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May 9, 2014

 

capital Today's Congressional Action:   

The Senate is not in session. The House is expected to finalize consideration of H.R. 4438, the American Research and Competitiveness Act of 2014 under a closed rule.

 

 

Media 

       

Russian Spy Plane Nearly Collides with SAS Flight; Sweden, Finland to have closer military ties. An SAS airliner narrowly avoided a midair collision with a Russian military intelligence aircraft about 30 miles outside of Malmö, Swedish Television reported. The incident occurred over international waters on 3 March, as SAS flight SK 681 was on its way to the Rome, according to the broadcaster. The Swedish flight changed course at the last moment to avoid the crash. Alaska Dispatch

 

Canadian Polar Bear Trade Under International Review. Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq says she is confident that a new international review of Canada's trade in polar bear parts will reaffirm this country's conservation of the species. The 180-country Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, or CITES, agreed last week in Mexico to conduct a lengthy study into the global trade of the iconic Arctic bears. Global News

 

GOP Senators Ask IG to "Immediately End" Probe of Drilling Rules. Several GOP senators are demanding that U.S. EPA's inspector general halt its broad review of the agency's regulation of hydraulic fracturing, according to a memo released today. "The OIG," said Sen. David Vitter of Louisiana, "is attempting to further the false narrative that hydraulic fracturing is dangerous and states are somehow improperly managing some fabricated risks." E&E News

 

Study Reveals How Polar Bears Can Be Really Fat, but Totally Healthy. With a diet rich in fat but few heart-related health problems, how do polar bears have it all? Scientists said today the answer is in their genes. Since the white furry creatures split off from their brown bear cousins some 500,000 years ago, polar bears have "undergone remarkable genetic changes" that allow them to eat a high-fat diet. The Week

 

president signing Obama to Give Push on Climate. President Obama will announce on Friday a handful of executive actions and private and nonprofit groups' investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy. The initiatives will not amount to much in terms of energy policy or their impact on global warming. But they are part of a broader campaign to build public support for an Environmental Protection Agency rule that the White House will unveil in June. The rule, which has already run into objections, will limit carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants and is expected to create a major new market for zero-carbon energy from sources like wind and solar. New York Times 

Legislative Actionfutureevents  

 

No Arctic legislation as formally considered yesterday.

Future Events

 

Responding to Oil Spills in the US Arctic Marine Environment, May 12, 2014 (Webinar).

This webinar will provide a briefing on the new National Research Coucil report Responding to Oil Spills in the U.S. Arctic Marine Environment. Martha Grabowski, chair of the study committee, will discuss the report's main points regarding key oil spill research priorities, critical data and monitoring needs, mitigation strategies, and important operational and logistical issues. There will be an opportunity for questions at the conclusion of the briefing. See agenda here
 

NOAA Science Challenge Workshop: Predicting Arctic Weather and Climate and Related Impacts, May 13-15, 2014. (Bolder, CO, USA/ Web) The overarching purpose of the workshop is to inform NOAA on actions required to address present and anticipated future mission requirements for predictions of Arctic weather and climate and related impacts. The workshop will also define       actions needed to determine relationships between Arctic and lower latitude weather and climate variability and their predictive implications, with emphasis on predictions over the sector encompassing North America and adjacent ocean regions. The workshop's primary emphasis will be on steps needed to improve predictions and related services from days to seasons in advance; however, needs and opportunities for developing longer-­-term prediction products will also be considered.

 

Arctic Oil Spill Briefing, May 16, 2014 (Anchorage, Alaska).  The chair and committee members of the National Research Council (NRC) will brief the NRC report on Responding to Oil Spills in the U.S. Arctic Marine Environment and engage in a discussion with briefing participants. Register here. 

 

Cumulative Impacts and Landscape Initiatives: A sustainability Check During Climate Change, May 18-22, 2014 (Anchorage, Alaska). US-IALE fosters landscape ecology in the United States, providing a link among practitioners in landscape ecology in the U.S. and the international community, and promoting interdisciplinary research and communication among scientists, planners, and other professionals concerned with landscape ecology. Program highlights will include plenary sessions with featured speakers, symposia and contributed papers, in-depth workshops on key topics, field trips, and networking events.

 

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. 

 

2014 FAMOS School and Workshop #3, October 21-24, 2014. (Woods Hole, MA) The Forum for Arctic Ocean Modeling and Observational Synthesis (FAMOS) is an international effort to focus on enhancing collaboration and coordination among Arctic marine and sea ice modelers, theoreticians and observationalists synthesize major results from the field studies and coordinated numerical experiments. The major themes of workshop include but not limited by studies focused on: predictions; Arctic observational and modeling initiatives; fate of sea ice in models and observations; atmospheric, sea ice and ocean dynamics; process studies and parameterizations; model validation and calibration; numerical improvements and algorithms; ecosystems, biological issues, and geochemistry.

 

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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