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July
8, 2005
U.S. cleaning global warming out of talks
SIKU CIRCUMPOLAR NEWS SERVICE
Drafts of a statement on climate and energy that negotiators are preparing
for this week's G8 summit of the leaders of the industrial nations show big
differences between the United States and the other seven countries that make
up the group: Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia.
Documents for the G8 obtained by The Observer show U.S. officials:
- Removed all reference to the fact that climate change is a "serious
threat to human health and to ecosystems";
- Deleted any suggestion that global warming has already started;
- Took out any suggestion that human activity was to blame for climate change.
Among the portions removed was the following: "Our world is warming. Climate
change is a serious threat that has the potential to affect every part of the
globe. And we know that ... mankind's activities are contributing to this warming.
This is an issue we must address urgently."
"All of the changes in the June 14 draft are the result of the White House
refusing to be part of any statement that says that action on climate change
is urgent, that impacts are already being felt and that the science is strong,"
said Philip Clapp, president of National Environmental Trust.
Recently, the New York Times reported that a White House official who had previously
worked for the American Petroleum Institute repeatedly edited government climate
reports to downplay links between greenhouse gas emissions and global warming.
July
8, 2005
Midsummer brings magic and tragedy
SIKU CIRCUMPOLAR NEWS SERVICE
In Finland's northernmost region of Lapland there were three accidental drownings
on June 24, Midsummer Night, known as Juhannus in Finnish. Drownings are common
in Finland during the summer as drunk party-goers head home across lakes in
small boats and capsize. According to the Helsingin Sanomat newspaper, 11 drownings
were reported on the 24th.
In Reykjavik, Iceland, 800 gathered for the midsummer night festival in Laugardalur
in central Reykjavik.
The festival-goers assembled in the family park close to the open air swimming
pool at Laugardalur. The pool was open and admissions were free.
According to Icelandic folklore, cows start speaking and seals take off their
fur on Midsummer night, and stones are imbued with magical powers.
July
8, 2005
Turbot to go
SIKU CIRCUMPOLAR NEWS SERVICE
There's a new plan to send fresh turbot from Ilulissat, Greenland to Europe.
Three days after being caught in the Ilulissat fiord, the fish would be served
up at fancy restaurants in Denmark, France, Belgium and northern Germany.
The new company behind this plan is called Greenland Glacier Seafood and its
shareholders include 42 fishers and residents in Ilulissat.
In addition to sending turbot to Europe, the company also plans to promote
the Ilulissat's ice fiord, which is on the list of Unesco´s World Heritage
sites, says the Sermitsiaq newspaper.
July
8, 2005
Expense account forces minister's resignation
SIKU CIRCUMPOLAR NEWS SERVICE
Greenland's minister for housing, environment and traffic, Jens Napaatooq,
resigned on June 23 after KNR Radio News and Nuuk TV, revealed he had racked
up an expense account of over 400.000 Danish kroners ($80,000) last year.
He used the money at nightclubs, eating at expensive restaurants in his travels
in Denmark, and even bought some drinks at a go-go dance bar in Copenhagen.
In an average a day in he spent about 1.400 kr ($325).
The cabinet held a meeting following Napaatooq´s resignation, and Premier
Hans Enoksen determined he would assume Napaatooq´s portfolio until the
government can appoint a new minister for housing, environment and traffic when
legislative assembly members meet in the fall.
July
8, 2005
Police complaints on the rise in Greenland
SIKU CIRCUMPOLAR NEWS SERVICE
Greenlanders do not seem happy with their police force's performance in the
past year, national radio news channel DR reported.
Greenland's police complaint commission said complaints over police conduct
had doubled compared with 2003.
The commission received 31 new reports last year, some of them quite serious.
The increase is mostly due to criminal cases against police officers and episodes
of prisoners suffering harm in police custody.
One case included a police officer who was charged with having a sexual relationship
with a child under 15.
July
8, 2005
Danish club thwarted in bid for whale meat
SIKU CIRCUMPOLAR NEWS SERVICE
The Greenlandic "Proviantclub" in Copenhagen tried to import almost
one tonne of whale meat to Denmark, reports KNR radio news in Greenland.
But the whale meat is still in a freezer in Aalborg, Denmark.
The meat was sent from Greenland to Aalborg almost six months ago, but apparently
it was imported without all the paperwork required by law.
About 800 Greenlanders in Denmark had established the buyer's club to import
Greenlandic country food.
Greenlanders are permitted to import five kilos of whale meat and clubs may
also purchase the meat as well.
But in this case there were apparently errors in the paperwork.
The department leader of the Royal Arctic Line in Aalborg explained said no
breach of the law was intended, but the laws are "complicated."
July
8, 2005
Sisters reap reward for what they sew
SIKU CIRCUMPOLAR NEWS SERVICE
Two aging sisters from Aasiaat received the 2005 Greenland Cultural Prize for
maintaining the old tradition of sewing.
The 76-year-old twin sisters from Aasiaat received the highest cultural award,
worth $10,000, on June 21, Greenland's National Day.
Benedikte and Regine Brandt now live in Aasiaat, but they are originally from
a tiny community, Iginniarfiarfik, where they saw women working with seal skin
and sewing since they were small.
The sisters started to work with sealskin, and after many years they learned
how to make the complex Greenlandic traditional clothes.
"They maintained the old Greenlandic tradition of sewing skin, and had
made the finest and most excellent things out of skins," said Greenland's
minister for culture, Henriette Rasmussen, as she awarded Benedikte and Regine
the cultural prize.
The cultural prize ceremony was held in the cultural house in Nuuk, Katuaq,
and was transmitted direct on Greenland's television and radio networks.
July
8, 2005
No bear meat for homeless Alaskans
SIKU CIRCUMPOLAR NEWS SERVICE
A Juneau homeless shelter has stopped serving donated bear meat after learning
that Alaska prohibits non-profit groups from accepting wild game such as bear,
fox and walrus.
"We didn't know that it is illegal," Jetta Whittaker, executive director
of the Glory Hole, told the Anchorage Daily News.
The shelter accepted bear, which went into many recipes, including burgers,
casseroles and spaghetti.
But last year, Whittaker learned that serving it was contrary to rules set
by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. This year, that has
meant turning down five offers of bear.
Shelter clients said they miss meat of any kind.
"I will eat whatever you put in front of me," one told the newspaper.
"But you cannot live by starches alone."
Alaskan food safety officials said even if the organizations receive bear free
from hunters, eating it can make people sick.
July
8, 2005
Arctic Ozone up this spring
SIKU CIRCUMPOLAR NEWS SERVICE
The winter of 2004-2005 saw the second highest chemical ozone destruction ever
observed over the Arctic.
Polar ozone is destroyed when chlorine, cold temperatures, and sunlight mix
in the atmosphere eight to 50 kilometres above the Earth's surface. Ozone shields
the earth from ultraviolet light, the high-energy light that causes sunburns
and skin cancers, so low ozone levels could threaten the health of humans, fish
and animals.
The Microwave Limb Sounder, an instrument on the Aura satellite, measured 50
per cent ozone loss, the second-highest level ever observed behind the 60 per
cent loss measured in 1999-2000.
July
1, 2005
Tromsø, Norway rocks with "46664" concert
SIKU CIRCUMPOLAR NEWS SERVICE
More than 15,000 people watched stars including Annie Lennox, former Led Zeppelin
front man Robert Plant and Peter Gabriel perform in Tromsø, Norway on
June 14.
Nelson Mandela, the 86-year-old former South African president, hosted the
concert, which was sponsored by Norway's parliament, as part of his "46664"
anti-AIDS campaign. "46664" refers to Mandela's prison number during
his 27 years in jail under apartheid.
Mandela smiled and waved from a giant outdoor stage by the sea and snow-capped
mountains.
"This has indeed been a long journey from Johannesburg in South Africa
to Tromsø in Norway. But we are pleased to be here. Tonight, the people
of Tromsø can stand tall and proud. In hosting this concert, you have
signaled to the world that you care," Mandela said. "In joining you
in Tromsø, we have brought Africa to you. Even though there is a great
distance between our lands, we know that we share a common humanity. This week
the people of Tromsø have demonstrated this common humanity."
Mandela said Tromsø would become the first ambassador city for his 46664
movement.
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