Welcome to ArcticToday

Dear Reader,

We are pleased to bring you this new, expanded platform for our Arctic coverage. You’ve known us as Arctic Now, a circumpolar news partnership.

Now we’re adding more news, opinions, and features from around the circumpolar region — and we’re renaming ourselves “ArcticToday.”

We want these changes to signal our renewed commitment to bringing this region to light for you.

“ArcticToday” is a name we find better-suited to explaining  our mission. Yes, we are a news organization. And yes, we aim to share vital and stimulating news of the region, for the region and as a region. Yet as many of you know, we are also hoping to connect readers — those scattered all around the world — who are attuned enough to the consequences of climate change to understand that the Arctic is of vital importance to them and to our changing planet.

From China to Singapore, observers in countries far from the Arctic understand that a new shipping route across the North Pole will soon completely upend the world’s maritime commercial patterns. Others understand that a key to future food security in a changing world will be sources of protein from the Arctic Ocean.

And of course, today’s Arctic residents know their coastlines are becoming geo-politically significant, as Arctic defense interests sharpen their focus on the region, while also working to avoid conflict in the far North. Then there is what is termed the “economic Arctic” — a rapidly growing cluster of commodity and renewable energy assets that the world to the south finds increasingly attractive. And yet accessing those natural resources in the Arctic — particularly fossil fuels or mining sites — is ever more controversial. And many social challenges — including ensuring the sovereignty of the region’s indigenous peoples — must be addressed as the Arctic’s economies develop. Combined with the need for massive infrastructure building north of the Arctic Circle, all these topics will be followed with interest by the world’s most forward-thinking leaders.

We are delighted to know that you share our deep interest and affection for our Earth’s High North, a place of intrigue and interest for centuries that all of us are together experiencing through the new lens of rapid — and alarming — climate change.

But just as importantly, as Arctic residents, we know — and want to share with the rest of our world to the south — that there are also opportunities from this rapid change. While the perils of rapid sea ice melt and warming are obvious, the upside of this evolution is more subtle. And exciting to contemplate.

In short, we aim to cover it all, and more — with travel features, lifestyle content, and all the texture of a northern life that is foreign to most of the world to the south.

You’ll be noticing something else about us: We’re going to try hard to persuade you to become a paying subscriber.

As with so many news sites, the only way we can continue as a business is to ask you, the reader, to pay us for what we do. We share with you a commitment to understanding the Arctic, so as we expand what we produce, we aim for you to see its value.

Please take me up on this request: Let us know how you find our coverage. Tell us what more or different you’d like from us. As a new and growing organization, we want to be responsive to your needs and perceptions. Our entire team is looking forward to hearing from you about our coverage.

You can find a variety of ways to reach us at our contact page, or you can simply email [email protected]. If you have a story or opinion you’d like to share with our readers, please send it to [email protected]. You’ll hear back from someone on our team promptly.

We look forward to learning more about all of this along with you.

Please do stay in touch.

Alice Rogoff, Publisher