Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Global Warming 101 Expedition Update


NationalGeographic.com has posted an update for Will Steger's Global Warming 101 Expedition. You'll recall that the Global Warming Team set out to visit Inuit villages in the Baffin Islands to collect data on the direct effects of global warming on their lives.

The expedition has come to an end, after 78 days, and 1000 miles, of trekking across the sub-arctic region of Canada. Along the way the team collect hard data on temperatures and the thickness of the ice, but also spoke with the tribesmen living in the area, and getting their anecdotal reports of how life is changing as the temperatures increase.

They found some interesting results, such as previously unknown species appearing in the area like dolphins, robins, and other birds common further South. They also noted that the number of days the Inuit have to hunt is decreasing, and less snow and ice has made it more difficult to build igloos while on their hunts.

This is only the first of this type of expedition as well. It seems that Steger and his team will be heading out to other polar regions to collect more data, and interact with other native tribes in those areas. One thing is for certain, the planet is getting warmer, and it's going to have some profound consequences on the environment and how we live.

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