$30B energy, water spending bill passes House, 227-198. "The House late Wednesday approved the third of 12 annual spending bills for 2014, passing the Department of Energy (DOE) and water projects spending bill in a 227-198 vote. Democrats have argued throughout the week that the $30.4 billion spending bill cuts too deeply into renewable energy and science research. Those complaints led all but eight Democrats to oppose the bill in the final vote. President Obama has also threatened to veto the bill because of these cuts, and Senate consideration of a bill that spends more means the House version is not likely to survive the upper chamber. Still, House passage allows Republicans to set down a marker on their priorities if and when a final 2014 spending agreement is reached." The Hill 

Will Alaska's unfunded pension, health liabilities swamp future state budgets? "Alaska's retirement woes continue to grow, with underfunding of pension and health care plans growing by an additional $800 million this year, a problem likely to further strain future state budgets. What's known as the 'unfunded liability' of the Public Employee Retirement System (PERS) and the Teacher Retirement System (TRS) now amounts to nearly $12 billion." Alaska Dispatch 

Arctic seed vault preserves the world's agricultural supply. "In the Arctic Ocean, about 800 miles from the North Pole and midway to mainland Norway is the Svalbard archipelago, a remote island cluster, two-thirds of which is covered with glaciers. Built into the mountainside on the remote island of Spitsbergen sits what Time Magazine deemed one of the best inventions of 2008. Dubbed 'Noah's Ark for Seeds,' 'The Fort Knox of Food' and also a more ominous 'Doomsday Vault,' these are the most popular nicknames tossed around by the media. Officially, its name is the Svalbard Global Seed Vault - and it is a fortress, built specifically for protecting and housing the world's largest collection of humankind's smallest, but most important agricultural assets - seeds." The Suit Magazine 

Russia to defend its interests in the Arctic. "A governmental group formed under Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich convened in Murmansk to discuss questions of developing, opening, studying and defending the arctic zone. The group also discussed international cooperation in the hotly disputed area. Dvorkovich flew in from Moscow especially for the discussions. One of the series of meetings was devoted to issues of implementing an agreement that was ratified in 2011 between Russia and Norway demarcating the border between the two countries in the Arctic waters of the Barents Sea and the Arctic Ocean in the hopes of achieving better cooperation." Bellona.org 

The contribution of the Greenland ice sheet to sea-level rise will continue to increase. "New research has shown surface ice melt will be the dominant 

process controlling ice-loss from Greenland. As outlet glaciers retreat inland the other process, iceberg production, remains important but will not grow as rapidly. The Greenland ice sheet is often considered an important potential contributor to future global sea-level rise over the next century or longer. In total, it contains an amount of ice that would lead to a rise of global sea level by more than seven metres, if completely melted." Phys.org 

Changing the baseline - a look at how we measure Arctic sea ice. "Polar scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Center are changing the way they compare annual fluctuations in Arctic sea ice to the long term average. The new method produces some new graphs, but more importantly it gives scientists more confidence that a downward trend in sea ice exists. We explain why." The Carbon Brief 

Literary guide to the Far North. Joanna Kavenna, author of three novels and The Ice Museum, highlights a literary journey through the Arctic through Shetland, Iceland, Norway, Estonia and Greenland. The Telegraph 

Greenpeace protesters scale The Shard in London over Shell's Arctic drilling plan. "Greenpeace protesters are now halfway up London's Shard building to protest Shell's Arctic drilling plans. The campaigning group said the climbers would stay on the building as long as it was safe to do so, and that they are prepared to be arrested. It said the building was chosen because it sits in the middle of the oil company's three headquarters and because the building was modeled on a shard of ice." Independent.uk

Coast Guard brings heavy ice-breaker ship to Arctic amid warnings from environmentalists. "The U.S. Coast Guard has a heavy ice-breaking ship working in the Arctic region for the first time in more than four years. The ship is capable of breaking through 21 feet of ice, and is being employed amid cries from environmentalists and politicians that Arctic ice is thinning. Increased interest in developing the Arctic has spurred demand for ice-breakers to be sent up north." Daily Caller   

DNA links 5,500 year old remains of aboriginal woman found in Canada and her 200 x great-grandaughter who still lives nearby. "Scientists have traced a genetic descent from the 5,500 year-old remains to a second set of 2,500 year-old female remains found nearby and, amazingly, to a woman still living close to both prehistoric sites on British Columbia's northern coast." abroad in the yard