We Could Refreeze Arctic, Says Study; Should We? A record loss of Arctic sea ice and faster-than-expected melting of Greenland's ice cap made worldwide headlines in 2012, but research published in major science journals in the fall suggest warming in the North doesn't have to continue. We could refreeze the Arctic, proposed a paper in Nature Climate Change. It wouldn't even cost that much, said an affiliated study in Environmental Research Letters. Regina Leader-Post

ATC: Arctic JIP Builds Spill Response Knowledge, Outlines Research Plans. An Arctic Oil Spill Response Technology Joint Industry Program (JIP) will continue building knowledge on Arctic offshore oil spill response expertise already developed through 40 years of research by individual companies and other organizations, speakers told the Arctic Technology Conference Dec. 4. The International Association of Oil & Gas Producers is providing JIP with project management expertise, and nine oil and gas companies already belong to JIP, which plans a series of advanced research projects on six key areas of research within 10 projects. Researchers from member companies are involved in technical working groups responsible for individual research projects, said Joe Mullin, JIP program manager. Oil & Gas Journal

Climatologist Suggests Arctic Circle be a No-Fly Zone. A climatologist in the United States says the Arctic Circle should be a no-fly zone for major commercial flights. In a new report, Mark Jacobson, a professor of civil engineering at Stanford University in California, says black soot from commercial jets is attracting heat from the sun. Airlines first started flying over the Arctic in 1998, when Russia agreed to allow other countries to fly planes in its airspace. CBC News

ATC: Industry Eager to Advance Arctic Oil Spill Response Skills. Few experimental spills have been done offshore the US and Canada in the last 20 years, noted a speaker at the Arctic Technology Conference in Houston on Dec. 4 during a panel discussion on oil spill preparedness. "If we want to refine our spill response, we have to get out and practice. Experimental spills are the way to do that," said Steve Potter, a principal with consulting firm SL Ross Environmental Research Ltd. SL Ross has a laboratory for spill-related oil testing, yet Potter advocated that permits be granted for experimental spills to enhance oil spill response research in actual field conditions. He noted more recent experimental spills have been done off Norway than North America. Oil & Gas Journal

Inuit urge the International community to acknowledge that Sea Ice and Permafrost play a vital role for our Global Future. ICC released a statement in Doha, Qatar during the UNFCCC COP 18 today. Inuit continue to observe and experience the impacts of rapid climate change in the Arctic. Inuit call on global leaders to make the most of the 2013-2015 review and second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol and take immediate action to mitigate CO2 emissions while continuing to build capacity and commit funding for adaptation. ICC-Canada's President, Duane Smith stated that " Rapid changes in the Arctic environment as observed by Inuit and scientists confirm the unprecedented loss of Arctic sea ice and permafrost. Recent sea ice loss findings from the National Snow and Ice data center and the most recent UNEP report on warming permafrost support our observations.  The connection between sea ice loss and global events is increasingly evident as recent unprecedented flooding in Venice and the super storm Sandy in the eastern United States.  Both forecast the future for the entire planet." Link to ICC's website: here. 

Canada Arctic Housing Needs Private and Public Sector Support: Report. Private-sector help and innovative designs are making headway in improving substandard housing in Canada's North, says a new report from the Conference Board of Canada. But the demand still outstrips supply and the need for government-funded building isn't going to diminish anytime soon, said author Anja Jeffrey. "There is simply not enough fully subsidized public housing available for people in the North," said Jeffrey. "Private market housing in the North is still a long ways off." Huffington Post Canada

Soot: The Little-Discussed Impact of Wildfires in Greenland Snowpack Melting. Smoke from Arctic wildfires have been drifting over the Greenland ice sheet, tarnishing the ice with soot and making it more likely to melt under the sun, according to satellite observations. NASA's Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) satellite captured smoke from Arctic fires billowing out over Greenland during the summer of 2012. Researchers have long been concerned with how the Greenland landscape is losing its sparkly reflective quality as temperatures rise. The surface is darkening as ice melts away, and, since dark surfaces are less reflective than light ones, the surface captures more heat, which leads to stronger and more prolonged melting. Science 2.0

Researchers to Meet in Vancouver Monday to Discuss Arctic Issues. Leading Arctic scientists, researchers, policy makers, NGOs, and northern stakeholders will meet in Vancouver starting tomorrow to discuss climate change, food security, Inuit education, sovereignty and other pressing issues facing the Canadian Arctic. More from the news release from the organizers "The Arctic is changing rapidly," said Louis Fortier, ArcticNet's scientific director. "Arctic ice is melting at record- rates, new shipping routes are opening up and industries are showing keen interests in potential opportunities in the area. With Canada on the eve of taking over the chairmanship of the Arctic Council, this year's meeting will address some of the major challenges and opportunities brought by climate change and modernization in the Arctic." Ottawa Citizen

Scientists Catalog Effect of Climate Change on Birds Near Barrow. From a lecture hall within a land of warm breezes and flowering December plants comes a story of a creature 2,600 miles north, where the sun will not rise for another 50 days. At the 2012 Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union, biologist George Divoky had 15 minutes to present his lifetime of work with a bird that adapted to year-round life in the Arctic during the last ice age. Divoky led off a lecture session on Barrow-area research by describing his four decades of studying birds that probably would not exist without his efforts - the black guillemots of Cooper Island, Alaska. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Compass: Freighter's Grounding is a Lesson we Need to Heed. [Opinion] When the Malaysian freighter Selendang Ayu grounded in the Aleutian Islands eight years ago, it was a tragic reminder of the risks of northern shipping. While en route from Seattle to China in a Bering Sea storm, the ship's engine failed. As it drifted toward shore, there were no adequate ocean tugs available to take it in-tow, and it grounded off Unalaska on December 8, 2004. Six crewmen were lost, the vessel broke in half, and its entire cargo and 335,000 gallons of fuel spilled, killing thousands of seabirds and other wildlife, closing fisheries, and contaminating many miles of shoreline. The tragedy was caused by a combination of human error, financial pressures, mechanical failure, and lax government oversight. For a time, the disaster focused attention the risks of northern shipping, but complacency quickly returned. Today, the Selendang disaster is all but forgotten, and with increasing ship traffic, the risk is now greater than ever. Anchorage Daily News

House Chairman and Ranking Members in the Next Congress. House leaders have chosen the following members to be chairmen and ranking members of committees in the 113th Congress, with several changes from the 112th Congress. Including Science, Space and Technology

- Chairman: Lamar Smith, Texas*  Smith trades in his Judiciary gavel to take over from Ralph M. Hall of Texas. At Judiciary, Smith paid particular attention to Internet governance and other tech issues, such as the E-Verify system.

- Ranking member: Eddie Bernice Johnson, Texas

Roll Call

GOP Divided Over Rewrite of Clean Air Laws. Two senior Republican members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee have different views about the feasibility and wisdom of trying to overhaul the Clean Air Act in the next Congress. Former Chairman Joe L. Barton, R-Texas, said he thinks the House should avoid trying to reopen the Clean Air Act until the political environment is more favorable and stakeholders develop a consensus on how to change the law. Congressional Quarterly