This is it!! The LAST American presidential election where fucked up, greedy, "Hairy Old White Men" like those running the Republican Party can ever deny the reality of climate change.
I haven’t blogged about climate change in many months. I guess it’s because I don’t even think about it any more. No, not from the James Inhoffe viewpoint, sticking my ignorant head in the ground and ignoring the issue. No, I don’t think about it because it’s a fact of life, just like the sun rising every morning. It’s happening, it’s relentlessly marching on, and at this stage, there’s absolutely nothing we can do to stop it. We’ve dug our grave…
But even as a scientist who knows the science behind climate change, I find the pace of change truly shocking. I find stories like this one truly shocking. It’s been a given that Arctic sea ice has been shrinking, but the pace of decline has outpaced even the most dire of predictions. Last week, it was officially announced that the Arctic sea ice was at its lowest level ever…and there were still a few weeks left in the melt season. What’s really shocking are the numbers, compared to just 30 years ago.
By area, Arctic sea ice covers 45% less area today than it did over the 1979 to 2000 average. HALF of Arctic sea ice gone, in the blink of a geologic eye. It’s even more shocking when you look at volume of sea ice, as it’s not just area that’s declined precipitously, it’s the volume of the remaining ice. The remaining ice continues to deteriorate in quality and thickness, and now is down an astounding 72% from the 1979 to 2000 average. THREE-QUARTERS of all Arctic ice…gone in one generation.
As the story above states, the pace of decline is outpacing all projections, and it’s now quite possible that in just 4 years, the Arctic will be completely ice-free in the summer.
The “good” news, I guess, if there is any? This could very well be the VERY last presidential election where one completely fucked up American political party denies the reality of climate change. Four summers from now, when ships are freely plowing across the Arctic Ocean without any pesky ice to stop them, it will be awfully damned hard for the greedy, ignorant, short-sighted SOB’s on the right to deny the reality of climate change. Of course, by then it will also be too late to do anything about it…since right NOW, it’s too late to do anything about it.
What I know is that food and fuel used and needed by those who already are at financial critical mass will make do with even less as drought, fire, flood and aberrant climate make living more of a luxury. Fracking, and fouling the water table will also ruin crops. And how many hurricanes in the same area does it take for people who live below sea level decide to leave? As long as white, old hairy rich men think they can insure their resources, with money and guns, the rest of us are screwed. All over the world, those children with flies in their eyes and emaciated bodies, needing clean water and nutrition are what’s left of arrogance and power. This winter is going to be terrible for many people right here in our own land. We have to change our thinking and care for others. And care for our land and water, heat and food.
Um, you work at the USGS and you find that report of low arctic sea ice shocking? You realize the data only goes back to 1979.
Has this low sea ice happened before, has it happened every 100 years, perhaps every 500 years, perhaps never before? I don’t know, and neither do any of your geologist cohorts. How can you find such a small data set shocking, you talk like a biology major.
The reason it IS shocking is that it IS happening on timescales more consistent with biologic processes, rather than geologic. 30 years? And 72% of the ice has disappeared. Just as with atmospheric CO2 concentrations, it’s the pace of change that is shocking.
I’m SURE “klem” that you too read the scientific literature. Just on the off chance that you’re not a climate scientist but are some right-wing, wacko, armchair “scientist”…here’s a journal pub to get you started.
http://bprc.osu.edu/geo/publications/polyak_etal_seaice_QSR_10.pdf
100 years? 500 years? How about 13 million years where the Arctic has had perennial sea ice. But hey, you were close.
Um, here’s a quote from the link you provided “Ice was apparently most wide- spread during the last 2–3 million years, in accordance with Earth’s overall cooler climate. Nevertheless, episodes of considerably reduced sea ice or even seasonally ice-free conditions occurred during warmer periods linked to orbital variations. The last low-ice event related to orbital forcing (high insolation) was in the early Holocene,..”
The early Holocene was roughly 12,000 years ago. So remind me again, what part of the present low ice extent is shocking?
Klem
Geologist (aka some right-wing, wacko, armchair “scientist”)
Klem!! Come for another verbal beating? Welcome back!
I see you’ve suddenly become a “Geologist”! Impressive! Wow…this from a guy who in his last post said “Has this low sea ice happened before, has it happened every 100 years, perhaps every 500 years, perhaps never before? I don’t know!!” Have you suddenly become less ignorant, once you’ve randomly thrown the title “Geologist” after your name?
I, for one, actually am a scientist. But I can play your game too!! I am ALSO an astronaut!! Yeah! That’s right, I’m an astronaut! I also am the quarterback for the Green Bay Packers!! Yeah…NFL QB!! I’m also the Prime Minister of Great Britain, BTW!! Yeah…Prime Minister, baby!!
The paper’s main conclusion is that ice has “consistently covered at least part of the Arctic Ocean for no less than the last 13-14 million years.” CONTINUOUS ice coverage somewhere in the Arctic, for at least 13 million years.
And now…POOF, it may be gone in the next 5 years during the summer. Not low ice, but NO ice. For the first time in 13 million years.
Yeah, that’s not shocking at all, Klem the “geologist”. I AM impressed that someone like you WAS able to read the first few sentences in the abstract, and copy and paste. Pretty obvious from your comments you didn’t (and probably couldn’t) read the paper itself.
Terry
Research Physical Scientist / Astronaut / Green Bay Packer QB / Prime Minister of Great Britain
The fact that it’s happening NOW, as dramatically and for sure as the facts can be, is the point. Too warm for ice, is the point. We better care about it, and :klem:, when you make you comments personal you become another basher without the facts, essentially, one of your herd.