Polar Bear on Floating Ice Photo via Shutterstock
As the planet warms, the Arctic is melting at an unprecedented rate. Huge dark blue lakes that were once massive ice coverings now pool all throughout the Arctic landscape, sucking in the earth’s heat instead of reflecting and protecting it as it once did before global industrialization.
Oil companies see the melting as an opportunity to tap into the Arctic’s undiscovered oil reserves, which is estimated to account for 13 percent of the world’s oil. There are severe implications for the earth and its inhabitants should the drilling take place. Scientists are predicting without full decarbonization by 2030, our global emissions pathway guarantees a new era of catastrophic climate change.
Learn More About the Arctic Drilling and Climate Change Predictions:
Greenpeace: The Dangers of Arctic Oil
Time: It’s Not Just Spills — The Climate Risks of Arctic Drilling
National Geographic: New Study Predicts Year Your City’s Climate Will Change
The Guardian: James Hansen: Fossil Fuel Addition Could Trigger Runaway Global Warming
Rolling Stone: Global Warming is Very Real
National Geographic: New Climate Change Report Warns of Dire Consequences