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Today's Events
The House will consider a bill to require analyses of the cumulative effects of certain EPA rules. The Senate will consider a House-passed continuing resolution to fund government operations after September 30th.
Advanced Workshop on Oil Spills In Sea Ice: Past, Present and Future 
September 20-23, 2011. A technical workshop, organized by Dr. Peter Wadhams, on the physical problems associated with oil spills and blowouts in sea ice will be held at the Istituto Geografico Polare "Silvio Zavatti," Fermo, Italy. Scientists, engineers and policy makers are invited to address the questions of how oil is emitted from a blowout or spill, how the oil and gas are incorporated in the under-ice surface, how the oil layer evolves, how the oil is transported by the ice, and how and where eventual release occurs. The aim is to incorporate the experience of those scientists who worked in this field in the 1970s-1990s, when large-scale field experiments involving oil release were possible, and to relate this to the needs of present researchers who are seeking solutions to the problem of a sustainable Arctic oil spill management system. Registration forms are available here.
Arkhangelsk Arctic Forum, September 21-24, 2011. Hosted by the Russian Geographic Society, the forum will host discussion on Arctic navigation, development of the Northern Sea Route, railway extensions, and construction of a deep-water port in Arkhangelsk. |
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Media Review
 Pentagon Wants to Identify More Than $450 Billion in Cuts Over 10 Years.
Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta told the Senate's top defense policy panel that the Pentagon is undergoing a "strategy-driven" process to implement more than $450 billion in savings over 10 years as a result of a debt ceiling agreement. Lobbyists for weeks have indicated the Pentagon was seeking roughly $460 billion in savings, but many on Capitol Hill were operating under the assumption that the military would find less - about $350 billion over 10 years under the Budget Control Act (PL 112-25). Congressional Quarterly
House Votes to Keep Government Open Through November 18th. The House voted early Friday 219-203 to pass a continuing resolution that funds the government through Nov. 18, setting up a battle with the Democratic-controlled Senate. The vote replenishes a nearly-empty Federal Emergency Management Agency account and includes $100 million in savings from a program that guaranteed a loan to Solyndra, the now bankrupt energy firm. The development means that the Congress will almost certainly work through the weekend to prevent FEMA from depleting its funds. Government Executive
 Reid Hopes to Knock down House CR With Test Vote Once Bill Arrives in Senate. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he plans a Friday morning test vote on a House-passed stopgap spending bill, hoping to show that his party will reject the measure. Reid is expected to call up the bill and then quickly move to table the measure. However, he cannot do that until the Senate receives the measure, which could occur after the House has finished voting for the day. Michael Steel, a spokesman for Speaker John A. Boehner, said the bill would arrived later Friday. Congressional Quarterly
Polar Bear Mauls Russian Scientist to Death in Arctic Archipelago. The victim, identified as Mikhail Eryomkin, was attacked on Tuesday (local time) on the Franz Josef Land archipelago, which sits about half way between the northern edge of continental Russia and the North Pole. The region's meteorological service has received permission from state authorities to hunt down and kill the animal "to ensure the safety of remaining workers at the station", ITAR-TASS quoted a local weather official as saying. Herald Sun
Russia Sets Up New Arctic Research Center. Russia has opened a new Arctic research center at the Arkhangelsk University for the Arctic, which unites colleges, scientific institutions and facilities of the Arctic 8. The center was opened during the Arctic forum held in the city. Artur Chilinarov, Russia's special envoy for Arctic and Antarctic cooperation, noted that it will be beneficial for all Arctic countries. The Voice of Russia
NOAA Ship Rainier Returns to Alaska to Conduct Sea Floor Surveys in Support of Safe Navigation. NOAA Ship Rainier has begun a month long survey of the sea floor near Alaska's Prince of Wales Island as part of a multi-year effort to update nautical charts for the area. In addition to supporting marine navigation, data acquired by the 231-foot hydrographic survey vessel will also support marine ecosystem studies and improve inundation models for areas vulnerable to tsunamis. NOAA
 Russia Pins Hopes on Its Arctic Riches. An international forum, devoted to exploring the Arctic, in now under way in the city of Archangelsk in Russia's north. The forum is named "The Arctic - a Territory of a Dialogue". Among the participants, there are Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Prince Albert II of Monaco, Iceland's President Olafur Grimsson and the Chairman of the Arctic Council Gustaf Lind. The Voice of Russia
9 Icebreakers Added to Keep Northern Route Open. Russia will order three nuclear and six diesel icebreakers by 2020 to allow passage along its Northern Sea Route as the country seeks to tap Arctic oil and gas reserves, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said. The country, which has 10 operating icebreakers now, aims to expand transportation links through northern waters, Putin said Thursday at a conference in Arkhangelsk, Russia. The federal budget includes 22 billion rubles ($733 million) in allocations over three years for the construction of new-model icebreakers, Transport Minister Igor Levitin said at the same event. Moscow Times
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Legislative Action
S. 1620, to ensure the icebreaking capabilities of the United States (Begich, introduced and referred to Senate committee) |
Future Events The Arctic in Transition: Regional Issues and Geopolitics, October 3-4, 2011. The conference is organized by the Center for Geopolitical Studies of the Raoul Dandurand Chair, in collaboration with the Centre Jacques Cartier (France), ArcticNet (Universite Laval, Quebec), and the Northern Research Forum (University of the Arctic; University of Lapland, Finland). This high-level international meeting reunites political scientists, lawyers, geographers, historians and practitioners to discuss, first, the socio-economic, political and security issues of developed or developing Arctic regions, and, second, to look at the evolving relationships between these spaces, their peoples, and global affairs. The meeting mainly seeks to adress security issue(s) of the various region(s) that make up the circumpolar world. Three Arctic regions will be highlighted: a) the North-American Arctic (United States (Alaska); Canada (Northwest Territories, Yukon, Nunavut, Nunavik) and Greenland; b) the North Pacific Rim (Alaska, Russian Far East, Beaufort Sea/Chukchi); c) the Barents Euro-Arctic Region (Nordic countries - Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland - and Russia).
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. |
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