In an exclusive interview with ThinkProgress Green, Lubchenco,
the administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA), discussed the vicious circle of oil and
gas greenhouse pollution melting the Arctic sea ice, making it
possible for new oil and gas drilling in the region that will
melt the ice even faster. Lubchenco had just appeared in a panel
on threats to oceans at the Society of Environmental Journalists
annual conference on Friday morning, discussing ocean
acidification and the unexpectedly rapid decline of Arctic sea
ice, both results of greenhouse pollution from burning fossil
fuels. “Less sea ice means greater access to reserves for gas
and oil that are there,” Lubchenco said in the TP Green
interview, agreeing that “increased production of oil and gas
means less sea ice.” When asked whether there are civilizational
risks to a world without permanent Arctic sea ice, Lubchenco
explained that “what happens in the Arctic doesn’t stay in the
Arctic”: Well, what happens in the Ar