Climate Change 'Irreversible' as Artic Sea Ice Fails to Re-Form
Sea ice in the Arctic has failed to re-form for the second consecutive winter, raising fears that global warming may have tipped the polar regions in to irreversible climate change far sooner than predicted.
Satellite measurements of the area of the Arctic covered by sea ice show that for every month this winter, the ice failed to return even to its long-term average rate of decline. It is the second consecutive winter that the sea ice has not managed to re-form enough to compensate for the unprecedented melting seen during the past few summers.
Scientists are now convinced that Arctic sea ice is showing signs of both a winter and a summer decline that could indicate a major acceleration in its long-term rate of disappearance. The greatest fear is that an environmental "positive feedback" has kicked in, where global warming melts ice which in itself causes the seas to warm still further as more sunlight is absorbed by a dark ocean rather than being reflected by white ice.
posted by EAPrez @ 9:59 AM
1 Comments
1 Comments:
In fact, this is now inevitable.
Want more proof? Consider the Canadian shipping company OMNITrax. They have been investing real cash to build rail lines and improve port facilities in Churchill, Manitoba, a sleepy little port village along the shores of Hudson bay, which has in the past only served as a means for shipping some central Canadian wheat and timber products to Europe.
But OMNITrax sees a big opportunity for Churchill. They believe that pretty soon melting ice in the Arctic will open a shipping route between Asia and eastern North America-- the fabled and heretofore mythical 'northwest passage' that was the death of many a mariner.
Like Conservatives like to say-- if you want proof, follow the money.
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