Jul 28 2009
Ice Caps Have Melted Threatening to Trigger Runaway Warming
Satellite photos of melting Arctic Ice Caps, hidden by the Bush administration have just been released, confirming scientists’ worst fears about the devastating impact of global warming. Many of the thousand photos taken last summer show with a high degree of resolution, how more than a million square kilometers of sea-ice have disappeared and are not showing any signs of recovery. Not only are melting ice-caps a tangible indicator of global warming, their demise spells bad news for endangered species of animals like polar bears who use them as shelves for hunting. Additionally ice caps have been good reflectors of the sun’s heat – their disappearance means that the earth will absorb more solar energy and potentially trigger a runaway heating cycle of catastrophic proportions. The Obama Administration, which revealed the photos, has used them to urge Congress to pass comprehensive legislation to curb green-house gas emissions.
GUEST: Kieran Mulvaney, project leader of Greenpeace’s Arctic expedition
For more information, visit www.greenpeace.org.
2 Responses to “Ice Caps Have Melted Threatening to Trigger Runaway Warming”
that’s cruel
Can we say Over Dramatic? Over 10 million sq/km melts in the Arctic Ocean every summer and grows back in the winter. The earth has natural cycles of varying lengths so it is harder for us mortals to see them. As for the polar bears and other life in the Arctic region they will find a way to survive or perish just as it has been for millions of years and as it is for us right now.