Greenpeace collects evidence of climate change
By Barry Healy
The Greenpeace protest vessel Arctic Sunrise has recently visited communities along the Bering Sea and Chukchi Sea coasts of Alaska to document observations by native peoples of changes in the environment that could be related to climate change.
Some of the reports made were about thinning sea ice, less precipitation and changes in migratory patterns of marine mammals.
Greenpeace also documented other changes, including the retreat of the Bering Glacier and the advance of insect species into northern forests.
The voyage was part of a campaign against the development of the Warthog oil site in the Beaufort Sea by the energy giant ARCO. Greenpeace is also campaigning against the US Department of Interior's plans to sell to oil companies a section of the arctic waters off the coast of Alaska for new oil development.
"Opening up the North Slope to offshore drilling is like turning up the global thermometer one more notch", said Sallie Schullinger, a Greenpeace climate campaigner.