NEW YORK -- The Arctic Council, an international group of northern nations, says global warming will be both a blessing and a curse.
The group's report, four years in the making and set for a Nov. 9 release, warns warmer weather will cause sea levels to rise, but also extend growing seasons and, thus, world agricultural output, the New York Times reported Saturday.
Nearly 300 scientists contributed to the analysis of the Arctic, which finds heat-trapping gases from tailpipes and smokestacks around the world are causing sharp retreats of glaciers and sea ice, thawing of permafrost and shifts in the weather, the oceans and the atmosphere.
The study, commissioned by eight nations that share Arctic territory, also stresses that -- even with public policy adoptions to the phenomenon -- further warming and melting are unavoidable, given the century-long buildup of the gases, mainly carbon dioxide.
Council members are the United States, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia and Sweden.
