Arctic Report January 25, 2017

U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK) spoke about the new Defense Department Arctic Strategy at CSIS on Jan. 24. The unclassified version has yet to be released, but the Senator talked the audience through much of its content.
The FY16 National Defense Authorization Act required the Department of Defense to write a new Arctic military defense plan in part to respond to recent Russian activity in the region.

Arctic Report January 17, 2017

Dr. Amy Merten, Chair of the Arctic Council’s Emergency Prevention, Preparedness and Response (EPPR) Working Group and Chief of the Spatial Data Branch in NOAA’s Office of Response & Restoration, spoke about the working group’s accomplishments during an online seminar.
One of six Arctic Council working groups, EPPR addresses prevention, preparedness, response, and search and rescue (SAR) efforts for Arctic environmental emergencies, all with the goal of protecting the Arctic environment from pollution.

Arctic Report December 12, 2016

In his talk about climate change, Christo Artusio, Director of the Office of Global Change in the U.S. State Department, said that the issue’s basic tenants will remain the same regardless of which political party controls the U.S. government, even though the overall message might change.
Artusio’s presentation was hosted by the Environmental Energy Study Institute. His office
handles U.S. government climate change negotiations and assists other nations in adapting to and mitigating climate change effects. Artusio has worked on climate negotiations under the past three presidents.

Arctic Report December 1, 2016

The participants in this panel discussion were Frank Verrastro, Senior Vice President & Chair for Energy and Geopolitics at CSIS, Christi Tezak, Managing Director for ClearView Energy Partners LLC, Adam Sieminski, Administrator for the U.S. Energy Information Administration, and Todd Stern, former U.S. Special Envoy for Climate Change.

Arctic Report November 30, 2016

Speaking at ARCUS in Washington, D.C. about rapid sea-ice changes in the Arctic, Dr. Hajo Eicken said the region is now the scene of increased uncertainty, poses higher risks for users, and will see greater impacts on its local communities, especially from increased maritime activity.
He stressed the importance of prediction networks, which can work from a variety of time scales ranging from a week or less to several months.

Arctic Report September 27, 2016

The Arctic Research Consortium of the United States hosted a panel discussion open to the public in conjunction with the Arctic Science Ministerial. The panel focused on citizen engagement and education about Arctic research and research improvements.

Arctic Report September 13, 2016

CSIS brought together several panels consisting of experts from the scientific, military, and international relations fields discuss the future of the Arctic as it becomes more