On the same subject: the Inuit accuse the United States of harming their way of life following the melting of the glaciers in the north due to global warming. * The UN rejected their claim
Scientists have discovered that a massive ice shelf broke off near an island in the Canadian Arctic last year, in what may be further evidence of global warming. It was reported that this is the largest breakup in 25 years, which caused the detachment of a block of floating ice with a total area of 66 square kilometers.
The disintegration took place already in August 2005 but was only recently observed in satellite images. The piece of ice, which is larger than the island of Manhattan, could cause damage if it moves to an area where oil drilling is carried out and which is also used as a route for ships next summer, the scientists warn.
"The Arctic region is completely frozen during the winter and this caused the iceberg to get stuck in the sea ice at a distance of about 50 kilometers from the coast" says Luke Copeland, assistant professor at the University of Ottawa. "The danger is that next summer, when the sea ice melts, this huge glacial island may drift along the coast and in one of the potential routes it may drift west towards the Beauport Sea, where there is heavy activity of oil and gas exploration, drilling rigs and ship traffic.
Who is to blame for the warming?
(from the Heschel Center newsletter) Is climate change a human rights issue? The Inuit people living in the North Pole submitted an extraordinary petition to the United States Human Rights Commission.
In this petition, the Inuit accuse the US government of violating their right to the traditional way of life of their people. The basis for submitting the petition is the refusal of the USA to sign the Kyoto Convention to reduce greenhouse gases. The Inuit claim that in this way the USA is contributing to global warming and climate change, which disrupts, as mentioned, the traditional way of life. The Human Rights Commission rejected the petition on the grounds that insufficient evidence of human rights violations was presented.
For information on the site dealing with news about the Inuit
