding about the ancestors of today's Native Americans. Previously, genetic analysis had indicated that they'd left Siberia to migrate across ancient Beringia (the strip of land that once connected Asia and what's now Alaska) about 25,000 years ago, but the earliest evidence of human habitation on North America dates to 15,000 years ago. Smithsonian Magazine 

 

IARPC External Collaborations. The Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee recently released a website to foster communication and collaboration between IARPC and the Arctic Research Community. In February 2013, the Executive Office of the President released the Arctic Research Plan; FY2013-2017. The IARPC 5-year plan intentionally builds on the strong intellectual accomplishments and ideas of the research community at the Federal, State, local, and tribal levels as well as inclusion of ideas from the academic community, non-governmental organizations, and industry. The challenge is to continue to harness this scientific talent wherever it exists to address our Arctic research needs. IAPRC has established collaboration teams to carry out the activities described in the 5-year plan. Many of those activities involve establishing and enhancing inter-institutional and interdisciplinary conversations. Harnessing talent requires broad participation and, therefore, all meetings, unless otherwise noted, are open to the public. When necessary, Collaboration Team chairs may call federal-only meetings for the development of funding solicitations (pre-decisional discussions). These meetings will not be publicly announced. Arctic Research Consortium of the United States 

 

Worm Invasion in Canada's Northwest Has Scientists Concerned. Researchers at the University of Alberta are tracking some invaders that have already crossed the Alberta border heading into the Northwest Territories and may be making inroads into the Yukon. Earthworms are damaging boreal forests, researchers say, killing plants by churning up the stratified soil northern boreal plants depend on. Alaska Dispatch 

 

russian flag Russian Backing Allows Environment Funding to Begin. Amidst increasingly strained relations with the West, Russia's Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and JSC VTB Bank last week signed agreements with the Arctic Council making it possible to launch the organizations anti-pollution funding program. The deals, signed in Moscow last week, saw Russia agree to contribute €10 million to the Project Support Instrument (PSI), an Arctic Council initiative that seeks to prevent and clean up pollution in the region. Arctic Journal 

 

Navy Submarines Begin Arctic Ocean Exercises. Virginia-class attack submarine USS New Mexico (SSN 779) and Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Hampton (SSN 767) have commenced Ice Exercise 2014 (ICEX 2014) in the Arctic Ocean, says Commander, US Submarine Forces. "In keeping with the Department of Defense's Arctic Objectives, the submarine force uses ice exercises to prepare for a wide range of challenges and contingencies," said Capt. Paul Whitescarver, the camp's officer in tactical command and operations officer at Commander, Submarine Force Atlantic. MarineLink 

Legislative Actionfutureevents  

  

No Arctic legislation was formally considered yesterday.

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.

 

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. 

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