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from the | |
Vol. 5, Issue 23: 1 September 2009 |
This
week from the institute of the north |
Hickel: Dawn of the The founder of the Institute of the North, twice
governor and former Secretary of the Interior, Walter J. Hickel,
celebrated his 90th birthday Aug. 18 with family and friends at
a Kansas-style picnic in In the Aug. 30 Anchorage Daily News, Hickel shares
some of his most strongly-held ideas, including his belief that he has
been guided by his inner voice, what he calls the “Little Guy”: Stay
free by listening to your “Little Guy.” “My 50-year dream that we are at the dawn of the
Age of the Many of the governor’s international friends -
President Ólafur Ragnar Grimsson of |
|
News
from around the Region
Maritime
CG final rule, oil spill response
plans (MarineLink,
09/01/09)
http://marinelink.com/en-US/News/Article/331751.aspx
The U.S. Coast Guard's Marine Safety, Security and
Stewardship Directorate announced publication in the Federal Register of a final
rule designed to improve pollution-response preparedness for vessels and
facilities carrying or handling oil upon the navigable waters of the
Major shipping route fosters a plague
of sea life (The
About a third of the 186 invasive species in the
New emission standards proposed,
marine engines
(MarineLink, 08/31/09)
http://marinelink.com/Story/ShowStory.aspx?StoryID=216575
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing
air emission standards for new marine diesel engines with per cylinder
displacement at or above 30 liters (called Category 3 marine diesel engines)
installed on U.S vessels. The proposed standards are equivalent to the nitrogen
oxides (NOx) limits recently adopted in the amendments to MARPOL Annex VI. The
near-term standards for newly-built engines would apply beginning in
2011.
White House hears
http://www.thetundradrums.com/news/show/7028
Undersecretary for Oceans and Atmosphere and
Administrator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Dr. Jane
Lubchenco, said while traveling
Can't extend Arctic icebreaker
season: Coast Guard
(CBC News, 08/28/09)
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/north/story/2009/08/27/arctic-icebreakers.html
The Canadian Coast Guard says it can't keep its
icebreakers running longer in the
Sailing the
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science/08/24/northwestpassage.august/index.html
In an update on the voyage of the Silent Sound through the Northwest
Passage, the vessel has left
Increased Arctic ship traffic worries
military
(Sermitsiaq, 08/25/09)
http://sermitsiaq.gl/klima/article94782.ece?lang=EN
Danish military commanders in
Nautical studies in
Vardø
(BarentsObserver, 08/31/09)
http://www.barentsobserver.com/nautical-studies-in-vardoe.4626156-116320.html
The Norwegian government has allocated 104.000 EUR for
the establishment of a two year program in nautical studies in Vardø, home of
the Vessel Traffic Centre for
Region
Hidden in plain
view (
http://www.russiaprofile.org/page.php?pageid=International&articleid=a1251398009
On Aug. 17 the Russian patrol vessel Ladny apprehended and boarded the
Maltese-flagged, Finnish owned cargo ship Arctic Sea, which had apparently been
hijacked in Swedish waters three weeks earlier. The rescue operation -
accomplished “without a shot being fired,” according to the Russian navy -
marked the end of the three-week long mystery of the missing cargo vessel. But
the subsequent criminal investigation may well last longer, and prove even more
enigmatic than the ship’s original “disappearance.”
Risk vs. reward
(Up Here Business,
June 2009)
http://www.upherebusiness.ca/node/326
The story of the MS
Explorer is a cautionary tale for the growing polar cruise industry.
The risk of accidents, the threat to wildlife, and our ability to clean up any
mess have all arisen as issues to be faced. As Northern communities strive for a
piece of the new economic pie generated by cruise ships, will the risks prove to
be worth it?
The operational start of icebreaker
Telecommunications
Editorial: Access and the Internet
(The
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/29/opinion/29sat3.html?th&emc=th
A good bill that would guarantee so-called net
neutrality has been introduced in the House. Congress should pass it, and the
Obama administration should use its considerable power to make net neutrality
the law. If Internet service providers are allowed to choose among content, it
would be bad for everyone but the service
providers.
Cable company aims to bring broadband
to rural
http://www.alaskajournal.com/stories/082809/loc_4_001.shtml
Kodiak Kenai Cable Co.'s plan for the Northern Fiber
Optic Link will cost some $300 million and would extend the 600-mile Kodiak
Kenai Fiber Link system from Kodiak Island to the Aleutian Islands and Western
Alaska, with landing points in King Cove, Unalaska/Dutch Harbor, Naknek/King
Salmon, Dillingham, Bethel, Nome, Kotzebue, Barrow and Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse.
The communications firm hopes to package loans and grants, including funding
from the broadband portion of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act; a
decision on which broadband proposals will share in that funding is expected by
Nov. 4.
FCC investigates wireless
competition
(Forbes, 08/27/09)
http://www.forbes.com/2009/08/27/competition-fcc-mobile-technology-wireless-ctia.html?partner=email
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission voted to
launch an official inquiry into the state of innovation and competition in the
Cellphone firms adopt code of
conduct (Globe and
Mail, 09/01/09)
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/cellphone-firms-adopt-code-of-conduct/article1271918/
Northern communications need more
“horsepower”: general (CBC News, 08/28/09)
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/north/story/2009/08/27/north-communications.html
There is a need to build up communications
infrastructure in
Facebook's
Facebook, the popular social networking site, agreed to
make changes to better protect the personal information of its users as a result
of negotiations with
Nuuk to get mobile
broadband
(Sermitsiaq, 08/27/09)
http://sermitsiaq.gl/indland/article94929.ece?lang=EN
TELE has made a deal with Nokia Siemens Network to
deliver a complete 3G mobile network. With the launch of the 3G network TELE
will introduce new mobile internet packages in which customers with a laptop and
a mobile broadband modem can access the internet with speeds up to 7.2 Mbit. The
3G network will be accessible from the summer of
2010.
Region
EU digital library scheme plodding
along, complains Reding (EUObserver, 08/31/09)
Comstar launches
http://www.telegeography.com/cu/article.php?article_id=29819&email=html
Russian fixed line and broadband operator Comstar UTS
has announced that it has soft launched a fibre-optic backbone network
connecting
Technology
Happy birthday Internet, welcome to
your mid-life crisis (Globe and Mail, 08/31/09)
Few were paying attention back on Sept. 2, 1969, when
about 20 people gathered in a lab at the
Aviation
http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/ap_alaska/story/916400.html
An experimental landing procedure at the airport
promises to save millions of gallons of fuel, lessen residents' exposure to jet
noise, cut pollution and save airlines' precious dollars. The new procedure,
dubbed Optimized Profile Descent by the airline industry and its regulators, is
a measure that uses high technology satellite-guided navigation, the power of
computerized aircraft flight management computers with the oversight of the FAA
to change the decades-old procedures for bringing aircraft from cruising
altitude to a landing on the runway.
Reauthorizing FAA: Can
http://www.atwonline.com/channels/indepth/article.html?articleID=2955
When members of the U.S. Congress return to
State to support struggling airlines
through discounting airport operator Finavia’s fees (Helsingin Sanomat,
09/01/09)
The Finnish government has lent a helping hand to the
struggling Finnish aviation industry. The state-owned Civil Aviation Authority
Finavia, which runs
Tourism on the rise in
http://sermitsiaq.gl/erhverv/article95353.ece?lang=EN
Other
General aviation set for Chinese
growth
(Flightglobal, 09/01/09)
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2009/09/01/331600/general-aviation-set-for-chinese-growth.html
In many ways,
Region
Air Greenland reschedules
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/north/story/2009/08/28/air-greenland-nunavut.html
Air Greenland is now aiming to meet with
Aviation faces CO2 squeeze while EU
states bankroll the sector (EUObserver, 08/25/09)
http://euobserver.com/19/28578
Thousands of airlines are set to face problems in flying
into the European Union from 2012 unless they join the EU Emissions Trading
Scheme, the European Commission has said, although a number of member states at
the same time continue to bankroll the sector that is the fastest growing source
of transport greenhouse gases to the tune of millions of euros. The bloc adopted
legislation in January of this year that requires aviation emissions to reduce
by three percent on 2005 levels by 2012 and five percent by
2013.
Eurocopter and UTair Aviation
establish a new flight training center in
The CEOs of Eurocopter and UTair, signed a memorandum of
agreement to jointly develop a flight training center in
Russian airliners get sales lift at
MAKS (Flightglobal,
08/28/09)
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2009/08/28/331561/russian-airliners-get-sales-lift-at-maks.html
Technology
Airborne Wi-Fi may soar despite the
doubters (The
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/01/business/01road.html?emc=eta1
A survey commissioned by the Wi-Fi Alliance, a trade
group representing companies in the industry, polled 480 frequent business
travelers, including 150 who have used in-flight Wi-Fi, from Aug. 11 to Aug. 18.
About three quarters (76 percent) said they would choose an airline based on
Wi-Fi availability. More than half (55 percent) said they would shift a flight
by one day to get on a plane with a Wi-Fi connection.
Other
Areas of General Interest
A housing precedent is set as
http://www.newsminer.com/news/2009/aug/27/housing-precedent-set-alaska-village-newtok-looks-/
Fairbanks-based Cold Climate Housing Research Center has
designed a super-efficient “evacuation center” to serve as a bridge for Newtok
residents as they plan their move to the newly created village of Mertarvik, 9
miles away from the eroding river that’s rapidly eating away at their community.
CCHRC officials hope the evacuation center design project, which is scheduled
for construction next summer, is part of a trend.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/north/story/2009/09/01/yukon-scoc-land.html
No fewer than 20 lawyers representing the federal
government, three provincial governments and eight aboriginal organizations plan
to appear before
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/north/story/2009/08/31/nunavut-warm-temps.html
People in eastern
Sewage pilot project almost set to
go (Nunatsiaq
Online, 08/31/9)
http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/stories/article/sewage_pilot_project_almost_set_to_go/
A Quebec Company, Bionest, is installing a small,
containerized sewage-treatment system right beside the city’s state-of-the-art
but non-functioning plant whose massive, enclosed tanks still sit empty at the
head of Koojesse Inlet. The Bionest container is a pilot project, intended to
demonstrate the efficiency of the company’s system at treating sewage in a
northern environment.
UNCLOS
(United Nations Convention on the Law of the
Sea)
Undersea mapping supports Canadian
territorial claim
(Globe and Mail, 08/28/09)
The scientists working on an icebreaker high in Canada's
North are reporting the collection of excellent data, said Jacob Verhoef, a
federal scientist who is leading efforts to survey the seabed off Canada's
Arctic and Atlantic coasts. “What it shows is that in the Beaufort Sea, there is
a significant amount of sediment and that allows
Escalating tensions over hunt for oil
and gas in the Arctic (
Disputes over the
Fisheries
Tender for Russian fish processing
factory on
The Russian Fisheries Committee has announced a tender
for the planning of a fish processing plant, which will be built in the Russian
settlement of Barentsburg on
Commentary: Take a few simple steps
to reduce ocean acidification (Anchorage Daily News,
08/28/09)
http://www.adn.com/opinion/compass/story/913835.html
Because carbon dioxide dissolves better in colder water,
ocean acidification is happening fastest near the poles, including here in
More efficient fisheries management
(Norden,
08/28/09)
http://www.norden.org/en/news-and-events/news/more-efficient-fisheries-management
Overcapacity, overfishing and poor financial rewards are
just some of the problems faced by fisheries management the world over.
Efficient fisheries management, especially the financial aspects, was the theme
of an international conference in
Research for Arctic development
called out of date
(The Arctic Sounder, 08/27/09)
http://www.thearcticsounder.com/news/show/7052
Heading north to the Arctic are
Russian salmon threatens Atlantic
salmon
(BarentsObserver, 08/26/09)
http://www.barentsobserver.com/russian-salmon-threatens-atlantic-salmon.4625074-116321.html
The humpback salmon has spread from Russian rivers and
over to Norwegian rivers, and is now threatening the existence of the wild
Atlantic salmon in Norwegian rivers. The county governor’s environmental
department tries to catch as many Humpback salmon as possible, but they are
really worried that the species will dominate several rivers in some
years.
Climate
Change
UN chief in Arctic climate
visit (BBC News,
09/01/09)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8230921.stm
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is visiting the Arctic
Circle in
Stop emitting carbon dioxide, or
geoengineering could be only hope for Earth's climate, experts
warn (ScienceDaily,
09/01/09)
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090901105412.htm
A new report by the Royal Society, the
Audio: Climate could be warming even
faster than predicted (APRN, 08/31/09)
http://aprn.org/2009/08/31/climate-could-be-warming-even-faster-than-predicted/
The climate has been warming faster than computer models
said it would. This could be because some important details have been left out
of the models - particularly about feedbacks, where warming causes changes which
then cause more warming. No one is really sure how much methane gas is being
released by melting permafrost, but there are efforts underway to measure and
identify the locations.
Methane release draws new
attention (SIKU
News, 08/31/09)
http://www.sikunews.com/art.html?artid=6880&catid=19
With tent-like, instrument-laden enclosures they
positioned over two seeps, each several metres wide, researchers in the
Energy
Canadian company gets
http://www.icenews.is/index.php/2009/09/01/canadian-company-gets-iceland-energy-buy-out-green-light/
The board of Reykjavik Energy voted to accept Magma’s
offer to buy 16.58 percent of HS Orka. The company will also purchase a 15
percent share from the Town of
Gazprom wants
http://www.upstreamonline.com/live/article187019.ece
Russian gas monopoly Gazprom is talking to
In
Regulatory delays and rising costs first contributed to
the gloom over the fate of the Mackenzie Gas Pipeline. Now, there are growing
doubts about whether, given the large increase in natural gas reserves in
Canadian oil sands get vote of
confidence (Globe
and Mail, 08/31/09)
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/oil-sands-get-vote-of-confidence/article1271058/
In a deal that proves oil sands projects still hold the
attention of the very deepest-pocketed investors, privately held Athabasca Oil
Sands Corp. sold a 60 per cent interest in two of its undeveloped projects to
PetroChina. The
Finnish companies trying for
breakthrough in harnessing wave power (Helsingin Sanomat,
08/31/09)
Two Finnish companies, Ecowave and AW-Energy, are both
attempting to make a technical breakthrough in wave energy technology. The small
Finnish enterprises are quietly trying to turn wave power technology into an
export item. “Wave energy is fairly small in the Finnish coastal areas, which is
why the prospects are great specifically in the export sector,” says Technology
Director Reijo Munther from the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and
Innovation (Tekes).
New team for
http://www.upstreamonline.com/live/article186920.ece
Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), Norway’s
central bank which oversees the 2.47 trillion kroner ($410 billion) fund, called
the Government Pension Fund – Global, has named a new team of executives to
manage the fund after record losses incurred last year wiped out gains from 12
years of investment. The fund booked a record Nkr633 billion loss last year,
wiping out gains over the past 12 years amid tumbling global
markets.
http://marinelink.com/Story/ShowStory.aspx?StoryID=216573
Analysis of 19 target countries and 26 key onshore and
offshore market sectors, ranging from land drilling equipment to offshore
operations, has revealed that overall expenditure levels are expected to total
$2 trillion over the 2009-2013 period. These are amongst the key findings of a
new report commissioned by Norwegian oil & gas partners INTSOK from energy
business analysts Douglas-Westwood.
http://www.alaskajournal.com/stories/082809/loc_1_001.shtml
Fifteen years after establishing its first hydroelectric
facility, the city of King Cove is on a mission to bring a companion hydro
facility online by 2011 in an effort to hold down power costs and sell energy to
a fish processing plant critical to the local economy. Recently completed
feasibility studies indicate that Waterfall Creek, a parallel but separate water
source, has the potential to add another 1.4 million kilowatt hours a year to
the city's renewable energy output.
Finnish utility to invest EUR 170 mln
in smart electricity meters (NewsRoom
http://newsroom.finland.fi/stt/showarticle.asp?intNWSAID=22651&group=Business
Finnish utility Fortum said it would invest some 170
million euros in a “smart” electricity metering system in
http://www.barentsobserver.com/russia-adopted-new-energy-strategy.4625792-116320.html
http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/news/news_detail.cfm/news_id=14858
The U.S. Department of Energy delivered more than $51
million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds on August 25 to Guam and
the states of
BP takes over Arctic drilling rig
from StatoilHydro
(BarentsObserver, 08/26/09)
Norwegian energy major StatoilHydro will let BP use the
rig Polar Pioneer from year 2011, although the company has a contract with rig
owner Transocean until 2014. The Polar Pioneer, one of few rigs licensed for the
Barents Sea, will be used in BP’s Frigg project in the
Links
and Resources
From Victor
Santos-Pedro, Director of Marine Safety for Transport
From Steve
Smith, Chief Technology Officer for the University of Alaska:
University of Alaska Fairbanks was just awarded a grant from the National
Science Foundation for a project called “cable on the
tundra” to research the possibility of laying fiber optic cable literally
across the tundra to extend broadband to rural Alaska. The university is doing
the project in partnership with GCI; Rorik Peterson in the UAF School of
Engineering is the point of contact.
From
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