In last 30 years, we’ve lost as much as three-quarters of the floating sea ice cover at the top of the world. Satellite images reveal that the volume of that summer sea ice in the Arctic has shrunk so fast that scientists say it’s now in a ‘death spiral’. Due to human activities, primarily the burning of fossil fuels, the Arctic may soon be ice free in the summer for the first time in over 800,000 years.
This will be devastating for polar bears, narwhals, walruses and other species that live there. It will also have profoundly destructive consequences for people all around the world as the Arctic helps to regulate global weather patterns and as a consequence has a powerful impact on global agriculture.
It is a tragic irony that the dirty energy companies that are causing the Arctic to warm at twice the rate of the rest of the world, are also looking to plunder oil and other resources that lie underneath the disappearing ice.
Arctic ecosystems are among the most fragile on Earth and according to recently declassified government documents, dealing with oil spills in the freezing waters is “almost impossible.” If there is one thing we have learned it is that spills are unavoidable and in the Arctic this will be far more destructive than anywhere else on the planet.
We cannot allow the Arctic to be exploited for its natural resources. We cannot allow the loss of the indiginous people's way of life by giant fishing companies. They have fished sustainably in the Arctic for thousands of years.
As part of its efforts to defend the Arctic, Greenpeace is asking people to sign a petition to create a global sanctuary around the North Pole, ban offshore drilling and other destructive industries in the Arctic. Thirty years ago they launched a similar campaign to protect the Antarctic. They were instrumental in helping to create a world park around the South Pole, now they are asking for people to come together to do the same for the Arctic Ocean.
Help Greenpeace to ban destructive industries in the Arctic and create a global sanctuary around the North Pole dedicated to peace and science. Join millions of people around the world and sign the petition to protect the Arctic.
Click here for more information.
© 2014, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.
Related Articles
Scientists Link Loss of Arctic Sea Ice to Anomalous Weather
Video - The Arctic is Under Threat from Shell and Gazprom
Video - The Global Implications of Rapid Climate Change in the Arctic
The Race to Exploit the Arctic's Resources Ignores the Costs
More Evidence that Arctic Warming is an Economic and Ecological Time Bomb
White Paper - Oil Spills in Arctic Waters
More Evidence of Historic Arctic Warming: Lake Sediment and Ice Cores
Why the Fate of the Arctic Should be of Concern to Us All
Its Official Arctic Sea Ice is at its Lowest Level in Recorded History
The Arctic's Dangerous Combination of Environmental Toxicity and Genetic Vulnerability
The Dramatic Implications of Melting Arctic Sea Ice
Melting Arctic Ice is Releasing Massive Amounts of Methane
Video - Methane is the Ticking Time Bomb Beneath the Ice
Video - Massive Costs Associated with Arctic Methane
Video - Unlocking Methane in the Permafrost is a Global Warming Time Bomb
Video - Warming Arctic, Changing Planet
Video - Arctic Warming: Risks for Methane Emissions
Russia Lining Up Investors for Arctic Drilling
Shell's Game with the Future of the Arctic
Global Warming Exposes Resources in the Arctic
Arctic Monitoring Stations Report CO2 Levels of 400 PPM
Clinton Working to Cut Short-Lived Climate Pollutants and Arctic Awareness
Northern Ice is Melting at a Dramatic Rate
Home
#ilovearctic
Arctic Circle
Climate
climate change
conserve
degradation
environment
Far North
Global Warming
ice
impacts
loss
melting
north
protect
top of the world
true north
Save the Arctic from a "Death Spiral"
- Blogger Comment
- Facebook Comment
Subscribe to:
Post Comments
(
Atom
)
0 comments:
Post a Comment