The Arctic This Week May 4 - 10, 2015  Photo: Malte Humpert, Tromsø, Norway Welcome and thanks for joining us this week! We hope that you find TATW interesting and entertaining to read. If you’re not a subscriber yet, you cansign up here. As always, all editorial choices, opinions and any mistakes are the authors’ own. Anything that we missed? Please feel free to share material with us if you think it deserves inclusion in TATW. THIS WEEK’S TOP STORIES Drones banned by tour operators in the polar regions The Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators (AECO) moved to prohibit the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) by cruise tourists when visiting the Arctic, as the increasing popularity of the devices risks disturbing the environment (NRK, in Norwegian). In doing so the association further committed itself to stronger environmental and safety regulations (AJ). In addition, the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators (IAATO) also agreed on a UAV ban for the 2015-16 season (MarEx). Shell wins federal injunction against Greenpeace but faces opposition from Seattle officialsover Alaska drilling Shell won a federal injunction against Greenpeace this week, requiring the group to maintain distance from Shell’s drilling activities this summer in the Chukchi Sea (AD). Seattle’s mayor gave hope to environmentalists, however, stating that the city’s port will need to apply for a new permit before Shell can use its facilities. The company was planning to base a drilling rig and associated support ships at the port for use in Alaska (AD). Despite this, port operator Foss Maritime has announced that it will appeal the city’s decision and will also continue preparations to host Shell’s operations (Seattle Times). Shell has also undergone significant preparations to avoid an environmental disaster as it nears resumption of drilling activities in the Chukchi Sea (MarEx). Study: Lack of infrastructure means mining in Canada’s High North can be pricey A new study by a number of Canadian mining associations including the Mining Association of Canada, the NWT & Nunavut Chamber of Mines, and the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada concluded that the costs to explore, build, and maintain mines in Canada’s remote High North is approximately 2.5 times higher compared to the rest of the country (CMJ). According to the report, the higher costs are directly linked to poor infrastructure. The five associations that contributed to the report recommended that the Canadian government devote more funding towards beefing up infrastructure in High North in order to aid mineral exploration (AJ). Two polar researchers killed falling through thin ice Two Dutch polar explorers and researchers Marc Cornelissen and Philip de Roo lost their lives two weeks ago when they broke through the thin spring ice on a river in Canada’s Arctic. They were on an expedition to collect measurements of snow and ice thickness. Irene Quaile (EOTA) and Andrew Revkin (AD) offer private and philosophical accounts of the sad loss, as well as details related to the importance of their research. THE POLITICAL SCENE United States Containment and Conflation in the Arctic (World Policy Institute). The coming struggle for the Arctic (Washington Times). Russia Prelude to Victory Day (BO). Canada Europe Norway Labor Party Sharply Fall after Congress (The Nordic Page). A stronger national community – outside Greenland votes (KNR, in Danish). Centre to run on more autonomy for Lapland (LK, in Finnish). Asia ENERGY Canada Denmark/Faroe Islands Faroese oil dream lives on (NRT). Finland Norway Russia Energy was a major part of the agenda as Chinese president Xi Jinping visited Moscow for this weekend’s Victory Day celebrations (Bloomberg). United States Miscellaneous SCIENCE, ENVIRONMENT AND WILDLIFE Carbon-soaked fjords Although fjords only represent 0.3% of the earth’s surface compared to 70% that the world’s oceans cover, a study finds that fjords soak up 11% of the total absorbed by marine sediment (Nature). Climate & earth sciences Young Arctic Ice Creates New Climate-Driven Era (Discovery News). Barents Sea temperature warning (NORA). Holding on to Snow (AS). Arctic climate changes' impact widespread (Bristol Bay Times). Arctic Ocean Enters “New Era” (Environmental Technology). Wildlife & ecology Fjords are surprisingly important for the environment (NRK, in Norwegian). How a warming Arctic affects Yellowstone grizzlies (High Country News). Environmental management Archaeology University & research news MILITARY / SEARCH & RESCUE United States Russia Europe Finland, Sweden join NATO air force drill (Daily Sabah). Military will recruit young Greenlanders (KNR, in Danish). Canada Deaths in the Arctic (Slate). Arctic search team finds body of missing Dutch explorer (Toronto Sun). MINING Nunavut advisory board rules against proposed uranium mine The Nunavut Impact Review Board, a government advisory board, recommended against Areva Resources’ proposed Kiggavik uranium mine, located west of Baker Lake, due to the mine’s potential environmental and social impacts (CBC). In particular, the board ruled against the mine because the project has no definite start date so therefore a full impact study could not be completed (NN). Areva Resources has indicated in the past that due to the current low market price for uranium, construction at Kiggavik may not even start for another 20 years. Yukon miners have an image problem According to the director of the B.C.-based think tank Resource Works, mining companies in Yukon have an image problem in the eyes’ of the general public (CBC). According to Stewart Muir, miners aren’t doing enough to educate the public on the benefits that responsible resource development and mineral exploration could bring to communities in the region (YN). Local anti-mining activists successfully halted plans by Irish company Karelian Diamond Resources to build a mine in the Utsjoki region of the Finnish Arctic (EOTA). FISHERIES, SHIPPING AND OTHER BUSINESS NEWS Russia’s new icebreaker fleet Russia currently has at least 14 icebreakers under construction and there are others being planned. The most powerful of them is the nuclear-powered LK-60 icebreaker, which is under construction at the Baltiisky Yard in Saint Petersburg, one of the oldest shipyards in Russia. Thisarticle in Eye on the Arctic lists and describes some of the other vessels under construction (EOTA). Fisheries Tourism Other business and economic news U.S. Nordics HEALTH, YOUTH, SOCIETY AND CULTURE Study: It’s good to be a mom in the Nordic nations Coinciding with Mother’s Day, the UK charity Save the Childrenreleased its 16th annual State of the World’s Mothers report. Of the 179 countries evaluated, Norway earned top honors with fellow Nordic (and Arctic) nations Finland, Iceland, Denmark, and Sweden sweeping the rest of the top-five spots (The Nordic Page). Health Youth Iḷisaġvik College in Barrow, Alaska, the northernmost college in the United States, marks its 20-year anniversary (AD). Greenlandic winner in the Arctic Council Art Competition for young (NRK, in Norwegian). Society The latest World Happiness report shows that Russians are increasingly happy as the nation continues its upward trend in the annual ranking (BO). Sami languages disappear (EOTA). Russians in Norway: - Who should we trust? (NRK, in Norwegian). Culture The Arctic Council released a whitepaper titled “Keeping our Traditions Alive: Compendium of Best Practices in Promoting Traditional Ways of Life of Arctic Indigenous Peoples” (Arctic Council, in Inuktitut). Midnight Sun Film festival program was complemented again (LK, in Finnish). Greenland Eyes International Film Festival comes to US (KNR, in Danish). INFRASTRUCTURE United States Canada Abbreviation Key Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) Aftenbladet (AB) Alaska Business Monthly (ABM) Alaska Dispatch (AD) Alaska Journal of Commerce (AJC) Alaska Native News (ANN) Alaska Public Media (APM) Anchorage Daily News (ADN) Arctic Info (Russian) (AIR) Arctic Institute (TAI) Barents Nova (BN) Barents Observer (BO) Bristol Bay Times (BBT) BusinessWeek (BW) Canadian Mining Journal (CMJ) Christian Science Monitor (CSM) Eye on the Arctic (EOTA) Fairbanks Daily News-Miner (FNM) Financial Times (FT) Globe and Mail (G&M) Government of Canada (GOC) Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) Huffington Post (HP) Indian Country Today Media Network (ICTMN) Johnson’s Russia List (JRL) Kalaallit Nunaata Radioa (KNR) Lapin Kansa (LK) Moscow Times (MT) National Geographic (NG) Natural Gas Europe (NGE) Naval Today (NT) New York Times (NYT) Northern Journal (NJ) Northern News Service Online (NNSO) Northern Public Affairs (NPA) Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI) Nunatsiaq News (NN) Oil & Gas Journal (OGJ) Ottawa Citizen (OC) Petroleum News (PN) RIA Novosti (RIAN) Russia Beyond the Headlines (RBTH) Russia Today (RT) Voice of Russia (VOR) Wall Street Journal (WSJ) Washington Post (WP) Whitehorse Star (WS) Winnipeg Free Press (WFP) Yukon News (YN) |
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Arctic news: The Arctic This Week May 13
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