Outline
Discussion of arctic natural gas and oil development focuses on building multi-billion dollar pipelines to deliver energy to markets in mid-continental United States, Europe, and Asia. Such pipelines will travel south across indigenous communities, lands, and territories. Members of these communities will want access to these energy resources and to the benefits from its production. But to gain access, they must involve themselves in the discussions over how these projects move forward. This requires learning new ideas about technology, economics, and regulation.
At StudioPolar, we see a real need for focused research on how these local and transnational visions come to play a part in defining these projects. We are concerned by the way economic and technical details often define a realm of thought concerning development. Such arguments over the best location of energy infrastructure, for example, can conflict with arguments about the identity of places, and their environmental and aesthetic quality, or be used to undermine the claims of local communities on choices about local access to resources.
Anthropological research at StudioPolar focuses on the cultural shifts brought forth by recent proposals to develop arctic energy and other resources in Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Norway, and Russia. We consider regional and federal policy on development, institutional commitments to principles of newly restructured industries, and how the interplay between these different forces contributes to shaping global markets and conceptions of the environment and political participation.
Who is StudioPolar?
StudioPolar is a joint project of the Consortium for Science, Policy and Outcomes (CSPO), and the School of Justice and Social Inquiry (SJSI) at Arizona State University and was founded in 2006 by early career scientist Dr. Arthur Mason – a cultural anthropologist.
StudioPolar taps into the momentum surrounding the International Polar Year (IPY) 2007-08 to create a research network that ensures the development of international and interdisciplinary collaborations early in our careers that will last well beyond the IPY. The IPY comes at a time when focus on the Poles is a pressing concern. The IPY aims to create large international and interdisciplinary research addressing the social, political, economic, cultural and environmental dimensions of Polar Regions on Earth and to increase the general public’s awareness, understanding, and importance of these socio-ecosystems.
Future plans
Our International Polar Year (IPY) 2007-08 activity includes the submission of two multi-year National Science Foundation research grants titled Fresh Paths in Polar Science: An Interdisciplinary Workshop for Early Career Scientists, and, U.S.-Canada Collaborative Study of the Nearly Developing Arctic Natural Gas Industry. We are seeking additional IPY funds from the Canadian government and the Alberta Energy Research Institute to develop the research project titled Policy Coincidence on Mackenzie Delta Gas Development. Members of StudioPolar will also be sponsoring several early career gatherings at IPY events and presenting research at major research conferences around the world during the International Polar Year. For more information on these events email Arthur Mason.
If your institute, company, or governmental organization is interested in posting a StudioPolar link from your site and perhaps posting a news release, if you have this option, we would greatly appreciate it. In the same respect, we would like to feature your organization in our partners and links sections. Also, if you have any information you think should be posted to this website, please feel free to contact me, Arthur Mason, Director of StudioPolar.