September 6, 2011

International

Fortune which could fund dream of independence (September 6, 2011): One community is gripped by the great Arctic oil rush – the 57,000 people of Greenland, the world's biggest island. Officially a self-governing dependency of Denmark, Greenland is increasingly chafing at the reins held in Copenhagen, and just as Scotland once did, is beginning to see the 20bn barrels of oil thought to lie under the seas off its coasts as the fortune that might finance full independence.

Unlocked by melting ice-caps, the great polar oil rush has begun (September 6, 2011): Trillions are at stake, and the ecological risks are equally huge. Michael McCarthy reports It's the melting of the Arctic ice, as the climate warms, that makes it possible — and you can understand why they're all piling in. In July 2008, the US Geological Survey released the first ever publicly available estimate of the oil locked in the earth north of the Arctic Circle. It was 90 billion barrels, representing an estimated 13 per cent of the world's undiscovered oil resources. If you're an oil company, or an oil-hungry economy, that's more than enough to make your mouth water.

Oil exploration under Arctic ice could cause 'uncontrollable' natural disaster (September 6, 2011): Any serious oil spill in the ice of the Arctic, the "new frontier" for oil exploration, is likely to be an uncontrollable environmental disaster despoiling vast areas of the world's most untouched ecosystem, one of the world's leading polar scientists has told The Independent. Oil from an undersea leak will not only be very hard to deal with in Arctic conditions, it will interact with the surface sea ice and become absorbed in it, and will be transported by it for as much as 1,000 miles across the ocean, according to Peter Wadhams, Professor of

Oil exploration in Arctic region can cause 'uncontrollable' natural disaster, warns scientist (September 6, 2011): One of the world's leading polar scientists has warned that any serious oil spill in the Arctic, which is oil exploration's 'new frontier', is likely to be lead to an uncontrollable environmental disaster and thus affect its vast areas. According to the University of Cambridge's Ocean Physics Professor Peter Wadhams, oil from an undersea leak in the Arctic would be absorbed in surface sea ice and thus transported as much as 1,000 miles across the ocean, the Independent reports.

The case for a moratorium on oil drilling in the arctic is overwhelming (September 6, 2011): The arguments against drilling for oil in the Arctic are so clear they should make themselves. Given that the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico proved such a challenge to technically-adept BP last year, the difficulty of shutting off a leak in a climate of sub-zero temperatures, which is pitch dark and frozen solid for six months of every 12, can only be imagined. The potential damage to the environment is equally extreme. The Arctic is indescribably hostile, but also fragile – a pristine, wilderness ecosystem barely touched by human interference.

Would-be Chinese investment a hard sell with islanders (September 6, 2011): Fears about China's intentions and unpleasant past dealings stalling process A Chinese amateur poet and business tycoon wants to invest about $200 million in a 300 square kilometre "paradise tourist destination" in Iceland, but is coming up against what many islanders consider the unpleasant after-taste of their dealings with Vancouver company Magma Energy Corp.

Russia to get 20 new national parks: Putin (September 6, 2011): A total of 20 national parks and 11 natural reserves will be opened in Russia over the next 10 years, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said. […..]Putin also said Russia would continue to clean up its Arctic territory, which has been polluted with industrial contaminants. There were around 40 to 60 tonnes of oil spilled in the Arctic region. ‘Everything should be cleaned since it is leaking and rusting,’ Putin said.

Northern Sea Route setting Arctic commerce records (September 5, 2011): Last week, a tanker set the all-time speed record for crossing the Northern Sea Route over Russia. It successfully passed through Alaska's Bering Strait and delivered its natural gas cargo to Thailand. "The STI Heritage arrived in the Bering Strait on July 29, having completed the NSR passage in a time of just 8 days," the Marine Log blog reported on Aug. 30. "The vessel arrived at her final destination, Map Ta Phut, Thailand on August 16, 2011, completing the total voyage (from her previous discharge in Houston) of approximately 9,000 Miles."

Regional

Most Nunavut toddlers lack healthy diet: studies (September 2, 2011): Reports focusing on Inuit households, children show many are food insecure More than half of Nunavut's Inuit preschool-aged children are lacking adequate daily nutrition, a new pair of studies suggests. Research published this month in the Journal of Nutrition and the International Journal of Circumpolar Health showed that 56 per cent of Nunavut Inuit households with a young child were considered "child food insecure" in a dietary health survey.

Feds seek resolution to narwhal tusk trade ban (September 2, 2011): Ottawa wants to resolve a simmering dispute with Nunavut communities over the export of Narwhal ivory, the federal fisheries minister said, during an annual meeting in Iqaluit this week. Keith Ashfield, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, said the restrictions on the international export of narwhal tusks and related from products from 17 communities was partly imposed due to international concern.

Scientists hunt viruses in migratory birds (September 5, 2011): Researchers are studying migratory birds in Nunavut as part of a global survey to track the spread of potentially dangerous viruses. Health officials are particularly concerned about a new, highly pathogenic strain of H5N1 (bird flu). So far it hasn't been found in Canada, but world health officials last week recommended sustained monitoring.

From the North to CEGEP (September 3, 2011): With his baseball cap turned backwards and his mirrored Oakley sunglasses, Adams could just be one more cool young guy starting CEGEP at the Ste. Anne de Bellevue college. But Adams is special. He is one of 13 Inuit students beginning his studies at John Abbott this semester. Back home in Nunavik, Quebec's Far North, most young people drop out of school. According to a 2009 report issued by the Canadian Council on Learning, 60 per cent of young Inuit adults age 20 to 24 have not completed high school - in contrast to 13 per cent of non-aboriginal young adults.

Airships Could Prove a Lifeline in the Arctic (September 6, 2011): Airships may soon soar in the cold skies of northern Canada and Alaska, bringing supplies to remote mining communities where planes can’t always fly and roads are cost-prohibitive. British airship manufacturer Hybrid Air Vehicles has announced a major contract with Canada’s Discovery Air Innovations to build airships capable of lifting as much as 50 tons, delivering freight at one-quarter the cost of other alternatives. Though various militaries have expressed interest in airships, this is HAV’s first commercial contract. The first ship is expected by 2014.

Climate Change

Total Arctic sea ice at record low in 2010: study (September 5, 2011): The minimum summertime volume of Arctic sea ice fell to a record low last year, researchers said in a study to be published shortly, suggesting that thinning of the ice had outweighed a recovery in area. The study estimated that last year broke the previous, 2007 record for the minimum volume of ice, which is calculated from a combination of sea ice area and thickness.

Other

More rumors about elusive Bering Strait tunnel: Will it ever happen? (September 5, 2011): This year's extent of Arctic sea ice could be the second smallest ever, making the Northwest Passage and Northern Sea Route ever more navigable. But in and around the Bering Strait, the amount of ice wouldn't matter if the plans to build an underwater tunnel between Russia and Alaska are realized. Though the idea was initially floated by Tsar Nicholas II in 1905, it was scrapped by the Soviets and then again by the economic meltdown of the 1990s following the Soviet collapse. Vladimir Putin reignited Russian interest in the project and raised the issue with former president George W. Bush in 2008.

Aurora Expeditions Makes History on North East Passage (September 6, 2011): Australian expedition-cruise company, Aurora Expeditions, has become one the first companies to ever complete Russia's North East Passage in an ice-strengthened passenger vessel. On board Russian vessel, Akademik Shokalskiy, the 50 passengers, 10 staff and 23 crew departed Murmansk on 10 August 2011, taking 26 days to traverse Siberia's vast north coast and crossing nine time zones to arrive in Anadyr on 5 September 2011.