March 7 , 2003
U.S., Norway, Russia to get rid
of Arctic waste
The United States, Russia, and Norway will spend $35 million on a new Arctic
Military Ecology Cooperation program (AMEC) that's intended to clean up the
dirty Arctic leftovers from Russia's northern nuclear submarine fleet.
The defense departments of the three nations have come up with a prototype
container that can store spent nuclear fuel from Russia's nuclear-powered submarines.
The container is designed to provide environmentally safe 50-year storage as
well as safe transportation. A collection pad for waste stored in these containers
and a nuclear waste processing facility in northern Russia are also in the works.
TOP
March
7 , 2003
Greenland teachers criticize new
school policy
Greenland's new educational policy, Atuarfialak, is supposed to come into effect
in August - and it's intended to meld Greenlandic culture and international
competitiveness into the national school system.
But Greenland's main teachers' association is becoming increasingly skeptical
that the "Good School" program is the answer to their problems.
The Siumut and Atassut parties praised Atuarfialak when they formed their new
Home Rule government coalition in the beginning of the year.
But six months before Atuarfialak's start-up, Greenland's teachers are worrying
the new educational policies will mean more work for them, requiring even longer
days in difficult conditions.
Greenlandic teachers are already faced with increasingly hard times in their
schools. Drop-out rates have increased - some say due to poor Danish-language
skills, low standards and lack of discipline. At the new Business High School
in the south Greenland community of Qaqortoq, half of the student body of 35
has dropped out since last August.
TOP
March
7 , 2003
Iceland: Another Banana Republic?
A group of 1,000 protesters rallied against the Kárahnjúkar hydro-electric
power project in eastern Iceland last week, marching through Reykjavik and throwing
bananas at Iceland's House of Parliament.
They also constructed a "banana monument" to symbolize Iceland's
future as a "banana republic" if the construction of the controversial
$3-billion project goes ahead.
Kárahnjúkar is expected to create 2,000 construction jobs and
between 600 and 1,000 permanent jobs.
The plan calls for the damming of two rivers, draining them through 24 miles
of tunnels, and then pouring the water through turbines to generate 700 megawatts
of electricity. When finished, the plant would sell power to an aluminum smelter
owned by Alcoa, the world's largest aluminum company.
In addition to other protests, nine organizations and over 680 individuals,
both foreign and Icelandic, have already sent Iceland's prime minister letters
against Kárahnjúkar.
TOP
March
7 , 2003
Cops in Northern Sweden accused
of ignoring sex trade
Sweden's Central Criminal Police Force has criticized the local police of Norrbotten
in northern Sweden for lax investigation of the thriving sex trade in that region.
There, as in northern Finland, the growing number of Russian prostitutes has
become a problem, although Swedes, fearful of getting caught with a prostitute
in their home country, often travel to Finland to buy sex.
Finland and Sweden are trying to find ways to address "the cross-border
sex rally" before it gets out of hand.
TOP
March
7 , 2003
Bering Sea community deals with
wave of suicides
Two suicides and two attempts within a week have shaken the Bering Sea village
of Hooper Bay, Alaska.
On Feb. 7, an 18-year-old girl pulled the trigger of a .410-gauge shotgun and
ended her life. The next day a young man shot himself but survived. A week later,
his younger sister tied one end of a short rope around her neck, the other to
the door handle at a local post office, then sat down and asphyxiated.
Hooper Bay is a village of 1,300 halfway down the coast between the mouths
of the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers. From 1995 to 2001, 11 people killed themselves
there.
Among the suicide prevention efforts that seem to have had success are one-on-one
counselling, group sessions and healing circles. A new program funded by the
Association of Village Council Presidents, called "Kinguliamta Ciunerkaat,"
which translates as "securing a future for our children," wants to
use Yup'ik culture and tradition to rebuild the communities' image of self-worth.
Bringing youths and elders together twice a month to talk will help "get
thoughts of [suicide] out of our kids' minds," a local social worker told
the Anchorage Daily News. "This is a very tough time we're growing up in,
and right now we're trying to get that [Yup'ik tradition] back. It's going to
be a lot of work, but we're up for the challenge."
The suicide rate among Alaskans is among the three highest in the U.S. In 1999,
the rate among Alaska natives was double that of non-native Alaskans. The suicide
rate among native children is nine times the U.S. rate.
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