"Arctic Council To Address Role of Soot in Global Warming"

"KANGERLUSSUAQ, GREENLAND — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton touched down Wednesday on Greenland’s rocky, snow-flecked coast for two days of talks on the Arctic, as the Obama administration seeks to draw attention to the rapidly accelerating loss of sea ice and surging interest in the region’s natural resources.

Rapid warming above the Arctic Circle has led to shorter winters and a dramatic thinning of Arctic ice in the past two decades, and new scientific data suggest that the rate of polar melting has accelerated far beyond what scientists had forecast a few years ago. One study, the conclusions of which were released last week, predicts that the resulting rise in global sea levels could reach as much as five feet by the end of the century.

Greenland is also confronting developmental pressures by companies racing to claim natural resources exposed by retreating ice."

Joby Warrick and Juliet Eilperin report for the Washington Post May 11, 2011.