The Affect on Wildlife and Habitat

The Arctic is an extremely sensitive region whose weather patterns highly affect and determine the global climate. Global Warming has affected this region of the globe more quickly and dramatically then anywhere else thus far. According to the British newspaper The Guardian, by 2070 there may be no ice covering the arctic during the summer months at all. The temperature has been increasing at an annual rate of about 9% per year for the past thirty years.

These changes are not only a harbinger of things to come for the world, but will most likely have dramatic and wide sweeping affects on ocean currents and crop rotations all around the globe. However, the first region to be greatly affected, and the place currently experiencing the most direct results is the Arctic itself.

Always considered to be a beautiful and isolated tundra, the Arctic has for thousands of years consisted of massive sheets of ice and snow, inhabited by unique animals and native peoples. However, as the snow and ice deplete more rapidly each year, the habitat and its populations are facing serious dangers. With the destruction of their habitat, polar bears, penguins, and sea otters face endangerment and extinction. Thus, the native people and animals that rely on the delicate food chain will also be disrupted. Native Inuit villages have been forced to move from areas they have inhabited for centuries after unsafe conditions have rendered the areas unsuitable. (The Guardian).

Some species have benefited from the recent thaw. Populations of the Spruce Bark Beetle have risen dramatically. Their appetite for wood has caused much of the Alaskan Forest to be depleted. (NRDC)

Short term "benefits" include the accessibility of previously frozen oil deposits, although this will ultimately contribute to the cause of the problem. (The Guardian)
The world will soon see the repercussions of a melting Arctic, but for now, they are being felt close to home for those already there.