National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Study Shows Bad News for Arctic Sea Ice

What are the similarities between life on Earth today vs. 1500 years ago?  Thankfully, not too many.  The 6th Century CE saw the invention of backgammon and the first use of toilet paper, but outside of that, things we’re pretty barbaric.

Geologically, however, there is a huge parallel. From this report:

With the smallest winter sea ice coverage since record-keeping began and the second warmest year ever in the Arctic, a new NOAA-sponsored study out Tuesday reveals the polar region continues to bear the brunt of the world’s climate crisis. “While 2017 saw fewer records shattered than in 2016,” NOAA noted in a statement, “the Arctic shows no sign of returning to the reliably frozen region it was decades ago. Arctic temperatures continue to increase at double the rate of the global temperature increase.” Citing historical data, the research found that “the current observed rate of sea ice decline and warming temperatures are higher than at any other time in the last 1,500 years, and likely longer than that.”

Maybe it’s time for the U.S. to join the rest of the world, recognize the problem, and commit to becoming at least a tiny part of the solution.