There seems little\u00a0doubt that, were there coal deposits in the Arctic, the bucaneering White House\u00a0would be issuing executive orders allowing their\u00a0exploitation. \u00a0This would be timely, of course, as the Arctic is increasingly ice-free. \u00a0And why is it becoming ice-free? \u00a0Would that have anything to do with burning coal do you suppose? \u00a0 (and oil \/ gas \/ peat \/ wood \/ biomass \/ ...?). \u00a0Not if you're a climate change denier, of course. \u00a0For the record,\u00a0offshore drilling in the\u00a0USA's\u00a0Arctic region was (more or less) totally banned in December 2016 to protect ecosystems, and western Oil companies have been withdrawing from exploration because of high costs and potentially low returns.<\/p>\n
There's an article in a recent\u00a0Economist which seems required reading for those of a denier mentality \u2013 as well as for educators looking for up-to-date info. \u00a0It here<\/a>\u00a0and its title is: \"Skating on thin ice; the thawing Arctic threatens an environmental catastrophe<\/em>\".<\/p>\n