The Arctic parts of the Nordic region - Iceland, Greenland, Svalbard and the far north of Finland, Norway and Sweden - are among the most sparsely populated areas on earth, with their vast expanses of seemingly pristine wilderness. But are these areas really as unspoilt as they appear? This book shows that they have been affected by far-reaching exploitation of natural resources such as fish, game, pastureland, forests and minerals. Furthermore they are exposed to a steady stream of pollutants from more populous parts of the world.
Earth, air, fire - and ice; flora and fauna in the north; man in the Arctic; hunting, whaling and sealing; fishing and fishing stocks; agriculture, reindeer herding - and overgrazing; forestry in a harsh climate; tourism in the wilderness - a contradiction in terms?; an expanding industrial society; urban air pollution and health; oxygen depletion and eutrophication; sulphur and acidification; heavy metals and radioactivity; organic pollutants; ozone, ultraviolet radiation and climate change; protecting the Arctic environment; summary.