Starting today, scientists and Arctic hunters will meet all week in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut to discuss research methods were animals are concerned.  The meeting, which will see representatives from two Canadian territories, five aboriginal groups, three Canadian federal departments and several universities will meet to discuss ongoing Aboriginal concern that Arctic animals are being harmed through some research methods and also that scientist and researcher are ignoring the vast knowledge base that the Inuit have gathered over several generations. more »

The World Wildlife Federation is urging quick and serious change in order to save polar bears from the devastation of climate change and melting ice in the Arctic. Polar bear expert Geoff York with the WWF recently told reporters that, “No sea ice equates no polar bears. It’s really that simple.” York and the WWF made their plea mere days before a planned meeting between the five Arctic border countries to discuss the plight of the polar bear. The meeting is set in the town of Tromsoe, in northern Norway. more »

Legislation to ban seal products in Europe will hurt Arctic communities, according to Inuit leaders, even though there will be exceptions put into place to protect those communities. The bill is aiming to put into place a ban on the import of all seal products to the 27 members of the European Union and it has been endorsed by the Union’s internal market and consumer protection committee. The proposed bill would have provisions allowing the Inuit trade their seal products for “for cultural, educational or ceremonial purposes.” With this limit on what can be traded, there is worry that the proposed bill will kill all of the Inuit seal trade with Europe. more »

It seems that not all animals that call the Arctic their home will suffer as the ice shelf continues to melt. Scientists are predicting that killers whales that live in the Arctic will actually benefit from the lack of ice. While his may be a good thing for killer whales it could spell even more dwindling numbers for other animals in the area. more »

Summer Arctic sea ice could be a thing of the past as early as 2013, decades earlier than some had predicted, a leading polar expert said last week. Warwick Vincent, director of the Centre for Northern Studies at Laval University in Quebec, said recent data on the ice cover “appear to be tracking the most pessimistic of the models.” more »

The USS Helena and USS Annapolis, two nuclear-powered attack submarines, will be testing their ability to communicate in and below arctic waters 300 kilometres north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. The mission is called Ice Exercise 2009, a classified mission described by the U.S. Navy as the “testing of submarine operability and war-fighting capability” in the Arctic Ocean. more »

Ann Daniels, one of the three members of the Catlin Arctic team studying the ice in the Arctic, has revealed some of the details of the study so far, and the harsh Arctic conditions the team is dealing with. Her account of a scary night spent out in the Arctic, published in the Bradford Telegraph Argus, gives a real feel for challenges that the team are facing. more »

80 jobs in Alaska are being cut by ConocoPhillips as the company finds it necessary to cut running costs, like so many other oil production companies, due to the extreme decline in oil prices from last year’s record high of $144 a barrel. more »