And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
>From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1998 13:39:28 EST
>Subject: Fwd: Global Warming Threat To Canada
>X-Mailer: AOL 4.0 for Windows 95 sub 214
>
>
>From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>Return-path: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>Subject: Global Warming Threat To Canada
>Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1998 13:10:45 EST
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>
>Global Warming Threat To Canada
>
>.c The Associated Press
>
> By DAVID CRARY
>
>TORONTO (AP) -- Global warming might seem like a treat for Canada's frigid
far
>north, perhaps even opening the ice-blocked Northwest Passage to east-west
>shipping. New research, however, depicts the expected thaw as far more of a
>threat than a boon.
>
>Displaced wildlife, increased pollution risks, a thaw of the permafrost that
>could destabilize infrastructure across the Canadian sub-Arctic -- these are
>among the many perils detailed in a wide-ranging climate-change study
released
>by Canada's environment department.
>
>The study expresses particular concern for the region's indigenous people,
the
>Inuit, who could find their hunting prey out of reach, their water supplies
>contaminated and their coastal communities subjected to erosion from seas no
>longer covered by ice.
>
>``Northern indigenous people, already one of the more vulnerable segments of
>Canadian society, would be affected by ecosystem shifts that may be outside
>the limits of historical experience,'' says the Canada Country Study,
compiled
>by dozens of government, academic and industry experts.
>
>There is nothing hypothetical about climate change in the far north. In the
>northwest corner of the Northwest Territories, where the Mackenzie River
flows
>into the Beaufort Sea, temperatures this year have been 9 degrees above
normal
>-- among the highest jumps anywhere during this unusually warm year.
>
>``Northerners are obviously looking for ways to adapt,'' said Helen Fast, a
>Manitoba-based expert who co-authored a chapter of the study focusing on the
>far north.
>
>``They're probably ahead of us southerners because they see the problem as a
>reality. It's an immediate concern.''
>
>Subsistence hunting plays a vital role in many Inuit communities, sometimes
>accounting for half the local economy and providing much of the protein in
>Inuit diets.
>
>The warming trend will reduce the size and stability of ice fields where much
>of the hunting occurs, and could push many species out of traditional
>habitats. Eventually, forests could spread much farther north, taking range
>land from some of the world's biggest caribou herds.
>
>``Hunters, fishers and trappers depend on detailed local knowledge of animal
>distributions and behavior, snowfall patterns, and timing of freeze-up and
>breakup (of ice),'' says the study. ``Climate change can play havoc with the
>use of such knowledge.''
>
>If less fresh meat is available, the Inuit would likely compensate with less
>nutritious food, increasing the risk of obesity, diabetes and vitamin
>deficiencies, the study warns.
>
>The thaw has already affected animals. Fast said mammals' fur has dropped in
>quality as the temperature warms and a Canadian Wildlife Service scientist
>reported last week that polar bears around Hudson Bay are 90 to 220 pounds
>lighter than 30 years ago, apparently because earlier ice-melting has meant
>less chance to gorge on seal pups.
>
>The thaw of the rock-hard permafrost under the tundra could wreak widespread
>chaos. The study suggests that a warming trend could push the edge of the
>permafrost zone 300 miles further north, causing ``massive slumping of
>terrain'' in the thawed area.
>
>This could destabilize roads, bridges, buildings and oil pipelines,
disrupting
>transportation and possibly entailing huge repair and replacement costs.
>
>It would likely increase the danger of contaminated water resources, since
>bacteria would be able to move through thawed soil. There also would be a
>pollution danger from ponds at mine sites; many contain toxic waste and are
>situated in permafrost beds that until now were assumed to be impermeable.
>
>Fast said some coastal communities already are noticing effects of erosion as
>the ocean -- covered by ice for shorter periods -- generates greater wave
>action. In Tuktoyaktuk, a town near the mouth of the Mackenzie River, several
>buildings have been lost to erosion, she said.
>
>On the plus side, major ice-melting could free up the Northwest Passage for
>shipping. This could fuel a boom in oil exploration -- onshore and
offshore --
>if tankers were able to reach the area reliably.
>
>But even this scenario has a potential catch. The study notes that although
>Canada claimed the Northwest Passage as an internal Canadian waterway in
1973,
>the claim is not recognized by the United States.
>
>AP-NY-12-14-98 1310EST
>
> Copyright 1998 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP
>news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise
>distributed without prior written authority of The Associated Press.
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