On August 3rd, the 50th anniversary of Alaskan statehood, Senator Mark Begich (D-AK) announced the introduction of a package of seven bills focused on developing and protecting the Arctic. Begich, a freshman senator who took over Ted Steven’s seat last November, sat out the traditional “waiting period” before giving his maiden speech on the floor […]
The Obama adminsitration is developing a strategy to finally push through the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The treaty has been stalled in the Senate since 1994, when the United States signed the 1994 Agreement on Implementation of UNCLOS. This compromise included a few notable concessions to the United States, […]
On Friday, there was an interesting op-ed from the New York Times on Sarah Palin’s resignation written by an Alaskan of Inupiat and Lithuanian descent, William L. Iggiagruk Hensley. He is the chair of the First Alaskans Institute and has written a number of books on Alaska’s native people. In his article, Hensley applies the […]
The U.S. government has released high-resolution photographs of the Arctic taken by a spy satellite. Just a few hours before their release, the National Academy of Sciences recommended that the photos be made available to scientists and the general public in order to study climate change – demonstrating the swift action of the government. The […]
It’s been pretty quiet on the Arctic front as of late. Tensions between Russia and Canada are lessening, while the Nordic countries are quietly preparing for Copenhagen in December. Sweden took over the presidency of the EU on July 1st and aims to shine the spotlight on the Arctic, even though it is not technically […]
Governor Palin’s sudden resignation will undoubtedly have consequences for Alaska, the United State’s Arctic outpost. Her tenure in the Last Frontier was marked by strong support for the oil and gas industry and a disdain for environmental protection in the Arctic. Above all, her resignation will likely have environmental advocates cheering. Palin favored drilling in […]
The Toronto Sun reports on Canada’s plan to rebuild its Arctic research stations as part of the $85 million Arctic Research Infrastructure Fund. The country’s main research facility is currently a creaky 45-year old building called the Aurora Research Institute in Inuvik in the Northern Territories. This station, along with three others, will be rebuilt […]
Russia has announced that it is seeking to improve relations in the Arctic, especially with Canada. It seems that the Kremlin is changing from a realist approach to Arctic strategy to a more liberal institutionalist approach, with talk of cooperation, conferences, and summits. Sergey Petrov, the chargé d’affaires at the Russian embassy in Ottawa, stated […]
Greenland – posed to be a major player in the Arctic, with an estimated 8.9 billion barrels of oil in the East Greenland Rift – gained greater autonomy from Denmark on Sunday. Greenlanders are now legally a separate people from Danes, and Kalaallisut has become the official language. The New York Times covered the story […]
Alaska Senator Mark Begich – the Democrat who defeated Ted Stevens in November 2008 – has devised a list of five initiatives to usher in what he calls the “Second Arctic Century,” a reference to the discovery of the North Pole 100 years ago. He discussed some of his proposals in a radio interview recently […]
Most of what we read about the Arctic comes in the form of news articles, foreign policy statements, speeches, and scientific reports. Any books are generally historical recounts of expeditions. However, a novel about the Arctic called Rankin Inlet, by Mara Feeney, has just been published. Feeney became interested in the Arctic after spending a […]
The Canadian navy is delaying its plan to construct a fleet of Arctic patrol boats. It has still not submitted formal requests to shipbuilders for blueprints, and probably will not do so for some time now. The navy’s project management office wrote to the Defence Ministry that “the extent of the delay is unknown at […]
Russia will rebuild Soviet-era Arctic monitoring stations in the Arctic, Canada’s Globe and Mail reports. The monitoring stations can be used for everything from monitoring meteorological conditions to serving as bases for research. At the height of the USSR, there were approximately 100 Arctic stations, but now, there are only 12. Speaking about Russia’s plans […]
Here’s a roundup of recent events in Nordic military affairs. Norway moves military operations HQs to High North Norway has moved its center of military operations to Reitan, becoming the first Arctic state to headquarter its operations command in the High North. This development is in line with Norway’s increasing strategic focus on the High […]
At the end of August, United Nations Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon will visit Svalbard on a fact-finding mission to learn about the effects of global warming in the Arctic. He will travel to the northerly Norwegian island accompanied by Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. Ban will also stop by […]