The Senate will consider a small business research bill that is anticipated to include amendments on EPA greenhouse gas regulation.  The House is expected to consider EPA greenhouse gas regulation today in another legislative vehicle.  

HOUSE: Fiscal 2012 Appropriations: Homeland Security, April 6, 7. The Homeland Security Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee will hold hearings on the proposed fiscal year 2012 appropriations for departments, agencies, and programs under its jurisdiction. 

HOUSE: Fiscal 2012 Appropriations: Interior and Environment, April 6, 7, 12. The Interior and Environment and Related Agencies of the House Appropriations Committee will hold hearings on the proposed fiscal year 2012 appropriations for departments, agencies, and programs under its jurisdiction.

Democrats Plan Budget to Counter GOP. House Democrats will propose a competing long-term budget plan in the coming days in a high-stakes gamble aimed at not ceding political ground to Republicans on fiscal matters. The move by Budget ranking member Chris Van Hollen allows Democrats to have a voice in the all-consuming budget debate. However, it also poses risks for the Caucus because various factions are planning their own budget proposals. Roll Call

ICEX 2011 Demonstrates Naval Research Projects. The projects ranged from collecting data on the environment to testing undersea communications. ICEX is held every two to three years by the Navy's Arctic Submarine Laboratory (ASL) based in San Diego. Researchers and submariners deploy to the frigid region to test new equipment and train crews in operating under the ice. Defense Professionals

For the Next Generation of Inuit, Hope Lies in Education. Hope is something that fuels our drive forward as parents, as leaders in our communities and as a country. Faced with daunting and complex issues, we draw on our reservoir of hope to remind us of our duty to the next generation. As national leader of Canada's Inuit, I have often reflected on hope amid the reports and statistics of broken dreams and lives that place Inuit in the unenviable lead in social crises. For the next generation of Inuit, the roots of hope must lie in education. The Globe and Mail

NDP Candidate Slams Harper's Cuts to North. Western Arctic incumbent Member of Parliament Dennis Bevington is in Yellowknife Tuesday at his campaign headquarters. Bevington said Northerns can't trust the Harper government--a 36 per cent cut from the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency, or CanNor, cuts to Indian and Northern Affairs Canada and other Northern programs. HQ Yelllowknife

Oil Giants Contest Arctic Relief Well Requirements. Oil companies warn that exploratory drilling in Canada's Arctic waters will be stymied if the federal regulator continues to insist that they be equipped to quickly complete a relief well in the event of a blowout. In submissions to the National Energy Board's Arctic inquiry, Chevron Corp. and ConocoPhillips Co. said there should be less focus on relief wells, and more on the industry's ability to prevent blowouts and regain control of rogue wells. CTV

Arctic Fresh Water Could Affect Europe's Climate. New research suggests changes in the Arctic Ocean could affect the climate of coastal Europe. "Large regional changes could be in store if the ocean circulation changes," said Laura de Stern of the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research. CBC News

Ozone Layer Faces Record 40 Percent Loss Over Arctic Due to Chemicals, Cold Winter. The protective ozone layer in the Arctic that keeps out the sun's most damaging rays - ultraviolet radiation - has thinned about 40 percent this winter, a record drop, the U.N. weather agency said Tuesday. The Arctic's damaged stratospheric ozone layer isn't the best known "ozone hole" - that would be Antarctica's, which forms when sunlight returns in spring there each year. But the Arctic's situation is due to similar causes: ozone-munching compounds in air pollutants that are chemically triggered by a combination of extremely cold temperatures and sunlight. The losses this winter in the Arctic's fragile ozone atmospheric layer strongly exceeded the previous seasonal loss of about 30 percent, the U.N.'s World Meteorological Organization in Geneva said. Washington Post 

No Arctic-related legislation was formally considered yesterday. 

Spill Response for the Future, April 7-8. SINTEF will host a conference on offshore oil and gas activity's expansion northward. The conference will consider political improvements of oil spill technology, needed improvements, recent accidents, and knowledge-based approaches to development.

Make it Monday Forum- Deepwater Horizon: Presidential Oil Spill Commission Update, April 11. The Anchorage Chamber of Commerce hosts this event that will feature University of Alaska Anchorage Chancellor Fran Ulmer.  Ms. Ulmer will present the findings from President Obama's Oil Spill Commission and its implications for Alaska, as well as give an overview of her time as UAA's chancellor.   

4th Symposium on the Impacts of an Ice-Diminishing Arctic on Naval and Maritime Operations, June 20-21, 2011.  The symposium is co-hosted by the U.S. National Ice Center (NIC) and the U.S. Arctic Research Commission. This symposium addresses present and future impacts of rapid changes in Arctic Ocean sea ice cover on a wide range of maritime operations. The forum, the fourth in a series, is a key opportunity for federal entities to discuss their response to changes in both the Arctic environment and associated policies.

7th Congress of the International Arctic Social Sciences, June 22-26, 2011.  The 7th Congress, "Circumpolar Perspectives in Global Dialogue: Social Sciences Beyond the IPY," will be held in Akureyri, Iceland. The International Congress of the Arctic Social Sciences is held every three years. 
 
Holocene Glacier Variability from the Tropics to the Poles, July 20-27, 2011. Glaciers respond sensitively to climate change. Recent (Holocene) glacier fluctuations are a valuable proxy for terrestrial interglacial paleoclimate conditions. A main challenge for interpreting paleoclimate from past mountain glacier extents is distinguishing local and regional patterns from global signals. Reconstructing Holocene glacier extents involves many disciplines including terrestrial and marine geology, geochronology and glaciology. Organizers hope to facilitate an inter-hemispheric comparison of glacier records including locations in the Tropics, European Alps, American Cordillera, Southern Alps of New Zealand, Himalaya and Polar Regions and to identify future research questions and directions. For additional information contact: Meredith Kelly.
 
13th Arctic Ungulates Conference (AUC), August 22-26, 2011. The theme of the conference will be "Challenges of Managing Northern Ungulates." The theme addresses the difficulties of managing ungulate populations that are faced with the unpredictable effects of climate change and an ever-increasing human presence on the land. The conference will also focus on the challenges associated with developing recovery actions for declining caribou and reindeer populations that are an integral part of Aboriginal cultures and ways of life. 
 
9th International Symposium on Permafrost Engineering, September 3-7, 2011. The Melnikov Permafrost Institute (Yakutsk, Russia), the Institute of Northern Mining (Yakutsk, Russia), the Cold and Arid Regions Engineering and Environmental Research Institute (Lanzhou, China), and the Heilongjiang Institute of Cold Region  Engineering (Harbin, China) will host the Ninth International Symposium on  Permafrost Engineering to be held in Mirny, Yakutia. The aim of the Symposium is to provide a forum for discussion of permafrost engineering issues, as well as for exchange of practical experience in construction and maintenance of engineering structures on frozen ground. For additional information, please contact Lilia Prokopieva. 

4th International Sea Duck Conference, September 12-16. The conference is held to provide researchers and managers with opportunities to share information, research, and conduct workshops.

Lowell Wakefield International Fisheries Symposium, September 14-17, 2011. The 27th Lowell Wakefield International Fisheries Symposium, entitled "Fishing People of the North: Cultures, Economies, and Management Responding to Change," will be held in Anchorage, Alaska. This international symposium will provide a forum for scholars, fishery managers, fishing families, and others to explore the human dimensions of fishery systems and growing need to include social science research in policy processes. The conference is part of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Sea Grant program.   

Operating in the Arctic: Supporting the US Coast Guard Challenges Through Research, Sept. 21-23, 2011. This workshop, held at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, and co-sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security and the US Arctic Research Commission, explored and identified ways in which scientific research and development can improve the ability of the U.S. Coast Guard to operate and carry out its statutory missions in the Arctic region. Participation in this event included state, local and international stakeholders, academics and researchers, and USCG and other federal agency officials. A funding opportunity associated with this activity is described here.

The Tenth International Conference on Permafrost, June 2012. The conference will be held in Tyumen, Russia, and is organized and hosted by Russia. The last conference was held in Fairbanks, Alaska, in 2008.  More details to follow. 

Arctic/ Inuit/ Connections: Learning from the Top of the World, October 24-28, 2012.  The 18th Inuit Studies Conference, hosted by the Smithsonian Institution, will be held in Washington, DC. The conference will consider heritage museums and the North; globalization: an Arctic story; power, governance and politics in the North; the '"new" Arctic: social, cultural and climate change; and Inuit education, health, language, and literature. For more information, please email Lauren Marr.