Arctos Canadensis

Linguist Lenore Grenoble helps rescue Arctic languages from extinction

Northern Waterways — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 13:30:56 +0000

The University of Chicago Magazine – Since the Soviet Union’s breakup, Grenoble has traveled to remote Siberian corners to document an endangered language called Evenki. Ethnic Evenkis constitute a Russian and Chinese minority of 35,000 nomadic hunters and reindeer herders, but only 5,000 of them use their eponymous language, and almost all mix it with Russian. Evenki speakers, Grenoble says, live in small villages of fewer than 200 residents.

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More information:

Chicago Tribune: “Saving world’s words” (August 23, 2009).
Sorosoro.org: “Kalaallisut, language of Greenland, A lecture by Lenore Grenoble.”
Books: “Evenki” (by Nadezhda Bulatova and Lenore Grenoble, Lincom academic publishers, 1999).
Books: “Saving Languages: An Introduction to Language Revitalization” (by Lenore A. Grenoble and Lindsay J. Whaley, Cambridge University Press, 2005).

Arctic Predators, Caught in the Act (Conservation Photography)

Northern Waterways — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 06:22:18 +0000

The New York Times: To study nest predation, scientists first have to find the nests on the tundra, which is not easy … the conservation society’s scientists are relying more and more on an enormously helpful tool: camera traps. Such devices, which are motion-sensitive, collect pictures of animals as they pass in front of a camera’s lens. That means that scientists don’t even have to be present to record a predation event. Witnessing such an event in person is quite rare; predators can find a nest, consume its contents and leave in a minute’s time. With the remote cameras, we can easily identify the predator species that are doing the most damage to the nests.

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Nature Conservancy: Follow the Thelon Expedition

Northern Waterways — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 15:37:34 +0000

Cool Green Science: The Nature Conservancy’s lead scientist Sanjayan and Canada program director Dr. Richard Jeo are on an expedition through one of Canada’s most pristine areas with young members of the Dene First Nation. They will canoe along the Thelon River ending in North America’s largest and most remote wildlife refuge, the Thelon Game Sanctuary. The region is facing potentially devastating resource extraction threats and the youth attending the trip will be responsible for many important decisions in the future.

Follow their journey (Jim Lake to Hornby Point)

The Nature Conservancy’s Canada Program

Uranium mining rejected at Iqaluit public forum

Northern Waterways — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 19:51:27 +0000

CBC – Many Nunavummiut who attended a uranium forum Thursday night said they do not want uranium mining in Nunavut, while some even attacked the territorys Inuit group for supporting uranium development. More than 120 people in Iqaluit came out to the public forum, which was organized by the Nunavut government as it works on developing its own policy on uranium mining in the territory. After hearing from officials representing government, the mining industry and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, most of those who came up to the microphone made it clear that they want nothing to do with uranium mining … The threat of a nuclear disaster in Japan, which was rocked by a devastating earthquake and tsunami last week, weighed heavily on the minds of many audience members.

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More information:

Government of Nunavut: “Uranium in Nunavut” public meetings, seeks your input by May 15, 2011 (online feedback form, email response, call toll-free, fax, community meetings).
Rabble.ca: “Baker Lake struggles under pressure to allow uranium mining” (April 07, 2011).
Nunatsiaq News: “Video: Interviews from Nunavut uranium event” (March 20, 2011).
Nunatsiaq News: “Nunavut uranium forum reveals stark divisions” (March 18, 2011).
Nunatsiaq News: “Nunavut to hold public forums on uranium” (March 07, 2011).

Nunavut Tunngavik to take second look at uranium mining

Northern Waterways — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 18:40:42 +0000

Nunatsiaq News – Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. says the territory needs to see “Arctic-specific regulations” around the mining of uranium before they can throw their support behind a proposed uranium mine near Baker Lake. NTI president Cathy Towtongie said the organization will review its own uranium policy at an upcoming meeting before launching territory-wide consultations on the issue. “We need to take a balanced approach to make sure we do this right,” Towtongie told Nunatsiaq News. “We don’t have the infrastructure at this point.” The mine’s first port of emergency would be located in Newfoundland, she pointed out. NTI’s remarks are a departure from their previous backing of Areva Resources Canada Inc.‘s Kiggavik proposal, which would build an underground and open-pit mine about 75 kilometres west of Baker Lake.

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More information:

CBC: “Inuit leaders tackle resource development debate” (Feb. 23, 2011).
CBC: “Nunavut Inuit group puts uranium policy on hold” (Feb. 24, 2011).

Northern Photos and Documents Aplenty at Canadiana Discovery Portal

Northern Waterways — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 16:21:43 +0000

Canadian Library Association Digest – The Canadiana Discovery Portal is rapidly becoming the best single source for Canada’s documentary heritage for researchers, students, and the general public. In October 2010, the Canadiana Discovery Portal [currently in Beta mode] surpassed the 60 million-page mark, providing Canadians with access to more than 880,000 items, including over 300,000 digitized books, along with a huge assortment of other types of historical artifacts from across the country.

The Canadiana Discovery Portal is a free service that enables users to search across the valuable and diverse digital collections of Canada’s libraries, museums and archives. It provides Canadians with access to a wealth of digital material such as books, journals, newspapers, government documents, photographs, maps, post cards, sheet music, audio and video files about our nation’s heritage. Whether you are looking for information about your own family genealogy or researching a specific topic in the history of Canada, the Canadiana Discovery Portal is an essential tool for your research.

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More information:

Website: The Canadiana Discovery Portal.
The Bioscope: “Canadiana” (Feb. 13, 2011).
The Globe and Mail: “Google-like search site connects 60 million pages of Canadian history” (Jan. 17, 2011).
ActiveHistory.ca: “Digital Accessibility of Canadian History” (Jan. 17, 2011).

Book Review: “The Magnetic North – Notes from the Arctic Circle” (by Sara Wheeler)

Northern Waterways — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 14:08:40 +0000

Daily Telegraph (UK) – Sara Wheeler’s sympathies have always been with the south. The author of Cherry, a Life of the explorer Apsley Cherry-Garrard and the bestselling Terra Incognita was unashamedly biased in favour of the glorious wastes of Antarctica, and against the “complicated” Arctic. She liked the white wilderness of the area around the South Pole; the north she found worrying. After all, it’s not just chill and wildlife in the Arctic Circle; there is mess, politics and people.

Her concern was justified. To write The Magnetic North Wheeler spent two years travelling around the five countries that poke up beyond the 66 degree line. Canada, the United States, Denmark, Norway and Russia all have their own vast, Arctic territories. And in those vast, Arctic territories lurk some very big personalities. Sarah Palin is in her Alaskan kitchen, looking with narrowed eyes at the Russians across the ice. Roman Abramovich, attracted by the tax laws, registers his companies in Russian Chukotka (and all the grateful Chukchi support Chelsea). Oleg Deripaska – a long way from yachts and cobalt seas – is a big noise in the Norilsk nickel industry.

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More information:

New York Times: “Polar Distress” (Feb. 04, 2011).
The Independent: “Life in a cold climate: How Sara Wheeler is shaking up Arctic exploration” (Oct. 18, 2009).
The Guardian: “The Magnetic North by Sara Wheeler” (Oct. 24, 2009).
The Arctic Book Review: “Magnetic North: Notes from the Arctic Coast” (Feb. 16, 2010).

Are the dumped nuclear reactors leaking?

Northern Waterways — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 14:07:28 +0000

Barents Observer – A total of 16 naval reactors were dumped east of Novaya Zemlya during the Soviet period. Reactors were dumped because accidents with them caused high levels of radiation. Naval yards in Severodvinsk and along the coast of the Kola Peninsula wouldn’t dare to keep them stored near populated areas, nor less to decommission them in a proper way. The “easy” solution was simply to dump them in remote Arctic waters. Most scaring are the six reactors that were dumped with their highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel still onboard. In the early 90ties, several expeditions with Norwegian and Russian radiation experts onboard sailed to the dump-sites in the Kara Sea. Their findings were just partly without worries. Some samples indicated small leakages in the near vicinity of the reactors, while some reactors were not found.

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PBS Tells the Story of Adolphus Greely and Lady Franklin Expedition (Watch On-Line)

Northern Waterways — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 15:08:26 +0000

The American Experience - In 1881, 25 men led by Adolphus Greely set sail from Newfoundland to Lady Franklin Bay in the high Arctic, where they planned to collect a wealth of scientific data from a vast area of the world’s surface that had been described as a “sheer blank.” Three years later, only six survivors returned, with a daunting story of shipwreck, starvation, mutiny and cannibalism. The film reveals how poor planning, personality clashes, questionable decisions and pure bad luck conspired to turn a noble scientific mission into a human tragedy.

Link to source

More information:

Watch on-line.
New York Times Topics: Adolphus W. Greely.
Time to Eat the Dogs: “The Greely Expedition” (Jan. 30, 2011).

Baffinland iron mine construction may start in 2013

Northern Waterways — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 15:09:05 +0000

Reuters – Baffinland (TSX:BIM) said late on Friday that it has submitted a draft environmental impact study to the Nunavut territorial government for its Mary River project on Baffin Island and that it expects to complete the full environmental assessment and permitting process by early 2013. Baffinland, a Toronto-based explorer, is the target of C$590 million $590 million joint takeover bid from top steelmaker ArcelorMittal and private equity-backed Nunavut Iron Ore, which is set to expire on Monday at 11:59 p.m. At stake is a large, high-grade iron ore deposit that could meet Europes demand for the metal, used in steelmaking, for years to come.

Link to source

More information:

Nunatsiaq News: “Rivals join forces, close in on Mary River deal” (Jan. 18, 2011).
Baffinland (Press Release): “Baffinland Announces Submission of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Mary River Project” (Jan. 21, 2011).
Nunavut Impact Review Board: FTP site for Mary River Project NIRB Review (Project #08MN053).