The Arctic is warming more rapidly, leading to environmental impacts throughout the world, according to a comprehensive international and inter-tribal assessment released on Monday,

The Arctic Climate Impact Assessment is a four-year study conducted by 300 scientists and indigenous experts in eight nations. The report found widespread melting of glaciers, thinning sea ice and rising permafrost temperatures.

Natives in the Arctic region face "major economic and cultural impacts," the report said. Threats facing Natives included the loss of coastal villages in Alaska to erosion and rising sea levels, destruction of habitat and reduction of subsistence species and foods.

The Arctic Council includes representatives of six tribes from the U.S., Canada, Russia and Europe. The tribal members are: the Aleut International Association, the Arctic Athabaskan Council, the Gwich'in Council International, the Inuit Circumpolar Conference, the Saami Council of Norway and the Russian Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North.

The Bush administration is blocking the council from endorsing a plan to reduce global warming, The Washington Post reported last week. The policy would be released in two weeks.

The full report can be found at http://amap.no/acia.

Get the Story:
Climate Change Accelerating, Report Warns (The Los Angeles Times 11/9)
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Climate change devours Arctic ice (The Anchorage Daily News 11/9)
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Report says Arctic rapidly warming (AP 11/9)
Global warming study finds real change in America (Cox News Service 11/9)
A Melting Glacier in Tibet Serves as an Example and a Warning (The New York Times 11/9)
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Many Species Scramble to Adjust to Warming - Report (Reuters 11/8)

Relevant Links:
Arctic Council - http://www.arctic-council.org
Arctic Climate Impact Assessment - http://www.acia.uaf.edu

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Bush blocking endorsement of global warming plan (11/4)