Warming to hit "roads, pipelines" in Canada north

David Ljunggren in Reuters: Roads, buildings and pipelines in Canada's north are at risk from global warming and the government must do more to protect infrastructure in the remote frozen region, an official panel said Thursday. Temperatures in the north -- which includes the Arctic -- are rising much faster than elsewhere in the world, and this comes at a time of increasing interest in the area's vast mineral and energy reserves.

The National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy (NRTEE) said the permafrost layer had begun to melt, a development that can have disastrous consequences. "Melting permafrost is undermining building foundations and threatens roads, pipelines and communications infrastructure,' it said in a report, also citing the potential danger to energy systems, waste disposal sites and ponds containing toxic tailings from mines. "The risk to infrastructure systems will only intensify as the climate continues to warm."….

The Diavik Diamond mine in the Northwest Territories, Canada, apparently shot by Trevor MacInnis