If funding for Arctic facilities comes through, will a boom follow? "As the federal government debates whether to share revenues from offshore development with the states nearby, and regulators clamber to get policy in place to help smooth the transition into a new era of trans-Arctic shipping, one group is not waiting for anyone to give them the green light. Arctic shipping is going to break records this year, according to a recent story in the Financial Times. The Times reports that the Northern Sea Route -- the one above Russia that allows ships to transit from Europe to Asia in record time -- has attracted a record number of trend-setters this year. Russia has granted permission for 204 ships to sail across the passage this year, a huge jump from the 46 ships that went through the passage in 2012. Two years ago, only four vessels reportedly went through." Arctic Dispatch

Naval War College Forms Arctic Regional Studies Group. "Recognizing the maritime implications of the changing Arctic region, the U.S. Naval War College (NWC) in Newport, R.I., launched the Arctic Regional Studies Group (ASG), on July 26. 'The ASG was created with the goal of helping our students and the Navy to better understand, prepare for, and adapt to future operational and strategic challenges in the Arctic region,' said NWC's provost, retired Ambassador Mary Ann Peters, in an announcement to the NWC community." US Naval War College 

For fun..."79 Common Mispronunciations Which You Obviously Already Knew" 'Arctic' has two c's. (tip: start clip at 3:03 to get to Arctic bit)

Finland blocks ringed seal hunting. "Finland's Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry is permitting up to 1,050 grey seals to be taken by hunters this season, but has put a ban on the hunting of the less common Baltic ringed seal. The quota for grey seals during the season that begins in August is the same as for last year. However, the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry on Wednesday issued regulations under which ringed seal cannot be hunted, except under special circumstances. At most 30 permits can be acquired by hunters to put down ringed seals that are found to be causing damage." Arctic Dispatch 

Energy Economics conference: Did Alaska cut oil tax too much, or not enough? A U. of Alaska think tank researcher said the tax cut passed by the Legislature this spring is worse than the scandal-laced oil-tax bill passed in 2006, and that it will eventually need to be rewritten because it won't bring the state enough revenue. Offering a completely different perspective is ConocoPhillips' chief economist, who said the new incentives don't go far enough to offset the fact that oil companies in Alaska face some of the steepest costs in the world." Alaska Dispatch 

As Bristol Bay fight heats up, EPA's McCarthy may visit proposed mine site. "In a sign of the growing political importance of the fight over whether to permit Alaska's Pebble Mine, Environmental Protection Agency administrator Gina McCarthy said in an interview she may make a personal visit to see where the controversial project would operate. Six tribes have joined forces with environmentalists and fishing operators have been lobbying the Obama administration to block to proposed mining operation in the Bristol Bay watershed, a remote area that is home to nearly half of the world's sockeye salmon. The tribes have asked the EPA to invoke its powers under the Clean Water Act to block the mine on the grounds that it would harm the region's waterways, fish and wildlife, while two companies building the mine, Anglo American and Northern Dynasty, have launched their own campaign aimed at keep the agency out of the decision." Washington Post 

Alaska's Treadwell gets super PAC for 2014 Senate bid. "Paperwork filed with the Federal Election Commission Tuesday hopes to give Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell a boost in his bid to unseat Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Begich in the 2014 race for U.S. Senate, in the form of a new super PAC dubbed 'Freedom's Frontier.' On the fundraising front, the super PAC hopes to help level the playing field for Treadwell, who only announced his intent to officially run for Senate in June after months of deliberating, allowing Begich to get a leg up in campaign fundraising. In his first FEC filing in July, Treadwell announced that he had raised about $170,000 in an abbreviated fundraising quarter, $50,000 of which was his own money. By comparison, Begich raised nearly $1 million in each of the first two quarters of 2013, and had about $2 million cash on hand in July. Joe Miller, the failed 2010 Senate candidate and so far the only other serious Republican candidate to officially announce his candidacy for 2014, had about $320,000 cash on hand but had raised only about $18,000 in the quarter." Alaska Dispatch 

If the candidates for Senate next year were Democrat Mark Begich and Republican Mead Treadwell, who would you vote for? 

Mark Begich 44%

Mead Treadwell 40%

Not sure 17%