Episode Details

Art Bell presents investigative journalist Linda Moulton Howe with a detailed report on accelerating global environmental change. Howe reveals that Dutch scientists have discovered man-made chemical compounds in sperm whales feeding at 3000 feet, demonstrating that toxic pollution has penetrated far deeper into ocean ecosystems than previously understood. She documents the worldwide retreat of glaciers, noting that Spain has lost half its glaciers since 1980 and Montana's Glacier National Park is projected to lose all of its ice within the next century.

Howe interviews Dr. Greg Wiles of the College of Wooster, who reports that Alaska's temperatures have risen five degrees Fahrenheit since 1968, exactly as global warming models predicted for northern regions. This accelerated warming is causing permafrost to melt, dropping the water table below tree roots and killing vast stands of white spruce across Alaska's boreal forest.

Geophysicist Dr. Mike Meyer of the University of Colorado discusses projected sea level rise of approximately half a meter by 2100. He explains that even modest rises translate to 150 feet of coastline retreat due to flat coastal slopes, threatening wetlands and freshwater estuaries worldwide. Meyer notes that the polar ice caps remain too cold for near-term catastrophic collapse but urges policymakers to factor rising seas into all coastal development decisions.