The local Doomsday Vault zombies, aliens in UFOs and other misfits that apparently are abundant in Svalbard will be getting more company in the future in the wake of a nuclear holocaust that will challenge “what’s left of humanity…to rise again to rebuild civilization.” That’s the scenario of “Code Name Svalbard,” a single- and multi-player
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Random weirdness for the week of March 8, 2016
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‘Only’ a 530M kr. loss: Store Norske’s deficit shrinks in 2015 from 902M kr. in 2014 as drastic downsizing continues
What may have been Store Norske’s last year of “regular” coal mining was not a good one by any means, but it was a lot better than the year before that led to the near-total shutdown of operations. The company lost 530.3 million kroner in 2015, compared to a record loss of 902.2 million in
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Norwegian Polar Institute reports 2015 was ‘the top year’ for climate research, but not for researchers
It was “the top year” for climate research, but the climate for researchers took some hits. The Norwegian Polar Institute had one of its highest-profile years ever, due in large part to the six-month Norwegian Young Sea Ice Cruise that began in January of 2015, according to the institute’s annual report for the past year.
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Fishy business: Heavy commercial fishing near Svalbard wreaking havoc on marine life, Greenpeace claims
The cod fishing might be great, but fishing for cod isn’t great. That’s the assessment of Greenpeace in a report released earlier this month showing a five-fold increase in the amount of cod caught in the Barents Sea near Svalbard since 2001. More than 100 Norwegian and Russian trawlers fished in those waters during the
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Home fires: Rentals continue to be scarce and costly despite layoffs; politicians point fingers at who’s to blame
There’s lots of newly-built housing, people are being laid off by the hundreds – yet places available for rent are extremely rare and costly Dozens of Longyearbyen residents have scrambled to find housing on short notice during the past couple of months due to the destruction of 11 homes in the Dec. 19 avalanche and
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‘A Tribute to Solidarity': Gala celebrates, honors those affected by the Dec. 19 avalanche
Difficult as it might be seeing Bendik Adamiak-Husby, 7, show a flair for his deceased father’s diverse musical talents, the moment is meant to celebrate of the future, not mourn for what he and his two young siblings – Mali, 8, and Rasmus, 6, – have lost. The children of Atle Husby, 42, one of two
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Fire forces evacuation of Stormessa, closure of some businesses due to damage and toxic residue
A fire apparently ignited by a battery left overnight in a charger forced the evacuation of and caused significant damage to Stormessa, with some businesses remaining partially or entirely on hold a week after the incident. A fire alarm in the building in Nybyen was triggered just before 1 a.m. March 10, with an equipment
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Briefs from Svalbardposten for the week of March 22, 2016
Low-quality diesel a threat to cars; new fuel offered free Vehicles filled with diesel between Feb. 19. and March 17 are at risk of engine failure due to low-quality fuel meant for boats being delivered to Svalbard Auto, according to Frank Jakobsen, administrative director of LNS Spitsbergen. He said the error happened because his company
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Randon weirdness for the week of March 22, 2016
It’s getting to be that time of year when lots of people are doing publicity stunts for various charitable/political/commercial causes, especially beginning in April when seemingly every expedition to the North Pole has some sort of “mission.” Among those managing to earn actual news coverage during the past week was Joachim Haraldsen (a.k.a. Noobwork on
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Goading Dutch: Piet Oosterveld, 77, famous polar bear wrestler and researcher, dies
Piet Oosterveld, 77, a biologist who was part of the historic 14-month Dutch Svalbard Expedition during the late 1960s and survived a fight with a polar bear in Svalbard two decades later, died this week of unspecified causes. He remained involved in Svalbard research throughout his life, including participating in last August’s 10-day Netherlands Scientific
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Hot and bothered: Longyearbyen’s temperatures more than 10C above normal from December to February
If you’re feeling like we’re in a god-awful cold spell, stop bitching: this is supposed to be normal weather this time of year. You just haven’t had a chance to get acclimated to it. Temperatures in Longyearbyen were more than 10 degrees Celsius above normal during the months from December to February, according to the
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BREAKING: Magnitude 5.3 earthquake rattles Longyearbyen, no injuries or serious damage reported
An earthquake measuring 5.3 on the Richter scale rattled Longyearbyen and the nerves of some its residents at about 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, but no injuries or severe damage was reported to officials. The earthquake was centered in Storfjorden near Edgeøya, according to the Norwegian Seismic Array. A short tremor was followed by one lasting about
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Briefs from Svalbardposten for the week of March 29, 2016
Debris from homes wrecked by avalanche go to mainland The remains of the 11 homes destroyed in the Dec. 19 were placed on a freighter for transport to the mainland last Wednesday. The Hagland Captain is carrying about 3,000 cubic meters of wood fragments, five or six large containers of hazardous materials such as appliances
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Finnair grounded: Norway refuses to allow direct flights between Helsinki and Svalbard, citing 1978 agreement
Finnair has cancelled plans to offer direct flights between Helsinki and Longyearbyen this summer after Norway’s government refused to authorize the route, citing a 1978 agreement between Norway and Finland that prohibits the latter country from offering flights to the archipelago. The airline has three weeks to appeal the decision by Norway’s Civil Aviation Authority.
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Slick reaction: Big oil: Don’t sweat Arctic spills; Scientists: OK, let’s spill oil in Svalbard and see what happens
Drilling for oil near Svalbard is safe and any spills will be no big deal, according to a conglomerate of petroleum companies. But folks not reassured by the industry’s slick words might take comfort knowing oil is being deliberately spilled into the archipelago’s pristine waters even as we speak. The industry report released last week
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Organic producer: Svalbard Church’s new 250,000 kroner organ makes old instrument seem like ‘plastic’
For his first hands-on experience with all those knobs inside the church, Jovna Dunfjell was dressed in his finest. “The first day I sat here all day,” he said. The lessons learned during that session in early March and many more during the next two weeks were heard during the first concert featuring Svalbard Church’s
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Briefs from Svalbardposten for the week of March 5, 2016
Historic trestles getting fresh legs starting this spring Longyearbyen’s historic coal mining trestles are getting new legs to stand on, so to speak, as rotting poles supporting the massive wooden towers are scheduled to be replaced starting this spring. The trestles were used to transport coal by cable car from the center of Longyearbyen to
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Brash landing: Russia’s plans to have military instructors land in Longyearbyen may violate Svalbard Treaty
Russia is planning to have military instructors make a stopover in Longyearbyen as part of a large-scale paratrooper exercise near the North Pole this month, an action that may violate the Svalbard Treaty. The stopover, first reported by The Independent Barents Observer, will involve Russian airborne forces, plus possibly troops from allied countries such as
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‘Not a people zoo’– locals peeved at tourists peering and peeing at cabins near town
OK, let’s try this again: Just because locals are living the wild life doesn’t make them wildlife. Numerous complaints about tourists – and maybe even a rogue tour guide or two – intruding on private cabins (occupied and not) have been voiced in recent weeks, with visitors doing everything from barging in uninvited to using
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Random weirdness for the week of April 5, 2016
Longyearbyen residents are so deliriously delighted they’re delusional about where they live, at least if this photo is how the town actually looks instead of the place locals think they’re living. The Argentinian newspaper El Sol features this picture in an article headlined “The Happiest People Are the World’s Northernmost,” which digs up a few
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