Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Today's Drilling Rush Looks as Crude as Whale Oil Folly

In travel to Arctic, Post columnist sees new damage alongside old

By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff

Posted Jul 16, 2008 10:37 AM CDT

(Newser) – On an otherwise deserted patch of Arctic ice stands an abandoned settlement, proof that humans once lived here. Nearby lies a reminder of why they came: dozens of massive whale skulls, still bleeding oil into the ground. Men once flocked to this land for whale... Read full story »

COMMENTS

Read the comment policy

You need to Log in to Newser to comment. Don't have an account yet? Sign up now!

There are no comments

A snapshot of the day's best news stories.

View Larger Grid

All Today Yesterday Pick a Date

What's Popular Now on Facebook

Cops Shoot Naked Guy Eating Man's Face on Highway

Japanese Artist Serves Up Own Cooked Genitals

Washington Post (Source Grid »)

A report from melting Greenland
Rolling Stone

An Arctic explorer asks the Inuit about climate change
BBC

Arctic lakes warming
News & Observer (Raleigh)

Green • World

climate change • greenhouse gases • Arctic • whaling

More Newser Stories

Climate Change Reverses 8 Millennia of Arctic Cooling

Temps, up 2.2 F Since 1900, Would Be 2.5 Degrees Cooler Without Greenhouse Gases

(NEWSER) - Summer temperatures in the Arctic have climbed 2.2°F since 1900 despite an 8,000-year cooling trend, the Guardian reports. For the past few thousand years, the orbit of the Earth and the changing tilt of its axis has put the Arctic 630,000 miles further from the sun than in the year 0, which would have left the region 2.5°F cooler than it is today without human intervention, scientists say. They blame greenhouse gases for the cranked-up heat. More»

Scientists ID Catastrophic Climate Change 'Tipping Zones'

9 danger signs that disaster is inevitable

(NEWSER) - Scientists have identified nine danger zones where global warming could be pushed past the point of no return within years, the Independent reports. The scenarios include the melting of ice in the Arctic and Antarctic, the collapse of the Indian and West African monsoons, and the death of forests in Canada, Siberia and the Amazon. Once climate "tipping points" are reached in any of the zones, the change would likely be irreversible—and could all occur within this century, the experts warned. More»

Arctic Thaw Set at 40% by 2050

Researchers put 40% of Arctic underwater by 2050

(NEWSER) - At least 40% of the polar icecap will be gone by 2050, Seattle scientists predicted today, putting the meltdown way ahead of earlier predictions that so much ice would take a century to vanish. Greenhouse gases, which linger in the atmosphere for up to 50 years, are primarily responsible for the acceleration, the Seattle Times writes. More»

New Environmental Worry: Ancient Gas

Researchers now able to distinguish new, old sources of methane

(NEWSER) - There are huge quantities of methane locked in ice sheets around the world, threatening to speed up climate change as they get released in melting ice. But determining which methane is the ancient kind and which is much younger and hails from, say, plant life that has decayed in lakes hasn't been easy—until now. The BBC reports that researchers have been able to ID the former by logging the ratio of different isotopes of carbon found in the methane molecules. Scientists were then able to test some of the 150,000 sites in Alaska and Greenland where methane is seeping into the atmosphere, and found that some are indeed releasing ancient methane. More»

Evangelical Preaches Gospel of Global Warming

West Texas scientist aims to win over skeptics

(NEWSER) - Who better to talk about global warming in West Texas than an evangelical Christian? That's what gives geoscientist Katharine Hayhoe an edge in her crusade to convince people around Lubbock, Texas, that greenhouse gases are harming the environment, the Miami Herald reports. "People ask me if I believe in global warming," says the Texas Tech professor. "I tell them, 'No, I don't,' because belief is faith. ... Science is evidence of things seen." More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Today's Drilling Rush Looks as Crude as Whale Oil Folly

In travel to Arctic, Post columnist sees new damage alongside old

climate change • greenhouse gases • Arctic • whaling

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Climate Change Reverses 8 Millennia of Arctic Cooling

Temps, up 2.2 F Since 1900, Would Be 2.5 Degrees Cooler Without Greenhouse Gases

Scientists ID Catastrophic Climate Change 'Tipping Zones'

9 danger signs that disaster is inevitable

Arctic Thaw Set at 40% by 2050

Researchers put 40% of Arctic underwater by 2050

New Environmental Worry: Ancient Gas

Researchers now able to distinguish new, old sources of methane

Evangelical Preaches Gospel of Global Warming

West Texas scientist aims to win over skeptics

About Us

Site

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?