Top of the World Telegraph News from the Arctic
	Vol. 5, Issue 23:  1 September 2009

 

 

 

News from around the Region

 

Maritime

 

Alaska/United States

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 United States. This final rule, applicable upon all navigable waters of the U.S. including the exclusive economic zone and adjoining shorelines, updates Coast Guard requirements for oil-spill removal equipment associated with vessel response plans and marine transportation-related facility response plans. Related article: Proposed rule, non-tank vessel response plans.

 

Major shipping route fosters a plague of sea life (The Washington Post, 08/31/09)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/30/AR2009083002333.html?sid=ST2009083100007

About a third of the 186 invasive species in the Great Lakes are thought to have entered on oceangoing ships in the ballast water they take on for stabilization when carrying little or no cargo. In 2004, the International Maritime Organization, part of the United Nations, drafted a treaty mandating that dumped ballast water contain no more than 10 live organisms larger than 50 micrometers (about the width of a hair) per cubic meter of water. The Coast Guard has issued long-awaited ballast regulations that basically mimic the International Maritime Organization's standards for five years and then become more stringent. The proposed regulations, open for a 90-day public comment period, are less ambitious than what environmentalists and many legislators say are needed to prevent more ballast-borne invasives.

 

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 Alaska on oceans policy (The Tundra Drums, 08/27/09)

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 Alaska this week and discussing the decline in seasonal sea ice and other changes in the marine ecosystem, she heard a common refrain. “Many are anticipating a new Arctic gold rush eventually involving fishing, energy development, shipping and tourism,” she said.

 

Canada

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 Arctic every year, even though shrinking sea ice has led to longer marine shipping seasons. Coast guard officials say their icebreaking fleet is on loan from southern Canada, so the vessels must return south every fall for maintenance and retrofitting in preparation for winter ice-breaking work elsewhere.

 

Sailing the Northwest Passage: Ice floes and Inuit culture (CNN, 08/26/09)

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 Cambridge Bay, which marks the halfway point for the expedition. The crew has sailed some 4,700 nautical miles, with more than 4,000 left to go. The second half promises to be tougher than the first as heavy ice blocks their progress in Victoria Strait and Franklin Strait.

 

Greenland

Increased Arctic ship traffic worries military (Sermitsiaq, 08/25/09)

http://sermitsiaq.gl/klima/article94782.ece?lang=EN

Danish military commanders in Greenland are warning that it is “only a matter of time” before an accident involving a cruise ship occurs in Arctic waters. Speaking during the Greenland Climate Days conference in Nuuk, Navy Commander Jan Bøgsted said the job of monitoring the waters off Greenland could be made easier if the Greenland Command had round-the-clock access to surveillance planes.

 

Norway

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 North Norway. The Norwegian Coastal Administration’s Vessel Traffic Centre (VTS) is responsible for monitoring and guiding of shipping traffic along the coast of Northern Norway. The vessel traffic centre plays a key role in Norway’s maritime safety cooperation with Russia.

 

Region

Hidden in plain view (Russia Profile, 08/27/09)

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?

 

Russia

Russia is breaking into the Arctic with new ship technology (Russia Now, 08/28/09)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/russianow/6105600/Russia-is-breaking-into-the-Arctic-with-new-ship-technology.html

The operational start of icebreaker St Petersburg has helped Russia increase its advantages in the fight for the Arctic’s hydrocarbon and raw mineral reserves. By 2020, Russia proposes to build three more nuclear-powered icebreakers with a capacity of 60MW and one lead icebreaker with a capacity of 110MW, as well as seven diesel-electric and four port-supporting icebreakers.

 

 

Telecommunications

 

Alaska/United States

Editorial: Access and the Internet (The New York Times, 08/29/09)

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 Alaska (Alaska Journal of Commerce, 08/28/09)

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 U.S. wireless market, indicating that more regulation may be coming to the industry under the Obama administration. The agency will take a three-pronged approach in its investigation, analyzing innovation and investment in the wireless market, as well as “competitive conditions” and consumer billing practices. It plans to ask industry players and the public to comment on the issues and summarize its findings in a report that could lead to new regulations.

 

Canada

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/

Canada's wireless carriers have adopted a new code of conduct to better help consumers understand their contracts when they buy a cellphone. The Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association, an industry group representing wireless carriers, says the new code will give consumers full details on rates, terms and coverage offered in their plans.

 

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 Canada's North, says the head of the Canadian Forces' northern operations, Brig. Gen. David Millar of Joint Task Force North. Because communications systems are thin in the region, posing a challenge to everyone, he said the Canadian Forces plans to make it a priority to improve the North's communications system.

 

Facebook's Canada problem (Forbes, 08/27/09)

http://www.forbes.com/2009/08/27/canada-social-networking-technology-security-facebook.html?partner=technology_newsletter

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 Canada's privacy commissioner. The changes will give users more transparency and control over the information they provide to third-party developers of applications such as games and quizzes, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada announced. Facebook will also make it clear to users that they have the option of either deactivating or deleting their account.

 

Greenland

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)

http://euobserver.com/9/28599

Europe's construction of a 21st Century digital Library of Alexandria is plodding along in a rather too unhurried fashion, according to EU information society commissioner Viviane Reding. With just 4.6 million books, maps, artworks and newspapers from Europe's assembly of national libraries, museums, and archives digitised for access on Europeana, the EU's multilingual digital library launched last November, the project is less than half the way to its early goal of building a collection of 10 million items by 2010 - just four months away.

 

Russia

Comstar launches Moscow to Rostov-on-Don fibre link (TeleGeography’s CommsUpdate, 08/26/09)

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 Moscow and Rostov-on-Don. The construction of the 1,350km cable began in early 2008. The network passes through Tula, Lipetsk, Voronezh, Kamensk-Shakhtinsk, Shakhty and Novocherkassk on its way to Rostov-on-Don. Comstar-Regions comprises branches in the Central, North-West, Southern, Volga, Ural and Siberian federal districts, with corresponding centres in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Rostov-on-Don, Saratov, Yekaterinburg and Tyumen.

 

Technology

Happy birthday Internet, welcome to your mid-life crisis (Globe and Mail, 08/31/09)

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/happy-birthday-internet-brwelcome-to-your-mid-life-crisis/article1270723/

Few were paying attention back on Sept. 2, 1969, when about 20 people gathered in a lab at the University of California, Los Angeles, to watch as two bulky computers passed meaningless test data through a 15-foot grey cable. That was the beginning of the fledgling Arpanet network. Stanford Research Institute joined a month later, and UC Santa Barbara and the University of Utah did by year's end. There's still plenty of room for innovation today, yet the openness fostering it may be eroding. While the Internet is more widely available and faster than ever, artificial barriers threaten to constrict its growth. Call it a mid-life crisis.

 

 

Aviation

 

Alaska/United States

Alaska Air tests fuel-saving landing procedure (Anchorage Daily News, 08/30/09)

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 U.S. lawmakers succeed in 2009 where they failed the past two years? (ATWOnline, 08/24/09)

http://www.atwonline.com/channels/indepth/article.html?articleID=2955

When members of the U.S. Congress return to Washington in September from their summer recess, one of the items on their agenda will be FAA reauthorization. The agency's latest temporary funding extension expires on Sept. 30, two full years after its authorization officially lapsed, and the pressure will be on for lawmakers finally to pass legislation that will provide FAA with longer-term funding and a concrete mission. But a number of factors once again could derail the effort.

 

Finland

State to support struggling airlines through discounting airport operator Finavia’s fees (Helsingin Sanomat, 09/01/09)

http://www.hs.fi/english/article/State+to+support+struggling+airlines+through+discounting+airport+operator+Finavia%E2%80%99s+fees+/1135248973472

The Finnish government has lent a helping hand to the struggling Finnish aviation industry. The state-owned Civil Aviation Authority Finavia, which runs Finland’s network of airports and air-traffic control, has agreed - based on a government initiative - to a 10% price reduction for its services for the remainder of the year. This is the first direct state subsidy to airlines within living memory.

 

Greenland

Tourism on the rise in East Greenland (Sermitsiaq, 08/31/09)

http://sermitsiaq.gl/erhverv/article95353.ece?lang=EN

East Greenland needs more tourism flights to cope with the increasing number of visitors, says a tourism company director. Although the company had good relations with Air Greenland, there were problems with the helicopter transport between Kulusuk og Tasiilaq because the service contract between Air Greenland and the self-rule government did not consider the needs of tourists.

 

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, China is much like the USA several decades ago. It has a large population spread across a wide geographical region. A proliferation of airlines has led to growing demand for pilots, and therefore flying schools. Interest in light sport aviation is just taking off. The use of helicopters in the civil sector is starting to grow, especially in the search and rescue segment. “General aviation improves China's transportation system, supplementing infrequent airline services in smaller markets and providing services to communities without airline services,” says Kevin Wu, vice-president of Textron China.

 

Region

Air Greenland reschedules Nunavut visit to discuss air link (CBC News, 08/28/09)

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/north/story/2009/08/28/air-greenland-nunavut.html

Air Greenland is now aiming to meet with Nunavut officials next month, as the airline continues working on re-establishing regular direct flights between Iqaluit and Nuuk. According to an airline spokesman, the airline is not seeking government subsidies, but rather it wants commitments from both the Nunavut and Greenland governments that they'll actually purchase seats and use the route for trips such as political and cultural exchanges.

 

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.

 

Russia

Eurocopter and UTair Aviation establish a new flight training center in Russia (Aero-News Network, 08/31/09)

http://www.aero-news.net/news/commbus.cfm?ContentBlockID=3267db3b-5a7b-4273-8273-a44bd545939e&Dynamic=1

The CEOs of Eurocopter and UTair, signed a memorandum of agreement to jointly develop a flight training center in Tyumen, West Siberia, Russia. This new flight training center will begin operations at the beginning of 2010, and will allow flight crews and technicians to be trained locally in Russia to operate Eurocopter helicopters. UTair has been operating Eurocopter helicopters since 2006.

 

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

Russia's mainline airliner programmes received a domestic and overseas sales lift at the MAKS air show in Moscow. Deals at the event accounted for 36 orders for Tupolev Tu-204s and derivatives, with 26 options, and six orders for Ilyushin Il-96s and derivatives with one option.

 

Technology

Airborne Wi-Fi may soar despite the doubters (The New York Times, 09/01/09)

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

 

Alaska/United States

A housing precedent is set as Alaska village of Newtok looks for a new home (Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, 08/27/09)

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.

 

Canada

Yukon land-claim fight heads to top court (CBC News, 09/01/09)

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 Canada's highest court on Nov. 12, as part of a five-year-old legal dispute between the Yukon government and the Little Salmon Carmacks First Nation. The Yukon government is appealing decisions by two lower courts that say it has a duty to consult with First Nations about land dispositions in their traditional territories.

 

Eastern Nunavut's “relentless warmth” raises erosion concerns (CBC News, 08/31/09)

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/north/story/2009/08/31/nunavut-warm-temps.html

People in eastern Nunavut have been treated to one of the warmest summers yet, but that has also brought up concerns about erosion and melting permafrost in the area. This summer has been the warmest on record in the Baffin Island region, with temperatures several degrees warmer than normal in June, July and August, said David Phillips, senior climatologist with Environment Canada.

 

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)

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/undersea-mapping-supports-territorial-claim/article1267550/

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 Canada … to define our outer limits well beyond 200 nautical miles.” The work is part of a 10-year, $109-million effort by the government to prove that in some areas, Canada's sovereign rights extend far beyond the accepted boundary of 200 nautical miles offshore.

 

Escalating tensions over hunt for oil and gas in the Arctic (Russia Now, 08/28/09)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/russianow/6098600/Escalating-tensions-over-hunt-for-oil-and-gas-in-the-Arctic---Russia-Now.html

Disputes over the Arctic’s discovered and potential deposits are likely to increase. The region’s future will depend on which of the two strategies - that of national self-interest and confrontation, or one of mutual benefit - will finally prevail. The most pragmatic assumption is that Russia, the US, Canada and other Arctic nations should come up with a joint comprehensive strategy for sustainable use of the region’s resources.

 

 

Fisheries

 

Tender for Russian fish processing factory on Svalbard (BarentsObserver, 09/01/09)

http://www.barentsobserver.com/tender-for-russian-fish-processing-factory-on-svalbard.4626511-116321.html

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 Svalbard. “The factory will make it easier for Russian fishing vessels to deliver the catch, as the transit from the fishing grounds to Barentsburg only takes one hour.” said Andrey Krayny, head of the Russian Fisheries Committee.

 

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 Alaska. Essentially irreversible ocean changes are expected along Alaska's Arctic continental shelf within a decade. If acidity is allowed to triple by the end of this century, it could transform the ocean into something fundamentally alien to human experience. There is only one practical way to avoid ocean acidification, and that is by reducing our emissions of carbon dioxide.

 

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 Iceland, 27-28 August. Many of the delegates stressed that the so-called “rights-based fisheries management schemes” improve the economic outlook for the industry and enhance fish stocks.

 

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 Alaska’s fisheries, including salmon, crab and groundfish, and commercial fleets are starting to follow, said David Benton, executive director of the Marine Conservation Alliance. But is the Arctic ready for a fishing fleet? “The lack of scientific information should mean that the nations of the world will restrain themselves until the necessary data are available,” Benton said.

 

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 Norway to draw attention to the need for action at climate change talks in December. The treaty is set to be finalised in Copenhagen by the end of the year, but negotiations have been plagued by disputes over which countries should make emissions cuts and by how much. Mr. Ban has been a strong advocate of action to stop climate change, and is convening his own summit on Sept. 22 to build political momentum for the Copenhagen meeting.

 

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 UK’s national academy of science, found that unless future efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are much more successful than they have been so far, additional action in the form of geoengineering will be necessary if we are to cool the planet. Related blog: Engineering a climate solution.

 

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 Northwest Territories have determined they are emitting methane at a rate of up to 0.6 cubic metres per minute. Pure methane, gas bubbling up from underwater vents, escaping into northern skies, adds to the global-warming gases accumulating in the atmosphere. And pure methane escaping in the massive amounts known to be locked in the Arctic permafrost and seabed would spell a climate catastrophe. Related audio link: Methane being tracked.

 

 

Energy

 

Canadian company gets Iceland energy buy-out green light (IceNews, 09/01/09)

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 Hafnarfjordur. The sale of Icelandic energy resources to foreigners has never happened before and has caused considerable controversy; especially as Reykjavik Energy is a publicly owned company.

 

Gazprom wants Japan to kick-in for pipe (Upstream, 09/01/09)

http://www.upstreamonline.com/live/article187019.ece

Russian gas monopoly Gazprom is talking to Japan about co-funding a major gas link in Russia's Far East to bring gas to a liquefaction plant targeting Asian markets, Gazprom said. The 1350 kilometre (839 miles) pipeline, which will run from Russia's Sakhalin Island to the Pacific port of Vladivostok, is expected to cost around 210 billion rubles ($6.6 billion).

 

In Mackenzie Valley, frustration and a sense of foreboding (Globe and Mail, 08/31/09)

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/in-mackenzie-valley-frustration-and-a-sense-of-foreboding/article1269987/

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 North America, the producers will commit to the northern mega-project without the provision of massive government subsidies; and an increasing sense of foreboding that an opportunity is slipping away.

 

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 Athabasca deal is notable for the value it ascribed to the oil sands, whose worth has been debated ever since Total made a bid for UTS this year that effectively ascribed no value to its oil reserves.

 

Finnish companies trying for breakthrough in harnessing wave power (Helsingin Sanomat, 08/31/09)

http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Finnish+companies+trying+for+breakthrough+in+harnessing+wave+power/1135248947633

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 Norway's oil fund (Upstream, 08/31/09)

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.

 

Norway targets $2T international oil & gas spend (MarineLink, 08/31/09)

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.

 

Alaska city aims for second hydro project (Alaska Journal of Commerce, 08/28/09)

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 Finland, 08/28/09)

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 Finland, adding about 550,000 households and small businesses would be connected to the two-way communication system by the end of 2013. The Finnish government owns a majority of the shares in Fortum.

 

Russia adopted new energy strategy (BarentsObserver, 08/28/09)

http://www.barentsobserver.com/russia-adopted-new-energy-strategy.4625792-116320.html

Russia’s new energy strategy states that the country’s economy eventually will turn towards the use of alternative energy resources. However, before that, the country will boost production of oil and gas. The new strategy comes only five years after the government adopted a strategy for the period until 2020.

 

U.S. DOE awards $51 million to Alaska, New Jersey, and Guam (EERE News, 08/26/09)

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 Alaska and New Jersey for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. Alaska will establish a Residential Renewable Energy Rebate Program to provide rebates of up to $3,750 per household when homeowners install specific renewable energy systems on their homes. The state will also help communities develop pilot projects to install systems that produce both heat and electricity from renewable energy.

 

BP takes over Arctic drilling rig from StatoilHydro (BarentsObserver, 08/26/09)

http://www.barentsobserver.com/bp-takes-over-arctic-drilling-rig-from-statoilhydro.4624947-116321.html

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 Norwegian Sea.

 

 

Links and Resources

 

From Victor Santos-Pedro, Director of Marine Safety for Transport Canada comes news of a new Ship Safety Bulletin dated 27 August 2009: IACS Unified Requirements for Polar Class Ships - Application in Canadian Arctic Waters.

 

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 the Telegraph wires

From the Telegraph wires provides readers the opportunity to share their views on a specific news article and/or notify readers where other published news articles on Arctic issues can be found by electronic means (e.g., web link).  Please direct all inquiries to nhemsath@institutenorth.org. We look forward to your input.

 

Institute of the North 509 W. Third Avenue Suite 107 Anchorage, Alaska 99501 USA www.institutenorth.org +1.907.771.2444

Thank you for your interest in Arctic issues. If you wish to be removed from our mailing list, please send an email to nhemsath@institutenorth.org with REMOVE FROM TELEGRAPH in the subject field.