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Video: Svalbard- High Hopes in the High Arctic |
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Contributed by J. R. Ransom
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 Svalbard
In 2006, Svalbard had the highest positive
temperature deviation on earth, making it the poster child for global
warming. The shrinking sea ice has brought with it both hazards and
opportunities.
The climate is not the only thing
heating up.
Russian
territorial claims in the High Arctic have recently intensified and the
environmental practices in Barentsburg, the existing Russian
settlement, continue to raise concerns.
The local
community
refuses to stand idly by. An ambitious plan to make Svalbard the first
CO² free area in the world is blazing forward.
Controversially, yet
perhaps realistically, the plan relies heavily on the continued use of
coal.
Another landmark development, the construction
of the Arctic Seed Vault, is putting Svalbard firmly back on the world map.
The vault will store many of the world's seeds in case of a global
calamity.
Arctic Seed Vault images courtesy of Mari
Tefre/Global Crop Diversity Trust and Statsbygg/Longyearbyen. |
