News of the North

While ARCTIC the music project deals with a sudden burst of unusually cold weather this week in Vancouver, BC, our namesake in the North is suffering just the opposite problem. Here are some of the changes that have been observed recently, due to global warming:

• Arctic clouds have been found to be mainly liquid water when they should be ice.
• Overall, the temperature in the Arctic has been two degrees Fahrenheit over average for the past five years, with pockets of the region in a cooling phase that may be helping to balance the warming for now.
• Many cold-dependent species are being forced to change or die. Some animals are adapting by moving north; others, such as mountain-dwelling frogs, have nowhere to go to escape the heat, and have already gone extinct. Last year ARCTIC discussed the plight of the polar bears, which is continuing to worsen. In the Antarctic, the number of breeding pairs of emperor penguins has dropped from 300 down to nine.

There is still some hope for 2007, though; with Democrats now gaining some control back in the United States, an environmentalist heading the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, and a global warming case appearing before the U.S. Supreme Court, it may be possible to make some changes before the damage gets too bad.

Sadly, Canada is one of the worst greenhouse gas offenders, and yet the government is trying to weasel out of our commitment to change by ignoring the Kyoto Protocol. Tell Harper you won't let him get away with it.

And no matter where you are in the world, you can join the Stop Global Warming virtual march. Sign a petition, find out who to lobby, get regular updates, and learn about things you can change in your own life that'll help the big picture.

The Mackenzie Gas Project: A gas pipeline running 1200 km (750 miles), all the way from the northernmost edge of Arctic Canada down to northern Alberta, where the gas will be used to fuel tar sands development. The proposed pipeline has been an issue since the 1970s, and is as controversial today as it was thirty years ago.

Tar sands oil produces over twice as much greenhouse gas as conventional oil production and is the most harmful type of oil in the world. Flare emissions even at conventional compressor stations contain over 250 toxic compounds, and the pipeline is said to have a potential impact like adding 400,000 more cars to the roads of the Northwest Territories". Spills from pipelines and facilities are routine.

The Environmental Impact statement details the certain risk to the endangered barren-ground caribou and the grizzly bear, as well as moose, geese and fish. The construction of the pipeline is certain to lead to additional development in the region, further adding to the destruction of these habitats.

Many indigenous groups of the North are protesting the pipeline, as the unsustainable project can only worsen the climate change issues that are already affecting the regions in which they live. This past weekend, a Federal Court judge ruled that the Dene Tha' people have not been adequately consulted about the pipeline's impact on their lands.

But enough nay-saying - let's look at the benefits. What do Canadians stand to gain?

• Nearly 24 trillion cubic feet of natural gas - enough to satisfy the United States for... a single year.
• After the construction has been completed, a grand total of 50 new jobs.

Is this really worth devastating a massive region of pristine wilderness, and all the animals and people who need to survive there?

The Sierra Club is fighting the proposed Mackenzie Gas Project. Learn what else they have to say about it, and join the petition here.

Thanks to the Arctic Indigenous Youth Alliance for providing us with much of the information and printed materials about the Mackenzie Gas Project.