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March 24, 2014

capital Today's Congressional Action:   

The House and Senate is in session and will consider non-Arctic legislation.

 

 

 

Media 

 

The Science of the '64 Earthquake. Fifty years ago the greatest earthquake ever recorded in North America hit southcentral Alaska, devastating Anchorage. On the next Hometown Alaska, we'll talk about the scientific story of the quake. Our quake became the most studied in history, and helped change basic understanding of how the earth's crust works. Fifty years later, what have we learned about why big quakes happen? Alaska Public Radio

 

25 Years After Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, Alaska Retains Scars. In the early morning hours of March 24, 1989, a huge tanker sailed from Valdez at the terminus of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline into Prince William Sound. The Exxon Valdez struck a reef and spilled 41.5 million liters of crude oil. Twenty-five years ago, it was largest oil spill in U.S. history, overtaken in 2010 by the BP Deep Water Horizon rig accident in the Gulf of Mexico. Still, Exxon Valdez holds the dubious distinction as the nation's greatest environmental disaster from an oil spill and marked a turning point in the prevention of and response to such accidents. Voice of America

 

On the Frontline of the Fight Against TB. In connection with the World Health Organisation's annual World Tuberculosis Day today, health workers in Greenland will descend on the eastern town of Tasiilaq. There, they will be trying spread as much information as possible about the disease while at the same time testing the town's 2,000 residents to see whether they are carrying the bacteria that causes it. Arctic Journal

 

Canada Spends $1 Million to Fly Inuit Children South for Dental Surgery. The Canadian government is spending $1 million Canadian (US $890,000) to send five chartered plane loads of children from Canada's eastern Arctic territory of Nunavut to the hospital in Churchill, Manitoba, for dental surgery. Their dental problems are so severe they need to be put under anesthetic before their teeth can be pulled or capped. Alaska Dispatch

 

Modeling Shifting Oceanscapes; a Collective Pursuit. As the Earth changes, scientists are pushed into uncharted territory in which old models no longer apply. Simultaneously, without the patterns of a climatically similar past to guide and inform predictions of the future, scientific models become more important as the most methodologically rigorous way of predicting the future as well as understanding the present. Frontier Scientists

 

VICE Season 2, Episode 2. VICE is an HBO series. Episode 2 of the second season includes a feature on "Greenland is Melting."

The show includes an interview with a glaciologist, Dr. Jason Box-- an American now working for the Danish Geological Survey, and Gavin Schmidt-- a climate scientist, and spokesperson. Currently, the preview is available online. 

 

VICE Season 2: Episode #2 Preview 
VICE Season 2: Episode #2 Preview

 

 

Maine's Angus King Headed on Arctic Excursion With Navy. U.S. Sen. Maine Angus King is bundling up for a military excursion to the Arctic. King will be aboard with the Navy this weekend as it tests combat systems in the frigid Arctic Ocean. The senator says the trip will help him make better decisions in Congress through his position on the Armed Services Committee. Portland Press Herald

 

Begich Talks Arctic Strategy With Military Brass. Stresses Need to Establish Sovereignty in the Region. With rising tensions between the U.S. and Russia coupled with an increasingly open Arctic, U.S. Senator Mark Begich emphasized the importance of having a strong and credible military presence in the Arctic during a speech delivered at Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson (J-BER). Political News

 

Arctic Policy: Alaska Wants Bigger Voice on Arctic Council. Alaska legislators are seeking a bigger say in the state's priorities when the United States becomes chair of the Arctic Council in 2015, and a voice in the federal government's selection of who will lead the council itself. To that end, the Legislature on March 17 unanimously passed House Joint Resolution 24, urging the federal government to consider Alaska's priorities and work with the state when the U.S. chairs that council. The resolution also asks State Department officials to confer with Alaskan officials when considering an individual to lead the council. The Cordova Times

 

[Opinion] Wilderness League Seeks Answers on Arctic Issues. Alaska Wilderness League just turned 20 in 2013. Even though we have been around and engaged for years on these issues, I don't think that the community understands what drives our work. I think that my role at the League fills a very important void by sharing information so that local people can make informed decisions; by building discussion to create agreement for complex issues; by working to get our concerns addressed; by ensuring communication with key decision makers like the federal government; and by educating the region and learning from the communities around us. The Arctic Sounder

 

[Opinion] Aligning on Arctic Development. For generations, the Iņupiat community has proven itself to be resilient; we are people who have learned to adapt to the harsh, unforgiving conditions of the Arctic while maintaining the time-honored traditions and values of our heritage. We are as proud of our past as we are fiercely protective of our future. That's why it is so troubling to find the deep divisions within our community being played out in such a public arena; we can appreciate and even welcome a lively debate and fully understand the pointed reactions that our differences can generate - but it is a conversation that must be based, must be centered on fact, not on a series of biased assumptions and heated emotion. The Arctic Sounder

Legislative Actionfutureevents  

  

H.R. 4282, To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize grants for graduate medical education partnerships in States with a low ratio of medical residents relative to the general population. (Introduced by Representative Kathy Castor of Florida and referred to the House Energy and Commerce Committee)

Future Events

 

Polar Research Board Spring Meeting, March 26-28, 2014 (Washington, DC). The Polar Research Board, part of the Division on Earth and Life Studies of the National Academies, will hold its spring meeting to receive updates on issues such as "Linkages between Arctic Sea Ice Loss and Mid-Latitude Weather Patterns;" "Adaptations Actions for a Changing Arctic;" and other study updates. The agenda is available here. 


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

 

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. 

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