Arctic Circle

Large icebergs float away as the sun rises near Kulusuk, Greenland, Aug. 16, 2019.

Arctic alternatives: Part II

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Arctic Council has been on hiatus. This week's Critical State, a foreign policy newsletter by Inkstick Media, takes a deep dive into the history of the council as a model of international cooperation.

Arctic alternatives: Part II
A polar bear is shown in the distance standing on a piece of ice among a large grouping of flat floating ice pieces.

How the Trump administration's climate denial left its mark on the Arctic Council

How the Trump administration's climate denial left its mark on the Arctic Council
The harbor of Nuuk, Greenland's capital.

China's Arctic ambitions have revived US interest in the region

China's Arctic ambitions have revived US interest in the region
Abandoned snow-covered buildings

‘I am a hostage of the north’: Trapped in a post-Gulag Arctic city

‘I am a hostage of the north’: Trapped in a post-Gulag Arctic city
A view of Murmansk with a smoke stack and other buildings as the sun rises.

The sun sometimes rises: How one Russian city makes it through the polar night

The sun sometimes rises: How one Russian city makes it through the polar night
nato

NATO begins its biggest war games in decades

Dubbed Trident Juncture, the exercise is by far the biggest in Norway since the early 1980s, a sign that the alliance wants to sharpen its defenses after years of cost cuts and far-flung combat missions.

NATO begins its biggest war games in decades
A person walks through a puddle in Shismaref, Alaska.

An Alaskan village is falling into the sea. Washington is looking the other way.

Shishmaref, Alaska, home to a tightly knit Iñpuiat community of 600 people, is ground zero for climate change in the Arctic. What happens here could foreshadow the fates of other US coastal communities. Why won't Washington pay attention?

An Alaskan village is falling into the sea. Washington is looking the other way.
A large concrete sphere sits on a brown hill overlooking a slate blue sea.

In Iceland, a shifting sculpture for a changing Arctic  

A sculpture in Iceland marks the location of the Arctic Circle — at least the circle's location this year, because it turns out that the Arctic Circle doesn't stay in one place. It's a suggestion of how difficult it is to pin down anything in the Arctic.

In Iceland, a shifting sculpture for a changing Arctic  
Protestors hold up signs at a rally against a proposed Kinder Morgan oil pipeline expansion on Burnaby Mountain in 2014 in British Columbia. In late May, the Canadian government announced it would fund an expansion project for the Kinder Morgan Trans Moun

With pipeline decision, Canada's Trudeau draws ire of environmental supporters

When Justin Trudeau was elected as the prime minister of Canada in 2015 he did so on a platform that pledged to reform the country's environmental laws. Recent news of the Canadian government agreeing to fund a sands oil pipeline extension has many who voted for him questioning his motives.

With pipeline decision, Canada's Trudeau draws ire of environmental supporters
Sámi renideer herder Reiulf Aleksandersen and his son build a fence for gathering their herd on Rooksavardi, or Red Mountain, in far northern Norway.

This family is already being hurt by climate change. They might also be hurt by a solution.

Sámi reindeer-herding families in northern Scandinavia are being hit hard by the impacts of climate change. But some may also suffer from an effort to help address climate change — a big wind farm, being built right through their herding grounds.

This family is already being hurt by climate change. They might also be hurt by a solution.
ANWR porcupine caribou

Drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is more likely now than ever before

The fierce debate over oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is decades old. Now, the possibility is closer to reality, due to a rider on budget measures passed by the US House and Senate.

Drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is more likely now than ever before
Kivalina, AK

Will these Alaska villagers be America's first climate change refugees?

The 8- to 10-foot-thick ice that once stretched way out to sea is all but gone. Increasingly powerful storms batter its exposed coastline. A lawsuit seeking damages from fossil fuel companies was refused by the Supreme Court. Now the residents of remote Kivalina, Alaska are now wondering how long they can hold out and if anyone is willing to help them.

Will these Alaska villagers be America's first climate change refugees?
Russian former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky

It's going to be a merry Christmas for former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky

Former oil-tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky headed to Berlin on Friday, a free man. He was pardoned by Russian President Vladimir Putin after spending a decade in a Russian prison. But what does the future hold for Khodorkovsky?

It's going to be a merry Christmas for former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky

British Columbia rejects oil pipeline, casting Keystone in new light

The argument in favor of the Keystone XL pipeline says if not through the U.S., it'll go somewhere else. But a series of decisions in Canada at least raise the question over whether that is in fact true. If it's not, does that remove one reason the U.S. should approve the pipeline?

British Columbia rejects oil pipeline, casting Keystone in new light

Up North In Search of the Polar Bear

An underwater kiss from a beluga whale and a standoff between a polar bear and a pair of sandhill cranes are just a couple of the stories Mark Seth Lender shares about his travels in Hudson Bay, Canada.

Up North In Search of the Polar Bear