Asia in, EU not yet China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, India and Italy have all been admitted as permanent observer states to the Arctic Council, while the EU will have to wait. Though technically admitted, it still must work out its differences with Canada. Countries are admitted as permanent observer states by consensus between the […]
“We in the lower forty-eight and Hawaii join Alaska’s residents in recognizing one simple truth that the Arctic is an amazing place.” That’s how U.S. President Barack Obama begins his written statement on the first page of the National Strategy for the Arctic Region (PDF), which the White House has just released ahead of next week’s […]
In a subtle swipe at the Arctic Council, Icelandic President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson criticized, “The Arctic has suffered from a lack of global awareness and, as a result, a lack of effective governance.” Ostensibly believing that the Arctic Council is inadequate, Grímsson launched the possibly rival Arctic Circle in Washington, D.C earlier this month. ” The formation of this […]
The Department of State has released a 2000-page draft Supplementary Environmental Impact Statement regarding the XL Keystone Pipeline. In the words of the executive summary, the report “concludes that approval or denial of the proposed Project is unlikely to have a substantial impact on the rate of development in the oil sands, or on the […]
One chapter of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which occurred back on April 20, 2010, has been closed, but not everybody is satisfied with the resolution. On January 29th, U.S. District Judge Sarah Vance approved a November 2012 plea bargain agreement between the British oil giant BP p.l.c. and the United States Department […]
On December 27, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree creating a new buffer zone around Wrangel Island in the Arctic. Wrangel Island and nearby Herald Island have enjoyed environmental protection since 1976, when the USSR declared them to be state nature reserves (zapovednik, in Russian). Wrangel and Herald Islands are the only parts […]
Carbon dioxide, black soot, and nuclear waste are all commonly discussed pollutants in the Arctic. The potential risk of contamination from oil spills is also another pollutant that receives a sizable amount of attention both in the media and in academia. Yet a new study in Marine Pollution Bulletin discusses a pollutant that is quite […]
Many people know the Arctic as the home of fuzzy white polar bears, smiling beluga whales, and mythical-looking narwhals. Yet through his underwater photography, Russian marine biologist Alexander Semenov is trying to publicize the more unknown creatures of the White Sea, located off the coast of northwestern Russia near the Kola Peninsula. Massive scyphozoan jellies, […]
After a run of over five years and 750+ posts, it’s time for me to move on from the Foreign Policy Association blog “Climate Change.” In this time, I’ve tried to bring you some perspective on one of the most important issues of our age. I am a proud tree hugger, certainly, but I believe […]
Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt delivered a lecture to over 300 people at Carleton University last month entitled “Arctic Challenges and the Future Perspectives of Arctic Co-operation. He starts off by discussing how, “more than anything,” Canada and Sweden are linked by geography as they both extend into the Arctic. The two countries also share […]
Last weekend, Hillary Clinton traveled to Norway for two days as part of her ongoing trip to Scandinavia, the Caucuses, and Turkey. In Norway, she first went to Oslo, where she had dinner with Norwegian Foreign Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. He said to the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten, “I’ve spoken with her many times, but we […]
Lloyd’s of London, the British insurance company, and Chatham House, a London-based think tank, have released a report together entitled, “Arctic Opening: Opportunity and Risk in the High North.” The report states that four key industries will be the “biggest drivers and beneficiaries of Arctic economic development.” They are: mineral resources (oil, gas, and mining), […]
I’m sure most of us are familiar with this famous quote from Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels: “If you repeat a lie often enough, it becomes the truth.” Personally, I prefer the much more humorous George Costanza line in a Seinfeld episode when Jerry is trying to defeat a polygraph test being given to him […]
The director of a well-known Cambodian environmental organization seeking to highlight governmental negligence and corruption regarding the issue of illegal logging was brutally gunned down by military police this past Wednesday night. Chut Wutty, director of the Natural Resource Protection Group (and a personal friend of this author), was shot and killed in a car […]
I’ve made a recent move to San Francisco, California, and a few days ago, I found myself wandering around The Mission, a neighborhood that is undergoing rapid gentrification. Apart from the somewhat small but popular Dolores Park (pictured left), there isn’t a lot of green space in the area, in contrast with many other (generally […]