Environment News Service: New evidence of the far-reaching effects of global warming in the polar regions has emerged from the scientific explorations of International Polar Year 2007-2008. Snow and ice are declining in both polar regions, affecting human livelihoods as well as local plant and animal life in the Arctic, as well as global ocean and atmospheric circulation and sea level. The IPY findings are reported in “State of Polar Research,” released today by the World Meteorological Organization and the …