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 7. The Homeland Security Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee will hold a hearing on the proposed fiscal year 2012 appropriations for departments, agencies, and programs under its jurisdiction. 

HOUSE: Fiscal 2012 Appropriations: Interior and Environment, April 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.

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. 

Reid 'Less Optimistic' About Averting Government Shutdown. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Thursday he is "less optimistic" about averting a government shutdown one day after a White House meeting failed to lead to a breakthrough in talks. Reid (D-Nev.) said he is significantly more worried about the prospect of a shutdown than he was Wednesday evening when he and Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) updated reporters on the talks. The Hill

Government Shutdown Would Put Arctic Study on Ice. A federal government shutdown would cut short a key NASA field campaign to monitor Arctic ice. For the past three weeks, NASA researchers and crew have been surveying Arctic land and sea ice using specially equipped aircraft. The work is part of a larger project, "Operation IceBridge," designed to fill a gap between NASA's now-defunct ICESat satellite and its replacement, which isn't scheduled to launch until 2016. New York Times 

Neutron Science Explains Mystery of How Arctic Fish's Antifreeze Proteins Work. Neutron scientists have discovered for the first time how 'antifreeze' in arctic fish blood kicks in to keep them alive in subzero conditions. The results could provide benefits for areas as diverse as cryosurgery, food processing and agriculture. PhysOrg.com

Unified Command Plan Reflects Arctic's Importance. Changes made to the U.S. military's Unified Command Plan shift geographic boundaries and stress the growing importance of the Arctic, officials said. President Barack Obama signed the document yesterday. The biggest change to the plan assigns U.S. Northern Command responsibility for the Arctic. U.S. European Command and U.S. Pacific Command shared responsibility with U.S. Northern Command for the region under the last change published in December 2008. It also places responsibility for Alaska under Northern Command. The previous plan had Northern Command and U.S. Pacific Command sharing responsibility for the state and adjacent waters. American Forces Press Service 

Nanoparticles "Highly Toxic" to the Arctic Ecosystem: researchers. By looking at soil from the Arctic, researchers from Queen's University have discovered that nanoparticles, tiny industrial additives put into everything from socks to salad dressing and suntan lotion, may cause "irreparably damaging effects" on soil systems and the environment. "Millions of tonnes of nanoparticles are now manufactured every year, including silver nanoparticles which are popular as antibacterial agents," said Virginia Walker, a professor in Queen's biology department. "We started to wonder what the impact of all these nanoparticles might be on the environment, particularly on soil." NUNATSIAQ Online

No Arctic-related legislation was formally considered yesterday. 

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.