Position update 20.29 CEST: 69.78807 N, 168.32016 W – North of Point Hope. Water temperature: 9.0ËšC

Expedition Report:
From our position in the middle of the Chukchi Sea, the sea between the Russian autonomous area of Chukotka and Alaska, the 49th state of the USA, we can look back on a voyage through the Northeast Passage – or the Northern Sea Route, as they say in Russia.

It is obvious that the conditions met by the early explorers such as Vitus Bering, Fridtjof Nansen, Adolf Erik Nordenski¶ld and Roald Amundsen no longer exists. We passed through in a few weeks, while our predecessors were forced to overwinter once or even twice. Still, it is not an easy passage for any kind of boat or vessel. There is still ice, although not to the extent there used to be, but plenty to make conditions unpredictable for ships. In addition many of the seas you have to pass are very shallow. In the East Siberian Sea, the shipping lane is located 50 nautical miles off the coast, in order for there to be sufficient depth for bigger ships. Lights, buoys and nautical markings are scarce.

That’s from a blog posting by Thorleif Thorleifsson, captain of the “Northern Passage,” offering his “reflections” from the Chukchi Sea.   He notes in an update,”The water temperature is 7.5 degrees. If we weren’t sailing, it would be a great temperature for a swim!”  [He means degrees Celsius, of course.]  And that’s why the ice can keep melting even after the air temperature goes below freezing.

Here’s a video from the ship, with the caption, “In the dark of night, on the Chukchi Sea off Wrangel Island, three men steer the “Northern Passage” past ice floes and icebergs. Persistence and caution is demanded every moment of their journey!

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The drop has been caused by a lack of rain and high temperatures.

Amazon at lowest level for 40 years

Officials in the Peruvian city of Iquitos said the river level had fallen to 14.4ft, a point not seen in more than four decades, and was predicted to drop further.

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The upcoming November election contains a ballot initiative that will threaten all Californians’ health and safety. But the Latino community will suffer disproportionate harm, as CAP’s Jorge Madrid explains.

Proposition 23 will undo California’s Global Warming Solutions Act, also known as Assembly Bill 32, or “A.B. 32,” which has catalyzed billions of dollars in private sector investment in clean energy in the state””creating jobs, businesses, and new technologies that are leading the nation toward a cleaner energy future. Repealing A.B. 32 will make it easier for the worst polluters to continue poisoning Latino communities, exacerbate unemployment in industries where Latinos are already suffering, and weaken opportunities for jobs and wealth building for Latinos in the green economy.

The dirty forces behind Proposition 23 are masking their efforts as “job promotion.” But California’s Latino families should not be fooled. These families have a strong tradition of standing up for the health and safety of their children and communities””especially against environmental threats. They should keep that tradition alive and vote “no” on Proposition 23.

California Latinos are already the most at-risk

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I know that you are shocked, shocked to learn the owner of the offshore oil and gas platform that exploded yesterday in the Gulf of Mexico  had two violations just this year from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s Outer Continental Shelf Civil/Criminal Penalties Program.  This not terribly surprising story is brought to you by TP.  In the AP photo, boats can be seen spraying water on the platform.

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Apologies for the loss of service overnight.  The primary storage system at our Virginia datacenter failed.  CAP’s IT folks worked all night with our storage provider, so kudos to them.  Steps will be taken to prevent this from happening again.  Thanks for your patience!