"Look at it this way"

 The Nunataryuk project explores the changes taking place in areas which have previously had permafrost which has lasted for decades or centuries. From the Grida.no website which I've used for years, comes a really thorough definition of permafrost - a feature which is almost as threatened as coral reefs... Permafrost, defined as sediment or rock that remains at or below 0°C for at least two years, is found on land, along coastlines, and below the seafloor. The thawing of terrestrial permafrost leads to increased coastal erosion and ground instability that stresses infrastructure, posing serious problems for Indigenous communities and other people who live in the Arctic, as well as for industry. The thawing of both terrestrial and submarine permafrost can lead to the release of methane and other greenhouse gases, which can trigger a positive feedback loop that results in further atmospheric warming. Numerical modelling suggests that almost all submarine permafrost is thawing. Map...

I've spoken and blogged about this book many times, and you can now listen to extracts from it on Radio 4 as it has been selected, around 35 years after its first UK publication as the 'Book of the Week'. A heads-up that, to my delight, Barry Lopez's masterpiece Arctic Dreams (1986) will be Book of the Week on @BBCRadio4 this week, starting 09.45am today. The book––and the writer––that made me a writer. Barry passed away in December this year. https://t.co/Eo8vKQKIV0 — Robert Macfarlane (@RobGMacfarlane) June 21, 2021 Barry Lopez is someone whose work has been important to me throughout my career. Catch up with the episodes here. In Episode One of Arctic Dreams Barry Lopez reflects on his first encounters with the surprisingly varied and resilient inhabitants of the polar north and on modern man’s vexed relationship with this beguiling continent. In his breath-taking natural, social and cultural history of the Arctic, Lopez reveals the essential mystery and beauty of ...