Future Arctic
Field Notes from a World on the Edge
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- US$6.99
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- US$6.99
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In one hundred years, or even fifty, the Arctic will look dramatically different than it does today. As polar ice retreats and animals and plants migrate northward, the arctic landscape is morphing into something new and very different from what it once was. While these changes may seem remote, they will have a profound impact on a host of global issues, from international politics to animal migrations. In Future Arctic, journalist and explorer Edward Struzik offers a clear-eyed look at the rapidly shifting dynamics in the Arctic region, a harbinger of changes that will reverberate throughout our entire world.
Future Arctic reveals the inside story of how politics and climate change are altering the polar world in a way that will have profound effects on economics, culture, and the environment as we know it. Struzik takes readers up mountains and cliffs, and along for the ride on snowmobiles and helicopters, sailboats and icebreakers. His travel companions, from wildlife scientists to military strategists to indigenous peoples, share diverse insights into the science, culture and geopolitical tensions of this captivating place. With their help, Struzik begins piecing together an environmental puzzle: How might the land’s most iconic species—caribou, polar bears, narwhal—survive? Where will migrating birds flock to? How will ocean currents shift? And what fundamental changes will oil and gas exploration have on economies and ecosystems? How will vast unclaimed regions of the Arctic be divided?
A unique combination of extensive on-the-ground research, compelling storytelling, and policy analysis, Future Arctic offers a new look at the changes occurring in this remote, mysterious region and their far-reaching effects.
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The Arctic is changing dramatically, and as Struzik (The Big Thaw) shows, it's changing faster than most scientists predicted. As temperatures rise and sea ice and permafrost melt, megastorms and drastic fluctuations in the populations of many animals and plants have become the new normal, putting entire ecosystems in a state of flux. These changes are also wreaking havoc with the traditional lifestyles of indigenous Arctic peoples. Paradoxically, as Struzik demonstrates, warming is bringing in a huge amount of development capital by those hoping to make use of the ice-free Northwest Passage to extract oil, natural gas, and minerals. However, he argues that environmental controls on this development are woefully lax and development is creating as many (or more) ecological problems as climate change. He makes it clear that these changes are critical for the entire world and calls for more scientific study, reminding readers that if these Arctic problems aren't properly addressed, "we, in the south, will continue to be surprised and punished by events that originate in the future Arctic." Struzik blends biology and politics with firsthand experience to present a comprehensive, though repetitive, portrait of the future.
