The Arctic This Week July 20 - July 26, 2015  courtesy: 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 U.S. grants Shell final drilling permit, though it comes with conditions As expected, the U.S. government has granted Shell permission to begin oil exploration activities in the Chukchi Sea. However, the the Interior Department’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement has said that Shell may only drill the top sections of wells for the time being until the arrival of emergency response equipment. That equipment was previously being carried aboard the MSV Fennica, a Finnish icebreaker that was damaged earlier this month near Dutch Harbor (ABC). A group of kayaktivists met the Fennica in protest as it arrived in Portland, Oregon to undergo repairs (KOIN). Additionally, it was noted that Shell may also only drill one well at a time in accordance with federal protections for nearby walrus populations (EOTA). Alaska mining industry feeling the aftershocks of Supreme Court’s permit ruling The Alaskan mining industry is still grappling with the ramifications of a recent Alaska Supreme Court ruling on the controversial Pebble mine project. In particular, the process of obtaining mineral exploration permits is up in air after the court ruled that once mining test holes, or bore holes, are filled with concrete after use they constitute permanent structures (AJOC). Other implications of the ruling involve opening up temporary exploration permits to public review. These interpretations have wide-ranging effects on the state’s temporary permitting process and are likely to raise the overall cost of natural resource exploration. Meanwhile, the industry is waiting with bated breath for the state Department of Natural Resources to announce how they plan on adapting to the ruling (AJOC). THE POLITICAL SCENE Europe Iceland Left Out of Arctic Fishing Accord (Iceland Review). Miss Sami participates at UN meeting (NRK, in Norwegian). United States Russia Canada ENERGY Canada Finland United States Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski has proposed a bill in the U.S. Senate that would allow for revenue sharing for offshore federal energy exploration in Alaska (EOTA). Russia SCIENCE, ENVIRONMENT AND WILDLIFE Earth sciences, climate and weather The sea is even colder than usual (NRK, in Norwegian). Wildlife and ecology Polar bear spotted by Kangeq in Nuuk area (KNR, in Danish). Divided opinions on fewer muskox at Kangerlussuaq (KNR, in Danish). Environmental management The department knows about the hunting (muskox) (KNR, in Danish). Resistance to hunting grind whales (Faroese) (KNR, in Danish). Research and university news Scholarships awarded to Arctic research (KNR, in Danish). America first populated in 'a single wave of migration from Siberia' no more than 23,000 years ago (ST). Three scientists investigating melting Arctic ice may have been assassinated, professor claims (Telegraph). MILITARY / SEARCH & RESCUE Europe Russia MINING Year-round mine shipping exemption angers Nunavut locals The Canadian government has stepped in to allow a mining company in Nunavut to conduct year-round shipping, overruling a previous decision by Nunavut regulators (AJ). The new ruling allows year-round shipping and icebreaking to and from Pond Inlet in order to serve the Mary River mine project, operated by Baffinland Iron Mines. Nunavut’s land use plan restricts winter icebreaking operations at Pond Inlet. Understandably, those who supported the Nunavut regulators’ original ruling did not take kindly to the federal government’s intervention. Alaska There is some uncertainty over the future of the planned Donlin Gold project, which is about midway through a 5-year permitting process. According to owners Barrick Gold Corp. and Novagold Resources Inc., Donlin’s future will be determined by the global gold market, which is currently depressed (PN). Canada FISHERIES, SHIPPING AND OTHER BUSINESS NEWS Fisheries IA: Overfishing is not sustainable (KNR, in Danish). Sluggish mackerel fishing this year (KNR, in Danish). Tourism Operator: Great potential in touristic fishing (KNR, in Danish). Salted cod creates jobs in Akunnaaq (KNR, in Danish). Shipping Aviation Tourism Inuk Hostels popular with Nuuk Citizens (KNR, in Danish). Other business and economic news U.S. & Canada US Air Force wants to extend the Thule Contract (KNR, in Danish). Russia HEALTH, YOUTH, SOCIETY AND CULTURE StatsCan: Nunavut crime rates are continuing to fall The crime rate in Nunavut fell by approximately 6% between 2013 and 2014, according to new statistics released by Statistics Canada (CNN). The severity of crimes committed in Nunavut also decreased in 2014. The year-to-year decrease is part of a larger trend in Nunavut, as between 2010 and 2014 the overall number of crimes reported in the territory has fallen by roughly 14% (NN). Nonetheless, the overall crime rates in Nunavut and fellow Arctic territories Yukon and NWT--which also recorded modest decreases in crime rates--remain higher than in any other Canadian province. Health Youth Society Culture Sports From Keys to Freeze (AS). INFRASTRUCTURE United States Canada Abbreviation Key Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) Aftenbladet (AB) Alaska Business Monthly (ABM) Alaska Dispatch News (AD) Alaska Journal of Commerce (AJOC) Alaska Native News (ANN) Alaska Public Media (APM) Arctic Info (Russian) (AIR) Arctic Institute (TAI) Arctic Sounder (AS) 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 (NORJ) 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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The Arctic This Week July 29
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