Is Canada's Proposed Arctic Patrol Ship Plan Turning into Costly Boondoggle? An investigation by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) has uncovered a $250-million mystery at the heart of Canada's ambitious shipbuilding program. Canadian Public Works Minister Rona Ambrose and Defence Minister Peter MacKay announced March 7 in Halifax that Ottawa will pay Irving Shipbuilding $288 million just to design -- not build -- a fleet of new Arctic offshore patrol ships. Irving will then build the ships under a separate contract. Alaska Dispatch 

Arctic Ocean "Acidifying Rapidly." They say even if CO2 emissions stopped now, it would take tens of thousands of years for Arctic Ocean chemistry to revert to pre-industrial levels. Many creatures, including commercially valuable fish, could be affected. They forecast major changes in the marine ecosystem, but say there is huge uncertainty over what those changes will be. It is well known that CO2 warms the planet, but less well-known that it also makes the alkaline seas more acidic when it is absorbed from the air. BBC News 

Why Not Have US Ambassador for the Arctic? [Opinion] In recent weeks, Alaska Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, has amplified his call for the creation of an Arctic ambassador position. Begich's stance is that the United States needs someone to oversee all things pertaining to Arctic development and diplomacy. Many of the elite group of nations that have territory in the Arctic, as well as several who don't, have already created similar positions. An Arctic ambassador, as he proposes, would interact with the Arctic Council as well as report to U.S. elected officials. This is not a new idea -- Begich has been requesting this position for some time now. In February, he introduced Senate Bill 270, known as the "United States Ambassador at Large for Arctic Affairs Act of 2013." In it, the senator notes that 100 million acres of U.S. territory lie above the Arctic Circle. Issues such as climate change, tourism, oil and gas development, trade and ship traffic and even immigration are all emerging as large-scale international topics for Arctic nations, and ones that would be well served by having an ambassador. Alaska Dispatch 

Arctic Shipping to Play Bigger Role. A transportation expert is calling Arctic shipping one of the main global challenges facing Canada and Nunavut. The Canadian Arctic Marine Transportation and Governance Workshop was held in Iqaluit last week. The one day gathering brought people together to talk about diplomatic, economic and commercial activity taking place in the Arctic Ocean. John Higginbotham, a senior fellow with the Centre for International Governance Innovation in Waterloo, Ontario, said with less sea ice in the future, a new maritime economy has to be developed to connect communities. CBC News 

Coast Guard Expects to Cut Back on Arctic Patrols. The Coast Guard expects to scale back on its Arctic patrols this summer because of budget cuts and a lack of commercial traffic. How much Arctic deployments are decreasing is still being debated as crews from Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak fan out across the state for summer deployments. The Coast Guard deployed helicopters, C-130 fixed-wing aircraft and Coast Guard cutters to the Arctic Ocean last summer to provide search-and-rescue coverage. KTOO 

House Expects to Move Spending Bills in June. The House is on track to start taking up fiscal 2014 spending bills in June, even without first reaching a budget agreement with the Senate on funding levels. A GOP leadership aide confirmed that appropriations bills will be brought to the floor next month under an open amendment process. To get work started on the spending bills, House Appropriations Chairman Harold Rogers, R-Ky., in mid-May will likely ask his committee to approve his plan for dividing up roughly $967 billion in fiscal 2014 discretionary spending among the 12 annual spending bills, a step known as making 302(b) allocations. Congressional Quarterly

Tidal Energy Potential in Aleutians Blows Expectations Out of Water. Tidal power technology is one of the newest forays into alternative energy. Its development has a long way to go, but its potential is raising science eyebrows around the country. Right now, that interest is directed at False Pass, a far-flung Alaska town in the Aleutians Islands chain. A recent feasibility study aimed to evaluate how much juice a power generator could get by harnessing the tidal movement through narrow Isanotski Strait. After going over the books, researchers' expectations are being blown out of the water. Alaska Dispatch 

Low-Level Eruption at Alaska's Cleveland Volcano. Alaska's Cleveland Volcano is undergoing a continuous low-level eruption following an explosion early Saturday morning, scientists from the Alaska Volcano Observatory and the U.S. Geological Survey said. Satellites and cameras suggest low-level emissions of gas, steam and ash, scientists said, and satellites detected highly elevated surface temperatures at the summit. A faint plume of ash extended eastward below 15,000 feet, but the Federal Aviation Administration said there were no flight restrictions as a result. Alaska Dispatch

Burgeoning Humpback Whale Population Leads to Call for Easing Protections. Hawaiian fisherman are calling on the U.S. government to remove some humpback whales from the endangered species list. The Hawaii Fishermen's Alliance for Conservation and Tradition Inc., a coalition of fishing clubs and groups from across the islands, says that the whale's population has rebounded with conservation efforts since 1970, when the humpbacks were designated as endangered. One population of the North Pacific whales migrate between Hawaii and Alaska, arriving in the northern waters beginning in May. Food is abundant there, and they tend to congregate in Southeast Alaska, Prince William Sound, Kodiak, the Barren Islands at the mouth of Cook Inlet, and along the Aleutian Islands. In 2007, however, humpbacks were seen in the Beaufort Sea east of Barrow, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, suggesting a northward expansion of their feeding grounds. Humpbacks are particularly popular in Glacier Bay and Southeast Alaska, where numerous sightseeing boats await them. Alaska Dispatch 

Seafood Industry Boosts Alaska Seasonal Employment. Seasonal employment is heating up in Alaska as the seafood industry takes on thousands of temporary workers. Employment is thriving in many industries, but seasonal jobs are the top ticket right now, said state economist Neal Fried. Seasonal jobs generally grow from 3,000 in December to more than 20,000 during their peak in July or August each year, he said. Anchorage Daily News