Laura K. Furgione [Alaskan at heart]. As deputy director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service, Laura K. Furgione oversees the agency's day-to-day collection and dissemination of weather data in the United States. We checked in with her to find out what she finds interesting now. New York Times

Republicans Against Science. [Op-Ed] Jon Huntsman Jr., a former Utah governor and ambassador to China, isn't a serious contender for the Republican presidential nomination. And that's too bad, because Mr. Hunstman has been willing to say the unsayable about the G.O.P. - namely, that it is becoming the "anti-science party." This is an enormously important development. And it should terrify us. New York Times 

Scientists Call for Better Management of the Deep Sea. The deep sea is in trouble. A recent study has found that it's being damaged by human activities, and that this is only likely to get worse. Scientists are now calling for better management and conservation of entire deep-sea ecosystems. Planet Earth

Harper Stands Firm on Sovereignty as China Eyes Arctic Resources. Prime Minister Stephen Harper has sent a signal to Beijing that Ottawa will not relinquish its sovereignty over the portions of the Arctic lying within its territory. Countries around the world are looking northward as the sea passage across the top of Canada becomes increasingly navigable and exploration for new energy and mineral sources suggests the Arctic could contain a wealth of untapped natural resources. The Globe and Mail 

Alaska Joins Appeal of Ruling on Polar Bear 'Threatened' Status. The Parnell administration on Friday joined a parade of parties appealing the June decision by a federal judge in Washington, D.C., that the government correctly listed polar bears as a threatened species. On Thursday, 35 plaintiffs and intervenors, some working together, filed three separate notices that they were appealing U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan's decision in favor of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's listing of polar bears under the Endangered Species Act. Most of the parties support or engage in trophy hunting, though they also include an organization of California cattlemen. Anchorage Daily News 

Hunt for Red October: Military Wants Submarine Surveillance in Arctic. Canada's military wants the Harper government to take part in rebuilding a Cold War ocean surveillance system, arguing that the country's waters, including the approaches to the Arctic, are vulnerable to Chinese and Russian submarines. The current system, overseen by the U.S., involves specialized vessels and underwater sensors scattered around the globe to detect submarine movements. But with the end of the Cold War in the 1990s and the collapse of the former Soviet Union, that sensor technology, including systems called arrays, were not modernized. They now need to be upgraded or replaced. The Vancouver Sun  

Polar Bear Scientist Returns to Work. A scientist whose observations of drowned polar bears spurred national publicity on climate change returned to work Friday at the federal agency that oversees offshore petroleum drilling. Charles Monnett was suspended from his job at the Anchorage office of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement after federal inspectors said he helped a polar bear researcher prepare a proposal even though he was the government official responsible for determining whether the proposal met minimum qualifications. He was away from his job for the past six weeks. The Washington Times 

Federal Agency Tries to Write Polar Bear Plan: DILEMMA: Declining Sea Ice Mass is the Threat, but Agency Can't Target Cause. In a windowless convention center room more than a thousand miles from polar bears roaming on sea ice, marine mammal biologists gathered last week in Anchorage to work on a recovery plan for the Arctic Ocean's most famous fauna. The Interior Department three years ago listed polar bears as threatened because of the alarming rate at which sea ice, their primary habitat, is projected to disappear each summer. Anchorage Daily News  

Denmark Outlines Arctic Engagement Strategy. On 22 August, Denmark's Foreign Minister Lene Espersen said in Copenhagen that better livelihoods for Arctic communities will take centre-stage in the country's new strategy for the region. She launched a 10-year strategy document outlining Denmark's engagement in the Arctic. "We are keen supporters of economic development and foreign investments in the area," Espersen was quoted as saying by the press. But she cautioned that those wishing to tap the region's resources will have to abide by the highest international standards if they want to take part. "It is important for the governments of Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands that the local communities will benefit from any future activity boom in the region, but we will not accept that the fragile environment in the Arctic will be put at risk," she said. New Europe