“Arctic Blues”
1. What is the upside to the destruction of all the earth’s arctic ice by the end of the century?
2. What is the downside?
3. How much of the earth’s surface is covered by ice? What is this area called?
4. What would happen if it all melted?
5. What is the most vulnerable part of the earth’s Kryosphere?
6. How much has earth’s temperature risen?
7. What is “positive feedback” and why is it so dangerous?
8. What is the impact of receding sea ice on nature?
9. Who were the first fishermen to exploit arctic waters?
10. How will the melting arctic ice benefit the coal mining industry?
11. How much oil is believed to be hidden beneath the arctic ice?
12. What potential dangers exist by increasing the oil industry in arctic regions?
13. What 5 countries have disputed claims to the arctic regions?
14. What does the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea establish to help settle these resource disputes?
15. What are geologists attempting to do to settle these resource disputes?
16. What else is at dispute in the arctic region other than resource exploitation?
17. What are the conflicting claims of U.S. and Canada over the new “Northwest Passage”?
18. What do some people fear is the real reason for U.S. objections to Canadian control of the Northwest Passage?
19. What does satellite date show about the extent of ice melt?
20. What will the global impact of such dramatic ice melt be?