When people think about global warming, they tend to picture hotter summers, milder winters and the plight of polar bears. While some of this is, unfortunately, the reality, not all of it is true. In fact, as global warming gets worse, parts of the world could see fiercer, stormier winters.

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With the UN’s 2013 Arctic deadline fast approaching, there has been much talk in the past year or so of upcoming battles between countries for full control and ownership of the Arctic. The main players – Canada, The United States, Russia, Denmark and Norway – all have a stake in the Arctic, each wanting to maximize its own potential for taking advantage of the natural resources and shipping routes that will be made available due to the ever melting Arctic ice. more »

Well, better late than never, eh? Finally, more than three years past the original deadline, the Joint Review Panel has finally prepared its report on the Mackenzie Valley gas pipeline’s effects on the environment and society. more »

A new Russian ice tanker has bee revealed by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. The oil tank was built in Russia and will be used in the country’s Arctic offshore oil operation. Russian shipping company Sovkomflot crafted the ice tanker, which has the capability of cutting through more that a metre of Arctic ice. more »

The authors of a new World Wildlife Fund report released yesterday add their voices to the growing belief that the oil industry doesn’t have the ability to clean up any offshore oil spills in the Arctic. The report offers a polar opposite view from a recent report by the Interior Department’s Mineral Management Service (MMS) that states that everything exists and is in place in order to clean up any major offshore oil spill that may take place. more »

Despite the fact that it was one of the countries that helped to draft the final accord, South Africa has come out against the Copenhagen Accord, criticizing the fact that the accord is in no way legally binding. more »

From REUTERS DECEMBER 20, 2009

MACKENZIE GAS PROJECT

- Partners: Imperial Oil Ltd., Royal Dutch Shell, ConocoPhillips, Exxon-Mobil Corp., Aboriginal Pipeline Group

- Estimated Cost: $16.2 billion

- Route: Would extend through the Northwest Territories to TransCanada Corp.’ s Alberta pipeline network from the Mackenzie Delta near the Beaufort Sea coast, a distance of 1,220 kilometres.

- Supply: Three anchor fields in the delta would initially supply up to 1.2 billion cubic feet a day. Reserves are estimated at six trillion cubic feet.

- Timetable: The partners filed applications in 2004, targeting a start to operations in 2009. Now, joint review panel expected to deliver report on environmental and socioeconomic impact in December. National Energy Board to hear final arguments in April 2010.
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As the Copenhagen climate change talks came to an end, and an agreement was struck at the 11th hour, the Arctic, which is one of the areas hardest hit by climate change, pretty much received the cold shoulder. Despite the fact that the far North is seeing record temperatures and the Arctic ice continues to melt away, little consideration was given to the area, and its people, in the new Copenhagen Accord, which replaces the Kyoto Accord. more »