The Arctic This Week June 1 - June 7, 2015  courtesy of Karsten Bidstrup 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 can sign 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 Environmental groups file legal challenge to Shell’s Alaska plans Twelve environmental groups have filed a joint lawsuit in a San Francisco federal court that challenges the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM) tentative approval of Shell’s plans to undertake oil exploration activities in the Chukchi Sea. The groups claim that the BOEM did not properly address the potential environmental impacts of Shell’s plans. Shell stated that it expected to face legal challenges to its plans, especially in light of recent moves by environmental groups to block the company from resuming operations in the Arctic (MarEx). Shell’s plans continue to move forward despite previous problems operating in the Arctic (PN). Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission released recommendations Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) has released a series of 94 recommendations following a six-year inquiry into the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement. The commission, whose goal “was to record survivor testimony and detail the legacy the residential school system still has on Inuit and First Nation communities in Canada,” has “over the last six years…traveled to more than 300 communities recording survivor testimony from every region of Canada, including the Arctic” (AD). While Inuit organizations have hailed the report as “a milestone” (NN), and greeted it with “a sense of relief and accomplishment” (CBC), they also recognize it is “just the beginning of a healing process for families across Canada’s North” (NN). However, PM Stephen Harper has made clear that his government will not implement the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, one of the TRC’s 94 recommendations (APTN).APTN has a list of the entire 94 recommendations. Record low Arctic sea ice extent in May NSIDC reports that the Arctic sea ice extent at the end of May has once again reached record lows. The month’s average was 12.65 million square km (4.88 million square miles), which is the third lowest May extent since satellite measurements began in 1979. Among other factors, this is likely due to an early ice melt in the Bering Sea and persistently below-average ice conditions in the Barents Sea (AJ). Another Watson Lake-area mine runs into financial trouble Like the nearby Wolverine Mine before it, fellow Watson Lake-area mining operation Cantung is facing its own financial issues. The mine, located on the border of southeastern Yukon and N.W.T. and operated by North American Tungsten Corporation, announced temporary layoffs affecting approximately 80 employees (CBC, CMJ). In a press release the company attributed the temporary layoffs to a dip in global tungsten prices (PN). Arctic suds go to market An unopened bottle of Allsopp's Arctic Ale, a beer brewed specifically to prevent scurvy on an 1875 British North Pole expedition, was recently discovered in an English garage and will go up for auction, where it is expected to sell for up to $1,000 (The Telegraph). It’s not the first time a bottle of Allsopp's Arctic Ale has gone on sale either, and it turns out there’s quite a market for the bottles. In 2007, an unopened bottle of Allsopp's Arctic Ale from an 1852 British Arctic expedition sold online for several thousand dollars. Russia’s new payment system and issuance of the national payment card ‘Mir’ International payment systems Visa and MasterCard, which were required to transfer card transactions inside Russia to processing in the National System of Payment Cards (NSPC), have completed the transferal (TASS). Russian authorities have created a prototype payment card called “Mir” for use in the country’s new internal payment system. Mass production of the card is scheduled for 2016. These changes are part of a large-scale program creating an autonomous financial system in Russia in response to U.S. sanctions, which required Visa and MasterCard to stop processing card payments from several Russian banks. According to Olga Skorobogatova, deputy head of Russia’s Central Bank, MasterCard and Japan’s JCB have already expressed interest in issuing co-branded cards with the new system (RBTH). THE POLITICAL SCENE Russia United States Canada Europe Aleqa Hammond Attempts Comeback (NORA). Greenland may affect the EU’s Arctic policy (KNR, in Danish). Election 2015: economy becomes election issue (KNR, in Danish). ICC will try to influence EU policy on seal products (KNR, in Danish). EU negotiations crucial for Greenland (KNR, in Danish). Signals, Noise, and Swans in Today’s Arctic (SAIS Review of International Affairs). ENERGY Russian firms compete for oil terminal license Lukoil is interested in building a new oil terminal at the Vostochno-Taymyrsky structure in the Taymyr peninsula, which it may be able to connect to offshore assets in the Arctic. However, the company faces competition from Rosneft, who also wishes to obtain the license for the structure. Russian authorities are expected to grant the license in August (BO). Canada WWF affirms Arctic HFO stance (MarEx). Norway Russia Novatek has announced that several key pre-sales of gas from its Yamal LNG project have been completed, which may help the company to finance the project in light of Western sanctions (Reuters). Gazprom Neft completes first winter sea shipments of oil from Yamal (Arctic Monitor). More oil through Ob Bay (BO). United States Two activists describe their experiences after spending 63 hours chained to the side of a Shell Arctic exploration ship (Mother Jones). Opinion: Improved U.S. Arctic Energy Development Starts in the Classroom (Real Clear Education). SCIENCE, ENVIRONMENT AND WILDLIFE In the Warming Arctic Seas A recent article by Subhankar Banerjee, known for his writings on climate change in the Arctic, describes how a warming climate affects Alaska, using northern Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) as an example. Among the consequences of environmental change are coastal erosion and the thawing of permafrost, which might expose gravesites, such as happened on Barter Island, or even require the relocation of entire towns, such as Kivalina. Other effects are increased precipitation and thaw-freeze cycles, which hinder access to food for animals like caribou and muskoxen and have already contributed to the latter’s disappearance from the ANWR coastal plain (World Policy). NASA’s IceBridge flights completed for 2015 NASA’s Operation IceBridge, now in its seventh year, has completed its 2015 flights. Twice a year, during 33 eight-hour flights, the operation surveyed and collected data over sea and land ice regions. The data will be used for analyses on sea ice thickness, IceBridge’s primary mission; forecasts on Arctic sea ice developments and other studies (Phys.org,SWR,AJ). Lampreys falling from the sky Last week, Arctic lampreys, eel-like fish with a tooth-bearing tongue, fell from the sky in Fairbanks, Alaska. Fish and Game biologists assume that ambitious gulls lifted them, but had to drop them shortly after. While this is not unusual, it is the first time that four of these animals have been found in the same week (NM,AD). Earth sciences, climate & weather This is why the Norwegian weather is so unstable (NRK, in Norwegian). Weird weather, Arctic melt and why the connections matter (Weather Network). Wildlife & ecology Expeditions & research blogs As clean as mud – first samplings on the expedition (Helmholtz Blogs). Every research trip a new adventure: Working place icebreaker (Helmholtz Blogs). Parsing the Details of the New Warming “Hiatus” Study (NASA Earth Observatory). Environmental management Pollution turns river chalk white for days (Siberia) (ST). University & research news Greenlandic bacteria to rescue Danish potatoes (KNR, in Danish). 1st Central European Polar Meeting, 10-13 November 2015, Vienna, Austria (UArctic). Conference "Arctic Marine Resource Governance", 14-16 October 2015, Reykjavik, Iceland (UArctic). Historical Relics From Arctic Shipwreck Unveiled (Discovery News). MILITARY / SEARCH & RESCUE United States Russia Europe MINING Mining slowdown in Nunavik expected to continue Mining industry insiders recently told a Kativik Regional Government council that the current slowdown in mineral exploration and extraction projects in Nunavik is expected to continue in the near-term. According to experts, the downward trend is attributed directly to the worldwide drop in metal prices (NN). New N.W.T. advisory board holds inaugural meeting A newly-assembled N.W.T. mining industry advisory board composed of mineral exploration executives held its first meeting with N.W.T.’s Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment David Ramsay (CBC). The advisory board, which will meet with Ramsay at least twice a year, is tasked with providing the minister with strategies to expand the territory's mining industry. Layoffs coming at LNS Greenland (KNR, in Danish). FISHERIES, SHIPPING AND OTHER BUSINESS NEWS The end of Tromsø’s seal hunt Once the epicenter for seal hunting expeditions in northern Norway, the Norwegian Parliament’s decision to stop the industry's 12 million kroner subsidy now means the end of Tromsø’s long-standing seal hunt. After its loss of popularity and the EU’s ban on seal product trade from Norway into Europe, the seal industry was kept alive through subsidies, which made up around 80% of the hunters’ revenue. Locals are now concerned about the consequences for their culture, as well as for the fish stocks along Norway’s coast (BO). Fisheries Salmon industry braces for state government layoffs (Alaska) (AS). 20% of nation sign mackerel petition (Iceland) (mbl). Norwegian seafood record (NORA). Every fifth salmon released (NRK, in Norwegian). Shipping Registration and call for abstracts: ShipArc 2015 Conference, 25-27 August, Malmö (UArctic). Bridging the icebreaker resource gap with Arctic co-operation (Embassy of Finland, Ottawa). Polar Code ‘guideline’ presents challenges (IHS Maritime 360). Nor-Shipping 2015: Insurers want more ships in the Arctic (Lloyd’s List). Tourism A colorful capital city (ABN, in Danish). Other business and economic news U.S. & Canada N.W.T. minimum wage rises to $12.50 an hour today (June 1) (CBC). Russia Russian bear will roar once more, says World Bank (Telegraph). Nordics FUTURE GREENLAND Greenland has to be a leader in Arctic technology (KNR, in Danish). HEALTH, YOUTH, SOCIETY AND CULTURE Health The ICCH16 congress will focus on human health and well-being in the Arctic and northern areas (UArctic). Youth In policy changes announced last week, N.W.T.’s Education Minister put forth a new program that will forgive up to $2,000 worth of student loan debt for any student that moves to N.W.T. after graduation, whether they are from the territory or not (CBC). Vanishing language: Norway intends to close Kven school (LK, in Finnish). Society After being off-air since August 2014, N.W.T. aboriginal radio station CKLB says it has secured enough funding to begin broadcasting new live programming (CBC). App helps newcomers learn Greenlandic (KNR, in Danish). Culture The annual Alianait festival, which celebrates circumpolar art and culture, is scheduled to be held from June 26 to July 1 in Nunavut’s capital, Iqaluit (AJ). INFRASTRUCTURE United States Abbreviation Key Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) Aftenbladet (AB) Alaska Business Monthly (ABM) Alaska Dispatch (AD) Alaska Journal of Commerce (AJOC) Alaska Native News (ANN) Alaska Public Media (APM) 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 (NM) 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) Maritime Executive (MarEx) 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) Science World Report (SWR) 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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