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.