These guys can find a silver lining anywhere!

A new report is out about global warming, commissioned by the US, Canada, Russia, and several Scandanavian nations. Prediction?

It predicts that over the next 100 years, global warming could increase Arctic annual average temperatures 5 to 9 degrees Fahrenheit over land and by up to 13 degrees over water. Warmer temperatures could raise global sea levels by as much as 3 feet.

Such a change would threaten coastal cities, change growing patterns for vegetation and destroy habitats for some wildlife...

Is this the lede of the story? Of course not. The take-home message (and opening paragraph of the Reuters story) is about the terrific upside to all this climactic disaster---the opportunity to rape the earth even more:

Rising global temperatures will melt areas of the Arctic this century, making them more accessible for oil and natural gas drilling, a report prepared by the United States and seven other nations said on Monday.

I join August (from XOverboard) in his response: "Excuse me, I have to resume pounding my forehead into the wall."


Update: They're also touting the short-cut northern shipping routes that would become available when all that pesky Arctic ice melted. Hooray! Maybe some (currently) inland cities could become thriving port towns for all the new business! idiots. (via BookNotes)