TOP OF THE WORLD TELEGRAPH

News from the Arctic

Vol. 6, Issue 42: 23 February 2010

THIS WEEK FROM THE INSTITUTE OF THE NORTH

The New Maritime Arctic: Crossroads of Globalization, Climate Change & Geopolitics
By Lawson W. Brigham, PhD., Professor, University of Alaska Fairbanks
Chair, Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment (2005-09)
The Institute of the North Senior Fellow, Arctic Marine Issues

10 February 2011, Princeton University

Woodrow Wilson School of Public & International Affairs

• Executive Summary with Recommendations

• Arctic Marine Geography Climate & Sea Ice
• History
• Governance
• Current Use/Database
• Scenarios to 2020 & 2050
• Human Dimensions
• Environmental Impacts
• Infrastructure

NEWS FROM AROUND THE REGION

MARITIME

ALASKA/UNITED STATES
Maritime Cabotage Task Force now American Maritime Partnership (MARINELOG,
02/22/11)
http://www.marinelog.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=536:2011feb00022
2&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=107
American Maritime Partnership (AMP) is the new name for the Maritime Cabotage Task Force.
It says that the new name "better reflects the coalition's focus on the domestic maritime
industry's role in promoting national, homeland, and economic security."
CANADA
Arctic marine weather, navigation tools get $35M (CBC Canada, 02/22/11)
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/story/2011/02/22/nwt-peter-kent-environment.html
Arctic mariners will have better access to weather data and navigational warnings in the
Northwest Passage and other northern waterways, where marine traffic is expected to pick up as
the sea ice shrinks.

FINLAND
Nuclear icebreaker ready for Gulf of Finland (BarentsObserver, 02/17/11)
http://www.barentsobserver.com/nuclear-icebreaker-ready-for-gulf-of-finland.4886576-
116321.html
The ice situation in the Gulf of Finland is now extremely difficult and 58 vessels are waiting for
icebreaker aid.

REGION
DNV: LNG fuel best way to meet North American emissions limits (MARINELOG, 02/21/11)
http://www.marinelog.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=533:2011feb00021
1&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=107
A report from DNV says that using LNG as fuel is the most efficient and economical way for
ships to meet air emissions requirements in the U.S. and Canada that take effect in August
2012.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

ALASKA/UNITED STATES
Stanford researchers double wireless networking speeds (Yahoo News, 02/20/11)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/pcworld/20110220/tc_pcworld/stanfordresearchersdoublewirelessnetw
orkingspeeds
Researchers at Stanford University have shown it's possible to double the data rate of
communication networks without the need for additional frequencies, something that could lead
to significantly faster wireless networking.

Cellphone calls alter brain activity (Reuters, 02/22/11)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/22/us-brain-cellphones-idUSTRE71L79420110222
Spending 50 minutes with a cellphone plastered to your ear is enough to change brain cell
activity in the part of the brain closest to the antenna.
AVIATION

RUSSIA
Sukhoi Superjet enters race for Delta Air Lines contract (RIA Novosti, 02/21/11)
http://en.rian.ru/business/20110221/162697585.html
Russia's Sukhoi has entered a bid with its Superjet 100 airliner to a request for proposals from
America's Delta Air Lines for as many as 200 narrow-body aircraft.

Russian airliner to entertain with clowns, musicians on board (RIA Novosti, 02/21/11)
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20110218/162670640.html
Russia's budget air carrier Avianova said clowns, musicians and actors will appear on flights to
keep passengers entertained on the way to their destination.

OTHER AREAS OF GENERAL INTEREST

ALASKA/UNITED STATES
Audio: Talk of Alaska: The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (Alaska
Public Radio Network, 02/22/11)
http://aprn.org/2011/02/22/talk-of-alaska-the-u-n-declaration-on-the-rights-of-indigenous-
people/#
Indigenous rights to self determination, land use and economic autonomy are contained in the
U.N Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People. Now that the United States has signed on
to it, how will Alaska Natives work to use the document to further their push for land and
subsistence rights.

Audio: Black bears’ ability to cycle down metabolism could save human lives (Eye on the
Arctic, 02/21/11)
http://eyeonthearctic.rcinet.ca/en/news/usa/97-environment/725-black-bears-ability-to-cycle-
down-metabolism-could-save-human-lives
The biology of hibernating bears could help save human lives. University of Alaska Fairbanks
Institute of Arctic Biology researcher Oivind Toien leads a captive black bear study that's
shown hibernating bears have a unique ability to cycle down metabolism without a significant
decrease in body temperature. Doctors lower heart rate and stroke patient's temperature to
decrease oxygen demand and reduce tissue damage, but Toien said bear biology may provide a
new avenue.
CANADA
Solar storm delivers Auroral show (Eye on the Arctic, 02/18/11)
http://eyeonthearctic.rcinet.ca/en/news/canada/44-environment/723-solar-storm-delivers-
auroral-show
A blast of plasma from the sun hit the Earth overnight, creating a brilliant display of lights
across the skies of Northern Canada. An online replay of the celestial show, recorded by the
AuroraMAX webcam, shows curtains of green light rippling across the sky over Yellowknife.
The site records the aurora each night as part of an educational and outreach program supported
by the Canadian Space Agency, the University of Calgary, Astronomy North and the City of
Yellowknife.

REGION
Video: Extreme cold: Boiling tea turns into snow instantly (BarentsObserver, 02/18/11)
http://www.barentsobserver.com/extreme-cold-boiling-tea-turns-into-snow-instantly.4886985-
116320.html
Winter temperature records was set last night many places in the Barents Region. The
temperature in Finnish Lapland plunged down to minus 41 degrees Celsius. The extreme cold
weather in Northern Norway bring along peak consumption of electricity. The power grid is
running on max capacity. Energy companies all over northern Norway are now on high alert,
hoping that the grid will stand the strain.

ENERGY

ALASKA/UNITED STATES
YK Delta could see lower fuel prices (Alaska Public Radio Network. 02/22/11)
http://aprn.org/2011/02/22/yk-delta-could-see-lower-fuel-prices/#
Cheaper fuel could be on the horizon for YK Delta residents, if North Star Gas’s mission comes
true. The fuel distributor is expanding from one Bethel-based gas station to owning their own
barge, which they plan to start using this spring.

REGION
Inuit leaders tackle resource development debate (Eye on the Arctic, 02/23/11)
http://eyeonthearctic.rcinet.ca/en/news/canada/44-environment/733-inuit-leaders-tackle-
resource-development-debate
Inuit leaders from around the circumpolar world are hoping to reach a consensus on Arctic
mining and offshore oil and gas development at a summit this week in Ottawa. The Inuit
Circumpolar Council has brought together leaders from Canada, Russia, Alaska and Greenland
for the resource development summit.
Ice hampers oil spill clean-up (BarentsObserver, 02/21/11)
http://www.barentsobserver.com/ice-hampers-oil-spill-clean-up.4887996-116321.html
An Icelandic-owned 17,000-dwt cargo vessel ran aground and immediately started leaking oil
Friday around the scenic islands of Hvaler on Norway’s southeast coast. It was unknown
exactly how much oil was on board the ship, but estimates were as much as 800 tons.
Norwegian and Swedish coastal administration services placed a series of booms around the
area to contain the spill, but oil has already reached land on several places.

Shtokman project may be too expensive (BarentsObserver, 02/18/11)

http://www.barentsobserver.com/shtokman-project-may-be-too-expensive-total-
executive.4887150-116321.html
The Shtokman gas project in the Barents Sea may prove too expensive, an executive at French
energy group Total says.

RUSSIA
Rosneft seeks foreign cooperation (BarentsObserver, 02/22/11)
http://www.barentsobserver.com/rosneft-seeks-foreign-cooperation.4888673-116320.html
Russian oil giant Rosneft is pushing a major expansion of its offshore exploration business
through talks with global companies about new ventures in the Arctic, says the company’s First
Vice President Pavel Fedorov.

FISHERIES

ALASKA/UNITED STATES
Audio: Researches say extreme North fisheries’ activity underreported (Anchorage Public
Radio Network. 02/22/11)
http://aprn.org/2011/02/22/researches-say-extreme-north-fisheries-activity-underreported/#
Researchers in Canada say Arctic nations have been dramatically underreporting their fishing
activity in the extreme north. A study released earlier this year from the Fisheries Centre at the
University of British Columbia estimated that the amount of fish caught between 1950 and 2006
is 75 times higher than actually reported to the United Nations Food and Agriculture
Administration which tracks global fisheries.

Audio: Alaska Whaling Commission seeks subsistence law (Eye on the Arctic, 02/18/11)
http://eyeonthearctic.rcinet.ca/en/news/usa/97-environment/722-alaska-whaling-commission-
seeks-subsistence-law
The Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission is calling on Alaska's U.S. Congressional delegation
to introduce subsistence whaling legislation before 2012. Officials say legislation is needed in
case an international regulatory body fails to pass a harvest quota renewal. The AEWC passed
this and four other resolutions Wednesday during the commission's two day mini-convention in
Barrow.
CLIMATE CHANGE

Climate change an issue in Canada (Eye on the Arctic, 02/23/11)

http://eyeonthearctic.rcinet.ca/en/news/canada/44-environment/731-climate-change-an-issue-in-
canada-poll
Far more Canadians than Americans believe climate change is real, according to a report
produced by U.S. and Canadian think tanks. The report, based on the results of two national
surveys of public opinion on climate change, was to be released by the Public Policy Forum and
Sustainable Prosperity and their project partners.

Loss of sea ice puts remote Alaska village in danger of falling into ocean (Eye on the Arctic,
02/23/11)
http://eyeonthearctic.rcinet.ca/en/news/usa/97-environment/732-loss-of-sea-ice-puts-remote-
alaska-village-in-danger-of-falling-into-ocean
How did a village along one of Alaska's Interior river systems suddenly find itself keeping
company, at least on paper, with a handful of sea-battered coastal communities imminently at
risk of falling into the ocean? Koyukuk Mayor Jason Malemute isn't sure. But he's determined
to get the place he's called home nearly all his life off the list of Alaska villages that must be
relocated to survive.

Climate change in black and white (The Economist, 02/17/11)

http://www.economist.com/node/18175423
When air pollution hurts people’s health and heats up the climate it makes sense to do
something about it. But what about pollution that cools the planet?

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