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September 26, 2011

Today's Eventstodaysevents 

 

The Senate will consider a substitute amendment to the House-passed FY 2012 continuing resolution, to fund government operations after September 30th. The House will have a pro forma session today and will be in recess the rest of the week.


Media Reviewtodaysevents
    

 

Putin Sees Bright Future for Arctic Transport. In his speech at the second International Arctic Forum, Putin discussed the great potential of Arctic transport and the role of the Russian Federation in developing the route. Developing ten new bases in the Arctic is a top priority for the Russians to facilitate search, rescue, communication, and law enforcement. Barents Observer 

  

HarperHarper Government Announces Major Milestone on the Development of the Canadian High Arctic Research Station, a Major Hub for Northern Science and Technology. The Honourable John Duncan, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, the Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Health and Minister of the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency and the Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister for Public Works and Government Services, today announced the publication of a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a design consultant for the Canadian High Arctic Research Station (CHARS). The development of this facility, which will be a significant hub for Arctic science and technology, is a cornerstone of the Government of Canada's Northern Strategy. Market Watch 

 

ChinaflagChina to Launch 8 Antarctic, Arctic Expeditions. China plans to launch five Antarctic research expeditions and another three to the Arctic from 2011 to 2015, said an official with the Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Administration (CAA) on Sunday. China will launch the 28th Antarctic research expedition in early November and the fifth to the Arctic in early July 2012, said Qu Tanzhou, director of the CAA, at the annual seminar on China's polar region expedition and research in Shanghai. China Daily 

 

Senate Rejects House Funding Measure; Standoff Continues. Congress heads into the weekend stuck in another game of government-shutdown chicken after the Democratic-controlled Senate voted to reject a House-passed continuing resolution and lawmakers put off further action until Monday. The Senate voted 59-36 to table the House Republican measure that would have provided $3.65 billion in Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster-relief funds. The Senate wants $6.9 billion provided, without offsetting cuts elsewhere in the budget. After the vote, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., filed cloture on an amended version of the House's CR, setting up a vote on that at 5:30 p.m. Monday. Government Executive 

 

Russia May Launch Its First Earth Remote Sensing Satellite in 2012. Russia's first Earth remote sensing satellite, the Kondor, may be launched in January 2012, a space official said on Thursday. "We are developing Kondor and Arkon [satellites]," deputy head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos Anatoly Shilov said. "Arkon is a distant future, but Kondor will hopefully fly in January." Space Daily 

 

Coast Guard Checks on Russia Research Camp North of Barrow. A U.S. Coast Guard crew from Kodiak flew their HC-130 Hercules 850 miles north of Barrow yesterday, to check on the crew of a Russian research ice camp and the Russian icebreaker Rossiya. The Rossiya and the ice camp are located 400 miles from the North Pole in the Arctic Ocean. The Coast Guard says the trip was to check on the status of the camp and crew and to make sure they were not in distress because of the ice breaking up. KTUU 

 

Russia Eyes Arctic Oil, Gas. While considering renewable energy, Russia continues to russian flagheavily rely on oil and natural gas. Its Barents Sea border agreement with Norway boosts its reserves by 5 billion tons, in terms of standard fuel equivalent. This brings its oil and gas reserves offshore to the level of those on land. The country should enjoy a plentiful supply of oil and gas for about 150 years. Environment and Resources Minister Yuri Trutnev was speaking about this at a media forum of the United Russia party in Moscow on Sunday. He said that in 2013 Russia will approach the UN for securing exclusive economic rights to more chunks of the Arctic Shelf. The Voice of Russia 

 

Russia Icebreaker Helps Set Up New Drifting Polar Station. A Russian nuclear-powered icebreaker has arrived in the Arctic to help Russian polar explorers set up a new drifting station, RIA Novosti correspondent reported. The Rossiya icebreaker arrived on Saturday at the location of the current SP-38 polar station, where the scientists are dismantling equipment and preparing their mobile polar huts for a transfer to a new drifting station. Members of the new expedition continued the search for a suitable ice field to host the SP-39 drifting station. Scientists have not been satisfied with the condition of the ice floe so far due to increased melting of ice in the region. RIA Novosti 

 

Putin MedvedevPutin Once More Moves to Assume Top Job in Russia. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who transformed post-Soviet Russia by imposing Kremlin control over most aspects of public life, moved on Saturday to return to the presidency and could remain until 2024, giving him a rule comparable in length with that of Brezhnev or Stalin. President Dmitri Medvedev announced at a party convention in Moscow that he would step aside for Mr. Putin, who served as president from 2000 to 2008 but was limited by the Constitution to two consecutive terms. Mr. Medvedev is to take his place as prime minister after presidential elections in March that Mr. Putin is assured of winning. New York Times 

Legislative Actionfutureevents  

 

No Arctic legislation was formally considered on Friday.


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).

  

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.

 

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 kivalina girlevent 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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