For hundreds of years, mariners have dreamed of an Arctic shortcut that would allow them to speed trade between Asia and the West. Two German ships are poised to complete that transit for the first time, aided by the retreat of Arctic ice that scientists have linked to global warming. Arctic Shortcut Beckons Shippers as Ice Thaws.
posted by flapjax at midnite on Sep 11, 2009 - 24 comments

During the 19th century, thousands of men took to the seas to hunt for whales. The indigenous peoples of the Arctic practiced whaling for several millennia before that. Technological change and changes in mores have reduced the whaling industry to a heavily regulated shadow of what it used to be. But it hasn’t disappeared altogether. Even now, at the dawn of the 21st century, ships prowl the seas in search of a spout or a gigantic fin. A few months ago, Outside magazine published an account of a whale hunt aboard the Norwegian ship Sofie.
posted by jason's_planet on Oct 23, 2006 - 21 comments

Left Behind: Bush's Holy War on Nature. Chip Ward enumerates the bizarro-world logic and Orwellian language of current American environmental policy. Even as Katrina's aftermath is focusing attention on links between global warming and more severe hurricanes, and studies of arctic sea-ice suggest that we may be 'past the point of no return' of climate change, the Department of "Justice" seems intent on blaming the flood of New Orleans on environmental groups. This War on Terra may not end in our lifetimes (despite the number of lives it will end...)
posted by dinsdale on Sep 18, 2005 - 33 comments

"The President" Urges You to Speak Out Against Drilling in the Arctic Refuge Martin Sheen takes advantage of his bully pulpit. "I'm not a president, but I play one on TV."
posted by nickmark on Jan 16, 2002 - 30 comments

Artic Ice Cap is now perfect for slushballs and snowmen
Once the North Pole was covered in that kind of hard, dry, icy snow that you couldn't pack. Now sping is here! Robin red-breast and the Easter Bunny can't be far behind. Let's pelt each other with snowballs and build a fort before it all melts away, and the long summer of human-made Armageddon melts us all. What a world, what a world. Not that we haven't seen it coming.
posted by rschram on Aug 19, 2000 - 2 comments