Arctic Campaign: Press Briefings

Alaska - History and Politics The land now known as the state of Alaska has been continuously inhabited by Native peoples for thousands of years: the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian of the southeastern coastal rainforest; the At habascan tribes of the interior; the Aleut people of the Aleutian Chain and Pribilof Islands; the Yup'ik people of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta and coastal southwest Alaska; and the Inupiat of the northern coast of the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas.

Arctic Oil Expansion After a period of gradually declining production, Alaska's North Slope oil fields are in the midst of a rapid expansion, fueled by the pro-development policies of the Democratic administrations of Alaska Governor Tony Knowled President Bill Clinton.

Arctic Science (Climate Change and the Arctic: An Overview)The Arctic is home to some of the world's most distinctive mammals, millions of migratory and resident birds, a rich ice-edge community, and some of the world's maj or fisheries. It is a biologically and culturally unique environment, and one of the last places on Earth where natural conditions still prevail over much of the region.

The m/v Arctic Sunrise The m/v Arctic Sunrise is the latest addition to Greenpeace's fleet. The ship has spent most of its life in icy polar seas. It started its Greenpeace life campaigning against oil pollution in the North At the end of 1996, however, the ship was prepared for its first visit to the Antarctic, and its first ice work for Greenpeace.

Climate Change and Arctic Sea Ice The Arctic ice pack is melting. A large body of recent scientific evidence now verifies what was once science fiction speculation set in an indefinite future.

Global Warming and the Fate of the Northern Boreal Forests The northern boreal forests comprise almost one third of the Earth's forest systems, covering 1.5 billion hectares. Along with the temperate forest of the mid-latitudes, and tropical forest near the equator, it is one of the three great forest ecosy stems of the world, supporting a rich diversity of wildlife, endangered species, and extremely valuable timber. Unfortunately, over half of the existing boreal forest may disappear, due to the effects of climate change.

Climate Change and the Earth's Mountain Glaciers As the climate has changed over the last century, the world's land ice cover has responded. Nowhere is this more noticeable than in mountain glaciers. Global temperatures h ave increased by 0.3-0.6oC since late last century and the United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has concluded that "the balance of evidence suggests a discernible human influence on global climate".

Caribou and Climate Change Caribou, Rangifer tarandus, also called reindeer in Europe, are the most common large land mammal of the Arctic and Subarctic. Most caribou gather in large herds of tens of thousands to more than one hundred thousand animals on their calving grounds in the brief Arctic summer, and scatter widely in small groups for the rest of the year. Because of their numbers, caribou are the foundation of the traditional economy for many northern peoples, includin g the Gwich'in of Alaska and northwestern Canada, the Saami and Komi peoples of Scandinavia and the Russian western Arctic, and numerous peoples of Siberia and the Russian Far East. Eurasian reindeer are the same species as North American caribou - the pr imary difference is that many Eurasian reindeer are semi-domesticated and are herded and protected more often than their North American counterparts.

Ozone Depletion and the Arctic The earth's ozone layer, located high above the ground in the stratosphere, filters out harmful burning ultraviolet rays from the sun. For about a billion years, the natural ozone system worked sm oothly, allowing life to flourish on earth.

The Politics of Global Climate Change The Toronto Conference on the Changing Atmosphere brought government and scientific experts together to discuss taking action on climate change in 1988. At this conference, governments of industrialized countries voluntarily pledged to cut CO2 emissions 20 percent by the year 2005.

Toxics in the Arctic The health of the world's people can be no better than the health of its water -- the oceans, seas, lakes and rivers. Many of the persistent toxic chemicals that are found today in all reaches of the oceans can also be found in the bodies of virtually all the people of the world.

The Threat of Climate Change to Arctic Wildlife Arctic ecosystems exist in a delicate balance with the region's climate and, based on their reaction to different climates in the past, are likely to change significantly under future climate change

Arctic Campaign: Background Papers

Background on ice edge expedition

Exxon Valdez to Northstar: The Impacts of Oil Development in Alaska March 24, 1999 is the 10th anniversary of one of the world's worst environmental disasters, which spilled more than 11 million gallons of crude oil into the pristine waters of of Prince William Sound in Alaska. The oil industry is still actively risking the future of the Alaskan environment as well as the climate as a whole.

 EXXON 1989, BPAmoco 1999 - The impacts of oil development from the Exxon Valdez to Northstar Kieran Mulvaney takes an in-depth look at what we've learned from the Exxon Valdez disaster - and what we haven't. BP Amoco's Northstar project threatens another such disaster at the other end of the Trans Alaska Pipeline in the Arctic Ocean - and could open another new round of oil development that threatens the global climate.

Northstar Timeline A detailed chronology of BP Amoco's Northstar Project - the stalking horse for massive oil development in the Arctic Ocean threatening both the local environment and its people as well as pursuing oil that we can't afford to burn without risking dangerous climate change.

 Answers from the Ice Edge: The consequences of climate change on life in the Bering and Chukchi seas This report, prepared by Greenpeace and Arctic Network, is the first ever compilation of Alaskan Native testimonies on the impacts of climate change in the Western Arctic. The US National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration reports that the Western Arctic already is warming at 3-5 times the global average rate. Answers from the Ice Edge puts a human face on what global warming means to people and communities in the Arctic.

National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska Despite concerns voiced by the Clinton Administration about global warming, US announces the opening of approximately 20 percent of Alaska's National Petroleum Reserve to new oil exploration.

 Fueling Global Warming: Federal Subsidies to Oil in the United States Despite increasing concerns over climate change and other environmental consequences of our heavy reliance on oil, the U.S. government continues to subsidize the fuel. Subsidies to oil are provided to producers, transporters, and consumers in varied and often subtle ways. (This report is in Adobe Acrobat .pdf format)
- 'Fueling Global Warming' Executive Summary
-  'Fueling Global Warming' Appendix

Global Warming and The Carbon Logic While the science relating to the rate and extent of global warming is undoubtedly complex, even the oil industry has begun to acknowledge the basic facts.
- 'Global Warming and the Carbon Logic'- Executive Summary
-  'Global Warming and the Carbon Logic'- Full report

Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

Odell : A Guide to Oil reserves and Resources In a world of limited knowledge, evolving technology, restricted investment funds and political constraints on where extractive industries can be undertaken, it is hardly surpris ing that there is so much uncertainty concerning the world's actual and potential oil wealth. The only near-certainty is in respect of the production (and use) of oil to date, viz. a little short of 800 billion barrels with a present annual rate of use of about 25 billion barrels and an annual rate of growth in use over the past 10 years (1987-1996) of 1.25%. Worldwide - by national, state and private companies as well as by the 100+ companies which operate at an international level - there is an explicit acceptance of the inevitability of the continued growth of oil demand and of their opportunity and responsibility to ensure that sufficient reserves of oil are located and exploited to enable this rising demand to be met.

Troubled Waters El Niņo and Climate Change As the impacts of what may be prove to be the strongest El Niņo event this century start to bite across the world, there is growing evidence that we may be begin ning to witness the effects of human-induced climate change.

Salmon And Climate Change The news about Pacific salmon is often confusing. Are stocks in crisis - or not? The short story is that some hatchery stocks are booming, some wild stocks are fine, and far too many unique and irrepl aceable stocks - from Alaska to California, are hovering on the edge of extinction.

Polar Bears, Just the Facts Bears are helpless at birth and weigh 1.3 lbs avg. Cubs stay with mother for about 2.5 years Polar bears reproductive rate is one of the slowest of any mammal

Sea Ice Decline and the Western Arctic The Arctic Ocean is dominated, both climatologically and ecologically, by the vast polar ice pack. The white surface of the pack ice efficiently reflects sunlight away from the Earth and so cools off the entire planet. Many of the unique animals of the Arctic, including polar bears, Arctic fox, walruses, seals, and many species of fish and birds have evolved to take advantage of the special characteristics of the pack ice and the larger ring of thinner sea ice that surrounds it.

Permafrost Thawing and the Western Arctic Permafrost, or permanently frozen soil, is found continuously in most of the Western Arctic, as well as discontinuously further south (especially in shaded areas and north facing slopes ). Studies have shown that permafrost is warming rapidly in both Alaska and western Canada because of increasing temperatures and deeper snow packs. The zone of continuous permafrost has moved about 100 kilometers further north over the last century in Ca nada. Research in Alaska has concluded that most of the zone of discontinuous permafrost is close to thawing.

Sea Level Rise and the Western Arctic Around the world, sea levels are rising. Scientists have long predicted that climate warming would cause sea water to expand, and melt glaciers and polar ice sheets. The Intergovernmenta l Panel on Climate Change has concluded that doubling levels of carbon dioxide would cause sea level to rise between 0.15 and 0.95 meters by the year 2100, with a "best guess" of about half a meter.

Climate Change and Prince William Sound In March 1989, the Exxon Valdez spilled 10.8 million gallons of Alaskan crude oil into Prince William Sound, killing thousands of birds and fish, and significantly affecting marine mam mals and other wildlife. The accident and its aftermath became one of the most publicized environmental disasters in history.

The Subsidy Scandal - The European clash between environmental rhetoric and public spending Close to $US15 billion of taxpayers' money has been used every year since 1990 to prop up the fossil fuel and nuclear industries in subsidies from the EU and Western European governments.

Oil & Solar, Greenpeace International Briefing As the world increasingly ratchets up its response to climate change, the time when a solar economy replaces a fossil fuel economy is almost univer sally accepted. However it is decisions by industry, governments and people that will determine the pace of change.

Black Ice, The behaviour of multinational oil companies in Russia. The news of the recent oil spills from a pipeline in the Russian Arctic, (Komi region) just north of the town of Usinsk, focussed the world's attention on th is area. Attention is not just on the environmental catastrophe, but also on the environmental and social costs of oil.

Countering The Sceptics The Climate Sceptics are a handful of scientists, many directly subsidised by the fossil fuel lobby and promoting what numerous mainstream scientists regard as blatant m isinformation on climate science, thereby contesting the urgent need to tackle the problem of global warming.

Solar Not Oil The Earth is under threat from climate change. Human activities over the last 200 years have resulted in emissions of greenhouse gases, primarily carbon dioxid e from the burning of oil, coal and gas. This has altered the composition of the atmosphere causing the Earth's temperature to rise. This in turn is changing the climate. The latest scientific report from the United Nations predicts the earth's temperatur e is expected to rise faster than at any time during the last 10,000 years.

Governments: The Puppets Of Industry? Some of the world's biggest and wealthiest companies attend the international climate negotiations. They are industry lobbyists with a clear a genda: to prevent governments taking swift action at the Kyoto Climate Summit in December to cut steadily rising emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) - the main greenhouse gas.