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December 2, 2008 7:36:48 PM CST

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New Way to Fight Global Warming: Wipe Your Feet

Posted Sep 3, 08 7:30 PM CDT in World,  Science & Health 

(Newser) – Global warming could make it easier for non-native plants to take root on the Arctic's Svalbard archipelago, but one researcher is fighting the problem on the ground level, Der Spiegel reports. Chris Ware has set up shop at Longyearbyen’s airport, where he cleans arriving passengers' shoes. "Dirt almost always contains seeds," he said. "Sometimes it is one, sometimes it is 30 or 40."

Humans have introduced 20 plant species to the islands, which lie between the North Pole and Norway. Ware fears that number will grow as global warming makes it easier for plants to adapt. "Once the new species are here, there is practically nothing that can be done about it." But as Ware assesses the threat, another looms: animals arriving by sea.

Source Der Spiegel

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A stuffed polar bear stands in the middle of the luggage carousel at Longyearbyen Airport on the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, as far north as you can fly on a scheduled flight.   (AP Photo)
A snowmobile tour makes its way over a glacier toward Barentsburg, Norway, Feb. 28, 2008 on the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard.   (AP Photo)
Scientists fear global warming will make it easier for non-native plant species to gain a foothold in Norway's Svalbard archipelago.   (Getty Images)
Humans (and their shoes) have introduced 20 plant species to the islands, which lie between the North Pole and Norway.   (Index Open)
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climate change • environment • global warming • Arctic • plants • Svalbard


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