Arctic Environment At Risk

The environment in the Arctic is at risk. Rubbish, industrial and military waste reach even the remote areas, those areas uninhabited by humans. Plastic bags, barbed wire, beer bottles, fishing nets, and fuel tanks have washed up on shores where human visitation is rare; corroding aircraft batteries have been discovered in rivers on the Seward Peninsula in Alaska, and half-buried in the tundra canisters of mustard gas have been found. Stretching across tundra and mountain ranges are gas and oil pipelines- some of which are rusting and leaking. All of which remind us of the fragility of the Arctic environment.  Atmospheric and marine pollution, while less obvious are equally threats to the Arctic's environment. The pollution from the atmosphere and marine contaminant food chains at every level, and due to the lower temperatures of the Arctic, these pollutant's break down slower, posing a greater threat to the Arctic than they would in an area farther south.

In 1996 the Arctic Council was established; it was established to address subsistence activities, health , community, tourism, transport, communications, development, sustainable economic development, and environmental protection. The Arctic Council dealt with and provided these aspects for the Arctic states- also known as Iceland, Denmark, Canada Sweden, the Russian Federation, Norway, the United States, and Finland. To ensure permanent participations, indigenous organizations were also constructed.  The vast objectives of the Arctic Council were enacted through the creation of five programs; Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment (PAME), Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF), the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program (AMAP), Sustainable Development Working Group ((SDWG), and Emergency Prevention, Preparedness, and Response (EPPR). The programs were established to focus on environmental problems, as the Arcitc Council's objectives were to protect the Arctic ecosystems- humans included- to incorporate traditional and cultural needs, values, and practices, as well as ensure the sustainable usage of renewable resources.

Unfortunately, despite the Arctic Council's intentions, there are barriers to the solutions they worked to achieve. One such barrier to the sustainability of the Arctic environment is that Arctic regions are affected by alterations in global economy; the unavoidable ebb and flow poses a distinctive barrier. The Arctic's dependence on economic global processes only adds to it's fragility. Another such barrier stems from developmental projects which are insensitive to the protection requirements and concerns of environmental sustainability.

I think that the contamination of rubbish and military and industrial waste is a problem- and not only in the Arctic. I think that this matter shouldn't be taken lightly; the Arctic and it's environment is important and shouldn't be corrupted by trash, corroding aircraft batteries, or canisters of mustard gas, among many others things. I think that it is a problem that should be actively addressed. I think that the proposed solutions that are being enacted are a good way to go. I think that be creating programs that will focus on these issues is a great way to try and protect the Arctic's environment. Granted there are several barriers to the potential solutions, but it's a start.