Ottawa was warned about Arctic patrol ships' high price. "Two days before signing a contract to begin work on a $3-billion shipbuilding project, the federal government was warned by its own advisers that the contract was overpriced - but signed it anyway. The warning was contained in a previously confidential independent review of the initial phase of the government's plan to spend $3.1 billion on a fleet of Arctic offshore patrol ships, known as AOPS." CBC 

Canada mulls laser threat from hostile Arctic ships. "Canada is preparing defenses against hostile laser deployment by nations it sees challenging its arctic sovereignty, most likely Russia. Allocations dating back to 2008 call for an outlay of at least $18 million. It's not clear how much has been spent so far and if there have been cost overruns." UPI 

Danish firm seeks to be first to bring bulk carrier through Northwest Passage. "Earlier this month, the ice-strengthened bulk carrier Nordic Orion was loaded with coal at a Vancouver terminal. From there, it headed to Finland via the Northwest Passage, undertaking a voyage that could make it the first commercial bulk carrier to traverse the route since the SS Manhattan broke through in 1969. The Northwest Passage sailing marks another milestone for Nordic Bulk Carriers, the Danish company that owns the ship and has staked its future on northern routes. But it is a bigger breakthrough for international trade and for the fabled waterway, which defied early explorers' efforts to map its bays and channels and led many to an icy grave. Now, with its ice cover changing and receding and a bulk carrier poised to plow through it, the Northwest Passage stands to witness history again while potentially becoming a viable route for commercial traffic." Globe and Mail 

Fish and Wildlife Service takes measures to protect walrus gathered on northwest Alaska shore. "The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is taking steps to protect hundreds of walrus that have gathered on Alaska's northwest coast. Spokeswoman Andrea Medeiros said Wednesday that the agency has begun its protocol to prevent stampedes among the animals that gather in close quarters on remote Arctic beaches. The measures include limiting flights in the area and warning nearby villages to avoid walrus herds." Washington Post 

Russia: Greenpeace members held at Arctic oil rig. "Russian border guards detained two activists from the environmentalist group Greenpeace early Wednesday morning after they boarded an oil rig to protest drilling in the Arctic by a state gas company. Border guards fired a warning shot from an automatic rifle by the ship that ferried the protesters to the oil rig in the Pechora Sea in Russia's Arctic waters, the Federal Security Service said in a statement. The statement said that the warning shot was fired for the protesters' failure to 'cease illegal activity' and 'the real danger to the gas and oil complex.'" NY Times 

Cryophere Today, UIUC

The vital long view in tracking diminishing Arctic sea ice. "With the annual pullback of Arctic Ocean sea ice at an end, it's clear that this year's retreat is nowhere near the satellite-era record set in 2012, but it's also clear that there is still a long-term trajectory toward a largely open-water Arctic in summers in coming decades. The image above is from The Cryosphere Today, a valuable Website maintained by William Chapman and others at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. The National Snow and Ice Data Center has not quite officially called the 'minimum,' but it is nigh." NY Times 

Related: Sorry, Arctic sea ice isn't really "recovering." Washington Post 

Helping to promote and preserve the Inuit language in Canada. "George Filotas, wants to help by getting others in the southern regions also interested in what is one of the official languages of the territory of Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, and also spoken in the northern region of Quebec known as Nunavik and the Inuit self-governing region of Nunatsiavut in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Mr Filotas will be teaching classes in Inuktitut as a second language in Montreal this autumn. Mr Filotas is the first to say that others are doing much more important work to preserve and promote the learning and use of Inuktitut, but courses for non-speakers of this major aboriginal language are rare." Eye on the Arctic 

2013's Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend check: $900. "The number on every Alaskan's mind was announced Wednesday morning by acting Revenue Commissioner Angela Rodell, in Anchorage. This year's Alaska Permanent Fund dividend (PFD) payout is $900. The dividend will be distributed to eligible Alaska residents beginning Oct. 3. Altogether, there were 670,865 Alaska PFD applicants this year, and about 640,436 should qualify, Rodell said. The oldest applicant was 108 years old, and the youngest was born at 11:59 p.m. on the qualification deadline of Dec. 31, 2012." Alaska Dispatch