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The most critical Arctic issue is climate change because it will cause the Arctic to be unrecognizably different, ecologically and economically.
The effects of global warming are more severe in the arctic than in other regions because of the weakening of the albedo effect (the ice reflects the sun’s radiation but when the ice melts due to global warming, less solar radiation is reflected back so the warming is intensified). This melting of ice increases the global sea level, threatening species that depend on ice. For example, polar bear numbers have decreased because the polar bear uses ice as a platform to hunt seals and cannot do so when sea-ice levels are low. This is concerning because the polar bear is often regarded as a beloved symbol of the arctic and a decrease in polar bear numbers will cause significant imbalances in the ecosystem. For instance, seal populations could increase dramatically causing fish populations to decline significantly.
I would convince arctic nations to act on this issue by conducting a study aiming to show that emission reductions are beneficial to their economies because of increased eco-tourism, more stable fishery stocks and less money spent on repairing damaged infrastructure.
The effects of global warming are more severe in the arctic than in other regions because of the weakening of the albedo effect (the ice reflects the sun’s radiation but when the ice melts due to global warming, less solar radiation is reflected back so the warming is intensified). This melting of ice increases the global sea level, threatening species that depend on ice. For example, polar bear numbers have decreased because the polar bear uses ice as a platform to hunt seals and cannot do so when sea-ice levels are low. This is concerning because the polar bear is often regarded as a beloved symbol of the arctic and a decrease in polar bear numbers will cause significant imbalances in the ecosystem. For instance, seal populations could increase dramatically causing fish populations to decline significantly.
I would convince arctic nations to act on this issue by conducting a study aiming to show that emission reductions are beneficial to their economies because of increased eco-tourism, more stable fishery stocks and less money spent on repairing damaged infrastructure.
