The Arctic presides in silence, omnipotent spectator to the incursions of man in pursuit of materials and resources to satisfy his own insatiable appetite. This land sits largely untouched by human hand, and in defiance of the adage that “the grass looks greener in someone else's back garden”. Generally, green it is not. The authors have attempted at best, a thumbnail sketch of what it is, where, why and the possible consequences of its thoughtless debasement. “The Great White Silence” may or may not be a precise circumscription of the Arctic. While we have taken some licence in our commentary, for the greatest part the facts speak for themselves.