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November 21, 2012 14:41
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The Story Behind the Story: Reporting at the top of the world

Reporter and documentary filmmaker Caitlin McNally tells GlobalPost what it was like to report on the Arctic and why she plans to stick with the story.

How do you get at ‘ground truth’ in the Arctic when it is melting right beneath your feet?

Over the summer I set out on a journey with documentary journalist and filmmaker Caitlin McNally to do our best to get at a story that is as vast as the frozen tundra of the Arctic itself. We arrived in the Arctic just as scientists were recording a historic melting of the sea ice due to global warming, a perilous development for the environment that has become a potential boon to the oil industry as shipping lanes and drilling operations open up amid the great melt.

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GroundTruth: Caitlin McNally on reporting from the Great North

November 21, 2012 15:06

As the Arctic continues to melt at an unprecedented rate, GlobalPost will be there to cover the story. In August, documentary filmmaker Caitlin McNally traveled with GlobalPost's Charlie Sennott for our Special Report, "The Arctic Melt."

October 19, 2012 15:49

In Search of GroundTruth: A new view of the Arctic oil quest

The first published photographs of Shell's oil rig off the coast of Alaska.
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The Italian sailing vessel Best Explorer, piloted by Capt. Nanni Acquarone, navigates icebergs north of Upernavik, Greenland, July 19, 2012. It is the first Italian boat to complete the Northwest Passage, roughly 600 miles north of the Arctic Circle. (Stefano De Luigi/VII/GlobalPost)

Every week we will be on the lookout for the best examples of GroundTruth in the media. This week, we take our search north.

GlobalPost's recently published Special Report, "The Arctic Melt," aims to get at the huge stakes — economic, environmental, and political — raised as the Arctic melts faster than ever. The melt has spurred a battle at the top of the world that threatens to alter the environment and change residents' way of life. And at the heart of this battle is oil.

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October 12, 2012 16:39

VIDEO: Rock and Roll in Savoonga

In Savoonga, Alaska, traditional drumming marks the beginning of whaling season.
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George Noongwook, Savoonga resident and chairman of the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission, drumming before fall whaling season starts. (Screengrab)

At the top of the world, tradition runs strong.

The community of Savoonga, Alaska marked the beginning of the fall whaling season with traditional drumming on August 30. Savoonga, population 704, sits on the northern tip of St. Lawrence Island, a tiny speck of land that's closer to Russia than Alaska. St. Lawrence Island is one of the few remains of the Bering Land Bridge, according to the Alaska Dispatch.

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The Arctic Melt: A view from the top of the world

October 4, 2012 06:40

Wainwright, Alaska, population 550, hasn't changed much over the years, but it's about to.

Arctic resource rush changes view near top of the world

October 4, 2012 07:07
Wainwright, Alaska, population 550, hasn't changed much over the years. It's a small village that's mostly inhabited by Inupiat Eskimos, many of whom rely on the natural environment and surrounding waters—harvesting whales, walrus, and caribou—for their livelihoods. Until recently, the village didn't have running water or sewage systems. But it's all about to change, because Wainwright is just 60 miles from some of Shell Oil's biggest offshore prospects.
August 27, 2012 09:52
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The Arctic is melting, and we're going to cover it

GlobalPost executive editor Charles Sennott begins a journey of inquiry about how the eight nations of the Arctic Circle are putting their heads together to solve a fateful geo-political puzzle.
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A sign reads: 'Gas!' in - 40 degree celcius weather in Novy Urengoi, just below the arctic circle, in far northern Russia. Along with Russia, the US, Norway, Finland, Greenland, Canada and Iceland are members of the Arctic Council, and in the coming years will decide what happens to our last untouched and valuable resource. (NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA/AFP/Getty Images)

GIRDWOOD, Alaska — The Arctic is melting.

And satellite data officially released today confirms that Arctic sea ice hit a record low this month, tracking below the previous record low which was set in 2007.

And it is not over. The ice will continue melting well into September, according to scientists from the US National Snow and Ice Data Center.  

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Google Street View comes to the remote Canadian Arctic

August 23, 2012 22:44
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Google Street View has a remarkably comprehensive handle on cities and towns worldwide. And now, the mapping service has moved to the remote Canadian Arctic.

Shell overcomes final hurdle to drill in the Arctic

March 30, 2012 18:36
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Shell overcame its last legal hurdle to Arctic drilling Friday after US federal regulators approved a proposed plan on how the company would deal with possible oil spills near Alaska.

Fiber optic cables to join Japan and UK through Arctic

March 22, 2012 16:08
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Receding ice in the Arctic has, for the first time, allowed the laying of fiber optic cables to cross over the top of the world to connect London to Tokyo.
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