OMB-OSTP Memo on Science and Technology Priorities for the FY 2015 Budget.   The White House's Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Science and Technology Policy released a memo detailing the science and technology priorities for the administration's agencies' Fiscal Year 2015 budgets. The memo stresses an Arctic research issue, the link between Arctic sea ice and mid-latitude climate. Memo

International Journal of Circumpolar Health, Supplement. This free journal includes nearly 100 full length papers, 90 extended abstracts and nearly 100 short abstracts specializing in Arctic and Antarctic health issues. The IJCH "provides a forum for many disciplines, including the biomedical sciences, social sciences, and humanities as they relate to human health in high latitude environments." International Journal of Circumpolar Health  

OPINION: Lawsuit ignores compromist on CD-5, by Edward Itta. "The Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) loves animals. They also love lawsuits. They want to protect animals in every corner of America, so they try to build fences out  of lawsuits to keep people away. I admire their dedication, because I care about animals too. Bowhead whale, caribou, seals, ducks, whitefish, Inupiat - we're all products of the same Arctic environment. The Inupiat subsistence culture depends on other species' survival, so we're careful. We adjust to their needs; we adapt to conditions around us. Arctic Sounder

Highly promising Kara Sea. "Seismic studies conducted in the northern parts of the Kara Sea show that the area has a 'highly promising' hydrocarbon potential, the PGS company informs. According to the company, which since 2012 has conducted more than 8,800 line km of 2D data in the Barents Sea and Kara Sea, the Kara Plate has strong resemblance with the Timan-Pechora Plate, one of the leading oil producing regions in Russia. 'Even at this early stage of exploration maturity, it is obvious that the area is quite promising relative to other prospects on the Russian Arctic Shelf and there are strong indications of oil dominance in hydrocarbon presence', the company informs in a press release." Barents Observer 

Shell wins ruling on Arctic oil spill plans. "Royal Dutch Shell's oil spill plans for drilling in Alaska's Beaufort and Chukchi seas don't violate environmental laws, a federal judge in Anchorage ruled in rejecting a challenge by conservation groups. The U.S. Interior Department's approval process wasn't flawed or based on erroneous assumptions and the approvals don't violate the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act and other environmental laws, U.S. District Judge Ralph Beistline ruled Monday." FuelFix 

Alaska North Slope crude squeezed at refineries as shale oil flows west. "Will the Midwest oil boom squeeze Alaska North Slope crude out of its West Coast refineries, forcing down its price and one day causing the oil industry to consider exporting the state's most important resource overseas? Key industry observers from Alaska don't seem especially worried -- despite plans for increased shipments of Bakken crude to the West Coast by rail, and despite the fact that some Alaska oil has already been bumped from one refinery, while other refineries gear up to take the Midwest oil." Alaska Dispatch

Through the Laptev Sea without icebreaker. "After a warm July the extent of sea ice large parts of the Northern Sea Route is below average and vessels are sailing parts of the route without icebreaker escort." Barents Observer 

Radical new icebreaker will travel through the ice sideways. "Given that icebreakers clear a path for other ships by traveling through the ice head-on (or sometimes butt-on), then in order for one of them to clear a wider path, it would have to be wider and thus larger overall ... right? Well, Finland's Arctech Helsinki Shipyard is taking a different, more efficient approach. It's in the process of building an asymmetric-hulled icebreaker that can increase its frontal area, by making its way through the ice at an angle of up to 30 degrees. Arctech refers to the ship as 'Icebreaking rescue vessel NB 508,' although according to a report in New Scientist, it's also known as the Baltika. It's being built for the Russian Ministry of Transport, and will be used not only for icebreaking, but also for rescue and oil spill cleanup duties in the Gulf of Finland." Gizmag 

Arctic ice grows darker and less reflective. "Arctic ice is losing its reflective sheen. It's common knowledge that each summer, more and more of the ice melts leaving the dark waters of the ocean uncovered - a process that accelerates global warming by reducing the amount of solar radiation reflected back into space. Now it turns out that the surviving sea ice is also becoming darker and less reflective. For the first time, a detailed analysis of 30 years of satellite data for the Arctic Ocean has quantified how much the albedo, or reflectivity, of Arctic ice is diminishing. Aku Riihela of the Finnish Meteorological Institute told New Scientist he estimates that darker ice means the Arctic Ocean's albedo at the end of the summer is of the order of 15 per cent weaker today than it was 30 years ago." New Scientist 

A Deal with the Devil? Arctic Drilling War of Attrition Begins Part One. "As an energy journalist and oil industry investor and one that has delighted at the recent US shale boom coming after decades of OPEC oligopoly, I nonetheless felt a tinge of guilt watching the video clip. After all, I am a drill-baby-drill proponent, though I'm not oblivious to the fact that hydrocarbon usage has impacted the environment, it's just the contradictory science explaining its affects that bothers me." Energy Tribune 

Nunavut's Feeding My Family calls for Aug. 15 food price protest. "A year after groups of demonstrators last marched with placards outside Nunavut stores to protest against high food prices, the Feeding My Family group plans to hold what they describe as 'another peaceful protest against the high cost of food in the Canadian North.' The protest is planned for 5:00 p.m. Aug. 15 at the Northmart store in Iqaluit and at other stores in communities across the territory." Nunatsiaq Online 

Greenland inspires Arctic Bay, Canada tourism strategy. "Arctic Bay is a predominantly Inuit community of around 800 people is located in Canada's eastern Arctic territory of Nunavut. It has stunning scenery, provides a window into Inuit culture, and has wildlife ranging from whales to polar bears. But developing and growing the tourism industry in such remote northern communities presents challenges." Alaska Dispatch 

AK Beat. "The Alaska Permanent Fund -- the pot of money from which annual dividends are paid -- grew 10.5 percent last year, reaching a new high of $44.9 billion. Growth is attributed to the performance of the U.S. stock market. But don't expect a big dividend check this year as a result." Alaska Dispatch