Unfrozen world: Arctic thaw becomes major source of global risk

TOKYO -- Dormant forces buried under Arctic ice for thousands of years are remerging, posing a multitude of threats to civilization from potential conflicts over newly unearthed resources to viruses long-thought lost to history.

As governments scurry to stop climate change in the 11th hour, temperatures are rising twice as fast in the Arctic as in the rest of the world. The global repercussions came to the forefront this year with an election in Greenland that stymied China's ambitions there.