Arctic Climate Breakdown Threatens Complex Disruptions For BC - Van. Sun

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"An international report Monday describing the dire consequences of climate change in the Arctic also issues a stern warning about dramatic repercussions around the globe, including B.C., as a result of warming temperatures and melting ice.

The report warns that global warming is altering the Arctic ecosystem faster than other parts of the world, leading to lost habitat for polar bears and seals, cultural upheaval of aboriginal people, new shipping lanes that could test Canadian sovereignty, increased pressure for offshore oil and gas exploration, a greater risk of skin cancer from ultraviolet radiation, and disruption to buildings and infrastructure from the thawing of permafrost.

Scientists and environmentalists say the Arctic thaw could have serious repercussions in B.C., as everything from oil exploration in the north to forest fires in the Interior and salmon in Lower Mainland rivers could be affected by what happens in the Yukon and the Northwest Territories. The global impact will include population decline of southern birds that rely on the Arctic for nesting, warmer temperatures as a result of the loss of reflective snow and ice, and sea levels rising by as much as a metre during this century.

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B.C. conservationists are taking the assessment seriously, saying it is further proof of the need to take sweeping action to decrease the human impact on the world's ecosystem. Guy Dauncey, a Victoria-based author of the book Stormy Weather: 101 Solutions To Global Climate Change, called the findings in the report "a catastrophe." He noted that seven per cent of the world's carbon dioxide is locked in polar ice. As the ice melts, it releases that gas into the atmosphere, enhancing global warming. Dauncey said the melting of Arctic ice could cause polar bears and seals to vanish and lead to a "collapse of the Arctic food chain."

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http://www.canada.com/vancouver/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=4232128c-df20-411b-9795-a5c7f7fb55ad

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1. Seven percent of the Earth's CO2 is locked in the ice?

Aw, crap. I didn't know that. That's even worse. It sounds like we are going to be looking at a seriously accelerating situation within a few years -- even moreso than I thought.

Once again, buh bye Florida! :hi: