OTTAWA—A few final brush strokes are still being added to the definitive and
official picture of how climate change will affect the Arctic, and how much it
already has.
The result, called the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, is scheduled for
publication in November.
But a summary of the assessment obtained by the Star makes clear that
environmental doomsayers were not far off when they warned that severe warming
of the Arctic is inevitable, threatens the way of life of the Inuit, will alter
the face of the North almost beyond recognition and has potentially disastrous
global climate change consequences.
A related danger is the increased ultraviolet radiation passing through the
damaged ozone layer in the circumpolar regions: Today's young indigenous people
will receive lifetime doses at least 30 per cent higher than any prior
generation.
These sombre warnings are the collective judgment of more ...