We may debate the current/future detrimental effects of climate change many call global warming, but let us remember that opportunity arises from adversity like necessity is the mother of invention.

Look how much closer we are getting to an ice-free Arctic Ocean/Sea in the summertime:

[from: http://nsidc.org/data/seaice_index/images/daily_images/N_timeseries.png%5D

Will the shipping industry find significant cost savings with permanently open shipping lanes at northern latitudes?

Will the savings, in turn, correlate to reduced use of greenhouse gases?

Meanwhile, as Greenland ice masses melt further, how will our shopping/shipping habits change in relation to our ecosystem adjustments while shorelines recede and deserts grow?

At the end of the day, who benefits and who suffers depends a lot on our species’ classic characteristics of pecking order — alpha males/females, etc.