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March 19, 2014

capital Today's Congressional Action:   

The House and Senate are not in session.

 

Media 

 

Alaska Legislature Legislature Unanimously Urges Federal Government to Involve Alaska in Decisions Made for Upcoming Arctic Council. Today, the Alaska State Legislature unanimously passed House Joint Resolution 24, which urges the Federal Government to consider Alaska's priorities and work with the State when the United States becomes Chair of the Arctic Council in 2015.  The resolution also asks State Department representatives to confer with Alaskan officials while considering an individual to lead the Arctic Council. Alaska Senate Majority

 

The World's Largest Mega-Ship Launches for the First Time. Take the Empire State Building, lay it on the ground and add another 150 feet. Then put it out to sea. That's essentially what Shell did today with the launch of the 1,601-foot Prelude mega-ship. At 600,000 tons and 243 feet wide, when the Prelude left its dry dock in South Korea after a year-long build, it unseated the Emma Maersk (1,302 feet) as the world's largest ship. But calling it a ship is almost a misnomer. The Prelude is a floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) facility that will be posted off the coast of Western Australia and will stay there for the next quarter-century. Wired

 

The Arctic Climate Change Emerging Leaders Program. ELEEP, a joint project of the Ecologic Institute and the Atlantic Council, is a forum for the exchange of policy solutions, best-practices, and professional development for early and mid-career American and European leaders working on environmental and energy issues. ELEEP is currently launching a new initiative: The Arctic Climate Change Emerging Leaders (ACCEL) Fellowship. ACCEL aims to train the next generation of Arctic Ambassadors and is a unique summer opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students, as well as recent graduates, interested in building careers focused on international security, environmental issues, shipping and trade, energy and natural resources, or public relations and diplomacy.  Two paid positions are available in Washington, DC and Berlin for ACCEL fellows dedicated to helping launch this program. The Arctic Climate Change Emerging Leaders Program (ACCEL)

 

greenland Greenland's Northeastern Ice Sheet Starting to Melt. Greenland's previously stable northeastern ice sheet is starting to melt, according to a new study published in the journal Nature Climate Change. While Greenland's melting ice sheet has contributed to an increase in the world's sea levels over the last 20 years, the recent study suggests that Greenland's northeast ice stream, located 370 miles to the interior of the ice sheet, is also thinning because of warming temperatures. Alaska Dispatch

 

Russia Stops Expedited Freight Shipments at Vaalimma, Finland. Russia's customs agency has announced it will stop handling International Road Transport freight shipments, which speed through border crossings without customs formalities, starting on Thursday. Russia says the move is not connected to any developments in Ukraine. Freight shipments under the TIR (Transport Internationaux Routiers or International Road Transport) agreements are to end this week at the Vaalimaa border crossing. The news was reported first on Tuesday by Helsingin Sanomat. Alaska Dispatch

 

permafrost Scientists Sound Alarm on Climate. Early in his career, a scientist named Mario J. Molina was pulled into seemingly obscure research about strange chemicals being spewed into the atmosphere. Within a year, he had helped discover a global environmental emergency, work that would ultimately win a Nobel Prize. Now, at 70, Dr. Molina is trying to awaken the public to an even bigger risk. He spearheaded a committee of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world's largest general scientific society, which released a stark report Tuesday on global warming. New York Times

Legislative Actionfutureevents  

  

No Arctic legislation was formally considered yesterday.

Future Events

 

Navigational Developments and the Viability of Commercialized Shipping in the Arctic, March 20, 2014. (Washington, D.C.). The Federal Maritime Commission's Maritime Environmental Committee will be hosting a Brown Bag Speaker Series with a presentation by Dr. John Farrell, Executive Director of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, and Captain David Murk, Senior Maritime Safety and Security Advisor to the Secretary of Transportation at the U.S. Department of Transportation. The speakers will discuss the environmental impact commercial shipping may have in the Arctic, United States' interests in the Arctic, and the viability of commercial shipping in the region.

 

Association of American Geographers Polar Geography Sessions, April 8-12, 2014 (Tampa, Florida).  Polar Geography Sessions are being planned in areas such as Sustainable Development in the Arctic, Urbanization and Transportation in the Arctic, etc. Contact Scott Stephenson (stephenson@ucla.edu) for more information, and see attached flyer. 

 

Arctic Science Summit Week April 5-8, 2014 and Arctic Observing Summit, April 9-11 (Helsinki, Finland). ASSW is a gathering for Arctic research organizations. Any organization engaged in supporting and facilitating arctic research is welcome to participate. The ASSW meeting in 2014 will be arranged during April 5-8 in Helsinki Kumpula Campus, in the facilities of FMI and Physics Department of the University of Helsinki. Second circular 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 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.

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