Top Story in the Arctic this week, October 28th!

Doug Burgum, the Secretary of the US interior department, declared that the entire Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is now open for oil and gas drilling. Then, Burgum signed a series of permits to allow the construction of the Ambler Road project, a road stretching for over 200 miles, or about 340 kilometers, through Alaskan wilderness to expand mining opportunities. Finally, he signed documents to allow the King Cove road project to begin, which will build a road through a sensitive bird sanctuary to connect the town of King Cove with its nearest airport.

These projects are set to open Alaska up to industry like never before, but at real risk to the Arctic environment.

Link to the full podcast episode in the bio - @rorshokarctic

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4) Iceland has a new animal, the mosquito. The warming Arctic means new animals are moving to, and surviving in, once frozen countries

Link to the full podcast episode in the bio - @rorshokarctic

#arctic #arcticnews #podcast #science #sciencenews #politics #politicalnews #economy #climate #climatechange #environment

Last week in the Arctic, October 28th rundown:

1) The US Interior Department has announced 3 major Alaskan projects. The Arctic Refuge has been opened up to oil drilling, the Ambler and King Cove Road projects have been advanced

Link to the full podcast episode in the bio - @rorshokarctic

#arctic #arcticnews #podcast #science #sciencenews #politics #politicalnews #economy #climate #climatechange #environment

Disaster struck the Arctic this week. The Associated Press reported on Friday the 17th, that a devastating storm hit the Alaskan coast and its rural communities on Monday the 13th. According to the latest FEMA report from Thursday the 16th, thousands of Alaska Native people have been evacuated, with one confirmed death and two reported missing so far. Hundreds of homes have been destroyed by what state officials are calling one of the most destructive storms in Alaskan history.

Could more have been done to prepare for such a storm? Is a significant question that people have been asking the government. On Thursday the 16th, the Environmental Protection Agency defended its recent cancellation of a 20 million US dollar grant meant to create environmental protections for remote Alaska communities, saying that money is better placed in the US Treasury than being used in Alaska.

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4) Mystery of how Inuit survive in the north on a limited subsistence diet revealed by discovery of huge antioxidant levels in beluga whale skin

Link to the full podcast episode in the bio - @rorshokarctic

#arctic #arcticnews #podcast #science #sciencenews #politics #politicalnews #economy #climate #climatechange #environment

Last week in the Arctic, October 21st rundown:

1) A destructive storm hit western Alaska. Communities have been destroyed, thousands evacuated, and at least one person has died. This comes shortly after the EPA pulled millions in climate resilience funding to the region

Link to the full podcast episode in the bio - @rorshokarctic

#arctic #arcticnews #podcast #science #sciencenews #politics #politicalnews #economy #climate #climatechange #environment

The biggest political story of the Arctic in the last year has been the US attempting to take control of Greenland, and this week saw a further escalation. On Tuesday the 7th, the US Senate confirmed Ken Howery as ambassador to the Kingdom of Denmark, which also covers Greenland and the Faroe Islands.

When President Trump nominated Howery to the position last December, he stated that Howery’s primary task would be to ensure the US takes ownership and control of Greenland, calling it an absolute necessity. With Trump’s choice of ambassador confirmed, a new phase of Arctic diplomacy is about to begin.

#arctic #arcticnews #podcast #science #sciencenews #politics #politicalnews #economy #climate #climatechange #environment