|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Today's Events The House considers legislation regarding EPA designation of coal ash as a hazardous waste. The Senate is not in session. Arctic Futures Symposium, October 12-14, 2011. The International Polar Foundation (IPF) and the Fondation Prince Albert II de Monaco will host Arctic Futures 2011. The event is a follow-up to last year's symposium, and will bring together international and interdisciplinary Arctic stakeholders including EU and foreign policymakers, scientists, representatives of industry, indigenous peoples and academics to discuss needs, address challenges, exchange ideas, and network. Bioneers in Alaska: RESILIENCE, Adapting to Changing Planet,October 14-16, 2011. Bioneers in Alaska is a local, self organized Bioneers event featuring local speakers and live video keynotes from the 22nd annual Bioneers Conference in San Rafael, California. Beaming Bioneers broadcasts practical environmental solutions and innovative social strategies to restore Earth's imperiled ecosystems and heal our human community. |
Media Review
 Boehner, Cantor Talk Omnibus Vs. Minibus. Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) today addressed the House-Senate divide over this year's appropriations endgame, saying he's been "reluctant to even consider the idea of an omnibus" but noting that House and Senate negotiators remain at odds over how to divvy up the overall spending level. "A lot of conversations going on amongst the appropriators and, frankly, some at the leadership level trying to come to an agreement," Boehner said. He said he hoped an agreement was reached "soon" with the legislative clock ticking. Congressional Quarterly
The Week Ahead: Appropriations Package Highlights Senate Agenda While House is Away on Recess. While the House takes a weeklong recess, the Senate is poised to turn to an appropriations package before taking a break the following week. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is bundling the fiscal 2012 Agriculture, Commerce-Justice-Science and Transportation-Housing and Urban Development spending measures into a single bill, with the goal of completing action on the "minibus" by the end of next week. The Senate will formally turn to the combined measure Oct. 17. Senators would be allowed to offer any amendments relevant to the individual pieces but may face restrictions on proposals that try to change sections of the combined legislation that impact language derived from more than one of the three bills. Congressional Quarterly
 Walruses Hauling Out in Northwestern Alaska With Festering Illness, Too. Arctic ringed seals aren't the only marine mammal suffering an unusual skin-lesion outbreak along Alaska's northern coasts. Walruses that have hauled out by the thousands at Point Lay in Northwest Alaska during recent summers - an event driven by climate change -- are also turning up with bizarre, festering sores. Scientists estimate perhaps 600 are infected. Instead of wounds on their faces and rear flippers, red abscesses pepper the animals' entire bodies. But apparently only a few have perished. Still, scientists from a number of agencies are working to answer several questions, including whether the outbreaks in the two species are related. They also worry the lesions could eventually lead to deaths among Pacific walrus, an animal more than 100,000 strong that's being considered for protections under the Endangered Species Act. Alaska Dispatch
NOAA Investigating Unknown Ringed Seal Disease. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says it's investigating an outbreak of skin lesions that has killed about 50 seals, mainly between Barrow and Wainwright, since July. According to a statement and data sheet from NOAA spokesperson Julie Speegle, the North Slope Borough's Department of Wildlife Management has responded to at least 107 cases of stranded ringed seals. About 100 of the seals appeared to have lesions, and nearly half of them were dead when found or died shortly afterward. KTUU
Cod Makes Remarkable Comeback in Barents Sea. The Norwegian-Russian Fisheries Commission agreed to higher cod, haddock, capelin and Greenland halibut quotas in the Barents Sea this week. Cod stocks replenished themselves remarkably and reached record numbers, which researchers attribute to climate change. FIS
|
|
Legislative Action
No Arctic legislation was formally considered yesterday.
|
Future Events From Knowledge to Action, April 22-27, 2012. The conference will bring together over 2,000 Arctic and Antarctic researchers, policy and decision-makers, and a broad range of interested parties from academia, industry, non-government, education and circumpolar communities including indigenous peoples. The conference is hosted by the Canadian IPY Program Office in partnership with the National Research Council of Canada, among other groups. Each day of the conference will feature a program of keynote speakers, plenary panel discussions, parallel science sessions, as well as dedicated poster sessions. The conference-wide plenaries will explore themes related to topics of polar change, global linkages, communities and health, ecosystem services, infrastructure, resources and security. Other sessions will provide the opportunity to present and discuss the application of research findings, policy implications and how to take polar knowledge to action. 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. Details to follow. The Arctic Imperative Summit, July 29-August 1, 2012. The summit will be hosted by Alaska Dispatch and will bring together leading voices in this conversation, including residents from the small villages that comprise Alaska's coastal communities; state, national and international leaders; the heads of shipping and industry; as well as international policymakers and the news media. The goal of the summit is to sharpen the focus on the policy and investment needs of Alaska's Arctic through a series of high level meetings, presentations, investor roundtables and original research. 15th International Congress on Circumpolar Heath, August 5-10, 2012. This  event is sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Society for Circumpolar Health, and the International Union for Circumpolar Health. The forum will consider community participatory research and indigenous research; women's health, family health, and well-being; food security and nutrition; social determinants of health; environmental and occupational health; infectious and chronic diseases; climate change health impacts; health service delivery and infrastructure; and, behavioral health 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. |
|
 
4350 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 510
Arlington, VA 22203, USA
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
