ARCTIC: Russia Ready for Conflict & more – 24th Sep 2024

Góðan daginn from Keswick Village! This is the Rorshok Arctic Update from the 24th of September twenty twenty-four. A quick summary of what’s going down North of the Arctic Circle!

Russia continues to threaten the safety of the Arctic. On Friday the 20th, Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister told Russian state media agency Tass that the country is “fully ready” for a conflict with NATO in the Arctic. Lavrov said that his country has seen NATO increasing its own militarization of the Arctic and in response, Russia is preparing to defend its military and political interests in the far north.

This week has also seen many other nations commit to new levels of Arctic defense. The governments of the UK, Germany and the US all announced Arctic defense plans and strategies specifically designed to counter threats from Russia.

The UK foreign minister visited Norway on Wednesday the 18th and confirmed the two nations will be working more closely together in securing the North Atlantic.

The US air force held a joint meeting on Tuesday the 17th between the air forces of the US, Norway and Sweden in which they discussed a multi-pronged plan to counter Russian threats.

On Thursday the 19th, the German government published a new Arctic policy in which the country said that the two greatest threats to Arctic health are climate change and Russia. The plan strengthens Germany’s support for NATO allies in the north.

Environmental threats to the Arctic are just as dangerous as military threats. On Thursday the 19th, the Greenland Police revealed that a ship had sunk near Nanortalik in South Greenland. Thankfully everyone onboard was able to be evacuated safely before the ship sank, but the police confirmed the ship contained about 20,000 liters of diesel fuel. Greenlandic authorities are working onsite to prevent the fuel from spreading.

Greenland is very vulnerable to climate change but its government is finding unique ways to benefit. Wired magazine reported on Thursday the 19th that the Greenlandic government has granted a license to the Arctic Water Bank, a new startup, to build a dam in southern Greenland and collect glacial meltwater to sell around the world. The company believes that countries lacking freshwater will be eager customers.

However, this is not the first attempt to collect and export water from Greenland. According to the country’s government, there are eighteen licenses for collecting and selling water in Greenland, but the costs involved have been prohibitive to making any profit so far.

Northern countries are all trying to develop their Arctic regions but its remoteness has been the key challenge to progress. The Grays Bay road and port project in Canada looks to change that. On Wednesday the 18th, the CEO of West Kitikmeot Resources Corp, one the project developers, announced that the estimated cost of the project which aims to revolutionize transport links from the remote Nunavut region to southern Canada, has almost doubled. The new projected total cost is almost $750 million US dollars, and seventy-five percent will have to be covered by federal funding. The project is still in the planning stage but the costly endeavor could eventually make travel to far northern Canada easier than ever before.

Elsewhere in Canada, progress is being made to recover from past mistakes. On Wednesday the 18th, Dr Joss Reimer, the president of the Canadian Medical Association, delivered a formal apology for its role in past and ongoing harm to Indigenous people in Canada’s health system. She acknowledged that Canada has failed to address anti-Indigenous racism and that the health system has a 150-year history of abuses against Indigenous Canadians. Dr Reimer said that with this recognition of past failings, she hopes trust and support can be built between all Canadians.

In other news, Indigenous Alaskans are reliant on salmon for their nutrition and economy but the vital fish has been in annual decline for many years. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game reported on Thursday the 19th that even though sockeye salmon are currently plentiful in number, they are also weighing in at the smallest size on record. To address the struggling salmon population, on Monday the 16th the US federal government announced a $3 million dollar grant for Alaska to improve ecosystem health and Pacific salmon resiliency. This money is expected to fund work to restore crucial salmon habitat over the next five years.

Norwegian salmon isn’t faring so well, either. The Institute of Marine Research reported on Thursday the 19th that the northern Norwegian Sea has seen a sudden spike in temperature, which has provided a perfect breeding ground for salmon lice. Anne Dagny Sandvik, a researcher at the Institute, called this an extreme situation with lice numbers higher than ever seen before. The lice are parasites that will eventually kill the fish and spread to another host. Fishing companies are slaughtering countless salmon in an attempt to prevent the spread of the lice.

Even though the relief of winter approaches, this summer warns that future warm summers will result in more lice booms, salmon slaughters, and a struggling fishing industry.

In more hopeful news across the border, the Swedish Energy Agency reported on Friday the 20th that it is investing over $100 million US dollars into a state-of-the-art low emission steel mill being built in Sweden’s Arctic region. The mill, named Stegra, has been under construction for several years but once running, it will be the world’s first almost emission free steel and iron production plant as it will emit 90% fewer carbon emissions than regular steel mills.

On another note, over the last year, the frequent volcanic eruptions in Iceland have been a constant source of pain for the residents of Grindavik who were evacuated last November and haven’t been safe to return home since. The Icelandic government announced in February that it would purchase the homes of any residents who wish to leave. Þórkatla, the real estate company set up to facilitate this, reported on Saturday the 21st that it had purchased about 900 of the 1,200 buildings in Grindavik. Þórkatla has no development plans for the town at present, and offers buy back clauses for any selling residents as the whole country waits to see what the future holds.

Last month, the European Space Agency, or ESA, celebrated the launch of its Arctic Weather Satellite, which promises to significantly enhance weather forecasting in the region. Unlike previous satellites that took up to twenty-four hours to gather polar data, this new satellite delivers near-instant updates. On Thursday the 19th, the ESA reported that the satellite has already proven its value by tracking Storm Boris as it wreaked havoc across central Europe. This marks the first major test of its capabilities, offering hope that Arctic-originating weather events can now be identified before moving southward.

To see the first images from the satellite, check out the link in the show notes!

Finally, the hunt is on for a criminal rat in Alaska. The Associated Press reported on Monday the 23rd that in June a single rat was spotted on Alaska’s Saint Paul Island. Elsewhere in the world this isn’t a problem, but Saint Paul Island is one of the few places on Earth that has been able to protect its ecosystem from the spread of rats which have been destroying seabird colonies across the Arctic. Wildlife officials from the local conservation body have since been laying traps laced with peanut butter and food made of ultraviolet material so they can be tracked using a blacklight. The hunt continues and the officials have applied to the US agriculture department to bring a specialized hunting dog to the island for additional help.

Aaand that’s it for this week!

Thanks for sticking around for this episode of the Rorshok Arctic update! If you’ve got questions, thoughts, or just want to say hi, reach out at info@rorshok.com. Don’t forget to hit subscribe on your favorite podcast app!

Bless Bless!