Luka Suon, August 28, 2008 3:54 pm
Recently,the National Snow and Ice Data Center have found evidence to confirm the severity of global warming--the Arctic Ocean is at its second all-time lowest in about thirty years, covering an area of only about 2.03 million square miles. Last September it was measured at 1.65 million square miles.
Arctic ice melts typically in the summer and re-freezes in the winter. However, with the recent environmental activities going on the decrease in Arctic ice poses a huge threat for the world as a whole. The ice serves as a reflector of the sun's heat, but with the sudden decrease of ice and increase in open water the absorption of heat accelerates, causing an increase in the world's oceans' levels overall, as well as causing an increase in heating in other parts of the world.
Experts at NASA believe that within a duration of five to ten years the Arctic could be devoid of any ice. In addition they believe it could further accelerate the planet's warming. The entire process could mean a much warmer atmosphere in the near future.
As one scientist put it so elegantly--" We are moving beyond the point of no return."
The decrease in Arctic ice may not seem all that significant to me, but the truth of the matter stands that this alarm should require our utmost attention. The truth of the matter is we cannot afford to ignore something that has the potential of ruining our planet. In turn, if we are on the long road to suicidal armageddon we are pretty much the ones to blame. The data suggests the depletion of ice is a warning sign, a red flag, that the problem of global warming is all too real and not something of mere fiction. As a social problem the genesis is us, and we are the parents of this predicament. The current status we find ourselves in requires us to fully comprehend the severity of the consequences in the long-term as well as in the short-term sequence, and we must address the problem immediately rather than procrastinate. Of course, I'm not alone in these convictions.
Links:
http://nsidc.org/data/seaice_index/images/daily_images/N_daily_extent_hires.
http://climate.jpl.nasa.gov/
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080827/ap_on_sc/sci_arctic_ice;_ylt=As7w7wE2BGzuG1pFv4cTvH8PLBIF
