Newsletter: U.S. Arctic Strategy, Canadian Genoside and Environmental Toxins in Norwegian Teenagers
Scientists in Tromsø have worked long and hard to map the extent of environmental toxins in the Arctic population, and the results are frightening. From the left; Maria Averina, Jan Brox, Sandra Huber. (Photo: Jan Fredrik Frantzen/UNN)
Dear reader!
Friday, we were the very first to bring you the box-fresh new U.S. Arctic Strategy. The long-anticipated update to the U.S. Arctic Strategy is a continuation of Secretary of State Pompeo’s recent remarks, and the U.S. rebukes Chinese and Russian efforts to challenge the region’s rules-based order.
In Canada, a recently published report defines the murder and disappearance of indigenous women a genocide. The report also points out that this has happened while the government has stood passively by and watched.
Across the pond, in Denmark, there were elections this week and the social democrats won a convincing victory. What consequences the change of government will have for Greenland and its population remains to be seen. Several in Greenland have voiced the need for a separate Arctic minister.
Novatek, Russia’s largest privately owned gas corporation, secured the final piece of the puzzle of investors to realise its latest project, the Arctic LNG2. Japanese Mitsui & Co will probably acquire the final ten percent of the shares. At the same time, news broke that container shipping terminals are planned along the Northern Sea Route.
Environmental toxins kill 1,000 people in the Nordic countries every year, according to a recent report. Much goes to indicate that they may also cause damages to children’s central nervous system. Scientists in Tromsø have worked long and hard to map the extent of environmental toxins in the Arctic population, and the results are scaring: They have e.g. found higher blood pressure and cholesterol as a consequence of environmental toxins – amongst teenagers!
You can also read the op-ed from the Toronto Star that we have been allowed to republish. It argues that it is about time Canada invests in its northern population and argues that that is the only way in which the country can reach its dreams and ambitions in the High North.
Enjoy your weekend!
Siri Gulliksen Tømmerbakke,
News Editor, High North News