By Shauna Morgan It is often said that resource extraction is the “cornerstone“ of northern Canadian economies. The gritty pursuit of minerals, oil, and gas shaped a ‘frontier’ culture, and in the modern era is said to be the only way northerners—particularly indigenous people—can make a decent living, despite the environmental trade-offs. Indeed, perhaps more

This Article was originally published on the Arctic Climate Change Emerging Leaders (ACCEL) blog. By Eleanora Milazzo  An ever-changing Arctic Over the last decade, a number of key events have shaped the future of the Arctic. Climate change, in particular, has triggered renewed international attention for Arctic issues. First, the release of the U.S. Geological

By Chantal Bilodeau In 2009, after receiving a commission from Mo`olelo Performing Arts Company to write a new play about the intersection of race, class, and climate change, I embarked on a research trip to Baffin Island, in the territory of Nunavut, in the Canadian Arctic.  With no prior experience, I had only a vague

By Erica Dingman Marco Tedesco envisions a scientific narrative that far surpasses the confines of conferences and the annals of academic journals. As a scientist who studies the Greenland ice sheet, his annual trek to the region informs his research and teaching at City College of New York (CCNY). Yet, Tedesco’s wanderlust extends beyond academia,

By Dayanita Ramesh The Arctic Climate Change Emerging Leader (ACCEL) Program is a summer fellowship at the nexus between communication and policy for students and young professionals in North America and Europe. Over the course of the summer, two ACCEL Fellows produced the “Arctic 101” series. “Arctic 101” features a series of articles and educational videos complemented with events, interviews, and

By Libby Leyden-Sussler On September 21, an estimated 400,000 people in New York participated in the People’s Climate Change March, a movement designed to raise environmental awareness. It was one of 2,646 marches that occurred across 162 countries that day. The turnout was unprecedented, and it did not go unnoticed at the New York Climate

By Gianna De Filippis The Arctic is by no means a new tourist destination. In fact, since the 1890s, tourists have been taking ship-based trips to see the “land of mountains and glaciers, of splintered peaks and icy bays.” But modern day tourism—mainly in the form of massive, fuel-guzzling cruise ships—requires a critical evaluation. In

By Erica Dingman Climate scientists and artists engaged in chronicling new phenomenon for the purpose of affecting change seem to have a natural affinity for one another’s work. Yet rarely does one come across an artist as attune to the scientific community as Diane Burko. This is evidenced in her ongoing series of paintings exploring

By Edward Struzik On August 5, 2012, an unusually strong storm formed off the coast of Alaska before moving into the central Canadian Arctic. Climate scientists from around the world watched satellite imagery in wonder as the storm churned, breaking up sea ice cover that was already heading to a record low. The storm, formed

By Cleo Abramian  Recently, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has come under criticism for declaring to a parliamentary committee that he wished to resume commercial whaling in the Antarctic. This comment came in the wake of the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) March ruling to temporarily ban Japan’s annual whale hunt off Antarctica. The ruling