Melting Arctic shows 'catastrophic' trend

[lapfog_1]

Source: CNN web

The WWF said observations on ice coverage and thickness pointed toward a record low for the second year in a row, continuing a "catastrophic" trend that could threaten polar wildlife and accelerate global warming.

"If you take reduced ice thickness into account, there is probably less ice overall in the Arctic this year than in any other year since monitoring began," said Martin Sommerkorn, senior climate adviser of the WWF's Arctic program.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/09/15/arctic.ice.ap/index.html

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With all of the other crap going on... market meltdown, Hurricane damage reports, election news, etc. THIS is the story that is the "lead" for CNN's web site. And a second record low in as many years is something to take notice of. We don't have 20 or 30 years to fix this.

[Hekate]

1. I feel like this is the tipping point--for the Earth, the economy, for everything we think we know

That's all. No great words of wisdom, just that gut feeling.

Hekate

[XemaSab]

2. Here's the graph:

[lapfog_1]

3. The point of the article is that this graph may be misleading.

Sure, it shows decreasing lows every late summer / early fall... but the "coverage" in late winter early spring has recently been higher.

But they are pointing out that it's coverage that's measured not total ice. Not that we have historical data for total ice, but the recent trends are showing that the ice that reforms every winter is thinner and thinner.

[XemaSab]

4. I don't think it's misleading

Before 1996, every year had more than 14 million square kilometers of ice.

Between 1996 and 2004, two years had slightly less than 14 million square kilometers of ice.

Since 2004, we haven't cracked 14 million once.

Yeah, last year was higher than the previous couple years, but it's still lower than any but two years prior to 2004.

And yeah, the thickness data is even grimmer.

[San_Antonio_Guy]

5. Wake up Call

The data and information is a wake up call, yet most people still unaware of the drastic effect of their unconcern behavior towards nature.

[Viking12]

14. The significance of the data would be enhanced by the addition of a trend line

that displayed the downward spiral in fall sea ice extent. Like this one:

[truthisfreedom]

6. Jeepers, that 2008 summer drop is catastrophic. Look at the rest of the years!

What does 2009 have in store?

[jb5150]

7. Maybe God . . . . .

should quit hugging us so closely. . .sorry, I couldn't resist.

[Claire Beth]

8. Sigh - I believe we are at the point of no return....

and if McSame gets elected, it's OVER.

[GliderGuider]

9. What makes you think Obama can re-freeze the Arctic?

From a global ecological perspective, it really doesn't matter who gets elected in the USA. The tipping point is past. The political choice may be important in other areas like international relations and maybe the US economy, but for the world ecology, not so much.

[phantom power]

10. Obama/Biden -- Hospice and Change!

[Claire Beth]

12. It can certainly be made WORSE...

and did I say anything about obama REFREEZING the arctic?

[GliderGuider]

13. Sorry, I was just kidding with the Obama crack

But, no I really don't think it could be made much worse -- the damage has already been done. From an ecological perspective, we're about as screwed as you can get.

[whopis01]

16. Yeah, clearly this is all the more reason for us to vote for McCain/Palin.

After all, if we can make hell freeze over, I'm sure the Arctic won't be much of a problem.

[GliderGuider]

17. There are plenty of reasons to vote for Obama and Biden

One of them being that they're actual adults, unlike Beauty and the Beast. However, choosing between them based on their ability to influence the global climate would be like trying to choose based on their ability to fly by flapping their arms. None of them can do it, so it shouldn't be a factor.

[whopis01]

18. My previous post was a joke - I wasn't suggesting hell freezing over was a acutal factor. n/t

[GliderGuider]

19. Sorry, I guess watching the markets today impaired my sense of humour. n/t

[YankeyMCC]

11. We can't wait for a savoir, or expect political 'leaders' to fix this

they wont.

I agree Obama is likely to be a better or I should say more accommodating partner to those of us who recognize the level of urgency and need to act but we all have to realize so called political leaders seldom lead at best they only help the grass roots movements that they believe will keep them in power, or in the less cynical view, support a vision they have as close as possible. They can only lead the people where the people are willing to go unless they employ thuggery.

So yes Obama will be a more likely positive partner but McSame would not make much difference in the global view. General awareness and sense of urgency needs to be raised in order to gain the political and economic momentum moving towards action to do what we can to mitigate the suffering that is likely already on its way.

Support for poor countries with large populations living near or below sea level, support for clean water projects, general education, setting examples at the national and international level for changes in how energy is used, put real cost into carbon (greenhouse gas) producing activities, massive investment (yes that means taxes and foreign aide) in new and renewable energy sources.

None of that will happen unless the general public, worldwide, supports it regardless of the support of the US president, with with an president actively against it these things are more likely to get done with grassroots support than they are if the president supports these sorts of actions but not most of the general public.

[cal04]

15. Arctic ice melts to second-lowest level-scientists

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N16302310.htm

Arctic sea ice melted to its second-lowest level this summer, rising slightly from 2007's record but still showing a downward trend that is a key symptom of climate change, U.S. scientists said on Tuesday.

The ice slipped to its minimum extent for 2008 on Sept. 12, when it covered 1.74 million square miles (4.52 million square km), and now appears to be growing as the Arctic starts its seasonal cooldown, the National Snow and Ice Data Center said.

This is 33 percent below the average summer ice cover in the Arctic since satellites began measuring it in 1979 and is less than 10 percent above last year's all-time record low, said Walt Meier, a research scientist at the ice center.

"We're not as low as we were last year, which was the real mind-blowing record, but we're well below anything else we've had in the past," Meier said in a telephone interview from Boulder, Colorado.

One channel of the Northwest Passage -- a long-sought water route between Europe and Asia -- was open in both 2007 and 2008. This year also saw the opening of the Northern Sea Route, which runs through the Arctic Ocean along the Siberian coast.