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April 23, 2014

 

capital Today's Congressional Action:   

The House and Senate are not in session.

 

 

Media 

     

New Wind Parks to be Constructed in North Finland. A series of wind park projects in northern Finland has progressed to construction stage. Wind farms to be located in the municipalities of Kittilä, Sodankylä and Ii have all received a green light for construction to proceed, clearing the way for the start of building work. The three wind parks slated for northern Finland will host a total of 45 wind turbines and altogether command an investment of $276 million. Alaska Dispatch 

 

Arctic Science Plan to Support White House Policy. The Arctic, America has recognized, is changing. In order to help identify how that will affect the country's interests one of its leading federal science agencies this week released a 80-point action plan aimed at improving its scientific and security capacity in the region. The initiative, according to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, will support President Barack Obama's Arctic policy. NOAA said its Artic Action Plan provides scientists and others involved in the Arctic a roadmap for improving monitoring, understanding and protecting the region. Arctic Journal 

 

sweden map Sweden Pauses Payment to International Climate Change Fund. The Swedish government will not be paying money promised to the Green Climate Fund, meaning the small Center Party has been overruled by the leading Moderate Party. Last autumn Sweden promised to pay $45.5 million this year to the fund that helps poor countries prepare for environmental threats. Environment Minister Lena Ek said at the time this was a key issue, and that it was good to go to Warsaw and say that Sweden will support the fund. Alaska Dispatch 

 

Position Announcement: President & CEO, Ocean Leadership. The Consortium for Ocean Leadership is a Washington, DC-based nonprofit organization that represents more than 90 of the leading public and private ocean research education institutions, aquaria and industry with the mission to advance research, education and sound ocean policy. The Consortium for Ocean Leadership is looking for a new president and CEO. The Consortium for Ocean Leadership 

 

Russia Canada Flags Russia Expels Canadian Diplomat in Return to Ottawa's 'Courtesy.' First Secretary of the Embassy of Canada in Moscow must leave the country within 14 days. Margarita Atanasov is being expelled from Russia in response to the expulsion of a Russian diplomat from Ottawa. The incident with the Russian diplomat took place on April 8, when Yuri Bezler also was given two weeks to leave Canada. Officials with the Russian Foreign Ministry said that it was not the first such case. Moscow never acted first, but only responded to Ottawa's diplomatic "courtesy." Pravda 

Legislative Actionfutureevents  

 

No Arctic legislation was formally considered yesterday.

Future Events

 

The Arctic in the Anthropocene: Emerging Research Questions, April 29, 2014. (Webinar) This webinar will provide a briefing on the new National Research Council report "The Arctic in the Anthropocene: Emerging Research Questions". The co-chairs of the authoring committee will present emerging research questions that span traditional disciplinary boundaries as well as tools for meeting the challenges of understanding a rapidly changing Arctic. There will be an opportunity for questions at the conclusion of the briefing. 

 

AAAS Forum on S & T Policy, May 1, 2014. (Washington, DC) The American Association for the Advancement of Science will host a forum on science and technology policy. On May 1, AAAS will host a breakout session on US Leadership in the Arctic Council: International Science Cooperation. Presenters include executive director of the US Arctic Research Commission John Farrell.

 

Alaska Policy Commission. May 6-7, 2014 (Anchorage, Alaska). The Alaska Arctic Policy Commission (AAPC) has more important work to do in 2014. The Commission will strive to gather public input and engage with Alaskan communities, state agencies, federal partners, and the international organizations working in the Arctic. In order to meet our goals AAPC will convene three in-person meetings over the course of 2014 and focus on implementation and final recommendations. The draft agenda is available here

 

International Congress of Arctic Social Sciences, May 22-24, 2014. ICASS is held every three years, bringing together people from all over the world to share ideas about social science research in the Arctic. ICASS VII, held in Akureyri in June 2011, attracted 450 participants from 30 different countries. ICASS VIII's theme is Northern Sustainabilities. By using the plural, ICASS underscores both that 'sustainability' has social, cultural, economic, political and environmental dimensions, and that definitions of the concept vary. Yet, while debating specific definitions, most would agree that working toward sustainable ways of living in the North and on approaches to sustainable engagement with the North, are critical both to the North's and to the world's future. Community sustainability in the North, whether for small settlements or large urban conglomerations, requires new models of food and energy security, and of access to employment, health care and social and cultural services for residents.

 

Arctic in the Athropocene. June 23-July 2, 2014 (Potsdam, Germany). Under the overarching theme "Arctic in the Anthropocene", this two-week interdisciplinary and interactive event will be the first in a series of Potsdam Summer Schools to be held annually. The goal is to bring together early-career scientists and young professionals from research departments, governmental and non-governmental agencies and organizations, as well as the private sector from all around the world. Participants will deal with global challenges and address urgent questions on how to shape sustainable futures in the Arctic and beyond from a scientific and socioeconomic point of view. 

 

Alaska Policy Commission. August 26-27, 2014 (Kotzebue-Nome, Alaska). The Alaska Arctic Policy Commission (AAPC) has more important work to do in 2014. The Commission will strive to gather public input and engage with Alaskan communities, state agencies, federal partners, and the international organizations working in the Arctic. In order to meet our goals AAPC will convene three in-person meetings over the course of 2014 and focus on implementation and final recommendations. 

 

Arctic Circle, October 31-November 2, 2014 (Reyjavik, Iceland).

The Arctic Circle is nonprofit and nonpartisan. Organizations, forums, think tanks, corporations and public associations around the world are invited to hold meetings within the Arctic Circle platform to advance their own missions and the broader goal of increasing collaborative decision-making without surrendering their institutional independence. The Arctic Circle will organize sessions on a variety of issues, such as: Sea ice melt and extreme weather; Polar law: treaties and agreements; The role and rights of indigenous peoples; Security in the Arctic; Shipping and transportation infrastructure; The prospects and risks of oil and gas drilling; Clean energy achievements and sustainable development; Arctic resources; Business cooperation in the Arctic; The role of Asian and European countries in the Arctic; Greenland in the new Arctic; Fisheries and ecosystem management; The science of ice: global research cooperation; Arctic tourism; The ice-dependent world: the Arctic and the Himalayas. 

 

Alaska Policy Commission. November 13-14, 2014 (Anchorage, Alaska). The Alaska Arctic Policy Commission (AAPC) has more important work to do in 2014. The Commission will strive to gather public input and engage with Alaskan communities, state agencies, federal partners, and the international organizations working in the Arctic. In order to meet our goals AAPC will convene three in-person meetings over the course of 2014 and focus on implementation and final recommendations. 

 

The Arctic Biodiversity Congress, December 2-4, 2014. (Trondheim, Norway). The Arctic Biodiversity Congress will present and discuss the main scientific findings of the ABA; facilitate inter-disciplinary discussion, action and status updates on the policy recommendations in the ABA; provide scientific, policy, management, NGO, academia, Indigenous peoples and industry audiences the opportunity to collaborate around the themes of the ABA; advise CAFF on national and international implementation of the ABA recommendations and on the development of an ABA Implementation Plan for the Arctic Council; highlight the work of CAFF and the Arctic Council on circumpolar biodiversity conservation and sustainable development; and, contribute to mainstreaming of biodiversity and ecosystem services, ensuring that the recommendations of the ABA are implemented by not just governments, but many organizations and people across disciplines.

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