That means more area for oil development.....right?

Well, yea....if you care only about money and nothing about the climate.

The governments of Russia and Canada are moving to claim the Arctic
Ocean in the hope of drilling fossil fuels. That is just what the Arctic does
not need!

"But there is an even more dangerous aspect to the unfolding drama in
the Arctic. While governments and oil giants are hoping the melting ice
will allow them access to the world's last treasure trove of oil and gas,
climatologists are deeply worried about something else buried under the
ice that, if unearthed, could wreak havoc on the biosphere, with dire
consequences for human life."(2)

THE PERMAFROST IS MELTING!

Researchers in Russia are finding that vast areas of peat bog are melting
in the presence of water which means it will release methane instead of
CO2. Methane is 23 times as potent a greenhouse gas as CO2.

"Scientists calculate that thousands of tons of methane will be released
from Arctic lakes as the permafrost thaws.A global tragedy of monumental
proportions is unfolding at the top of the world, and the human race is all
but oblivious to what's happening."(2)

JULY WAS SEVENTH WARMEST ON RECORD

NOAA released it's monthly report stating "RECORD WARMTH IN WESTERN
U.S. IN JULY...." and that July was the seventh warmest global mean average on
record......fitting right in with the past twelve years being the hottest years since
record keeping began, except for one.(3)

Does that sound like the energy giants should continue using fossil fuels and
piddle around with alternative energy like hydrogen - the most abundant
substance in the universe, and a totally green fuel? Internal combustion engines
could and should have been switched to hydrogen in the Eighties. With stainless
steel valves and exhaust systems they will operate just as they do with gasoline,
no expensive fuel-cell required.

But then the oil industry would have to invest in new infrastructure......and their
oil would stay in the ground. They don't really like that idea. So things are not
looking real good for the Arctic.......or any other place on Earth for that matter.

And once again, these news items were not given the coverage that they deserve
by the corporate media, but they are available below.

Don Beck

****************

References:
1) New historic sea ice minimum, 8/9/07
 http://arctic.atmos.uiuc.edu/cryosphere/

2) Ticking Time Bomb Under the Ice, 8/13/07
 http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2007/08/13/008.html

3) RECORD WARMTH IN WESTERN U.S. IN JULY, DROUGHT SEVERITY WORSENED,
GLOBAL TEMPERATURE 7th WARMEST FOR JULY, 8/15/07
 http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2007/s2908.htm