A leading expert on the science of ice predicts the final collapse of Arctic sea ice in summer months within four years, and describes a "global disaster" unfolding in northern latitudes "as the sea area that freezes and melts each year shrinks to its lowest extent ever recorded." (Guardian via @nytjim)

  • SoItBegins

    Sometimes I wish, not that I was not told about bad news I’m powerless to stop, but that the bad news in question wasn’t happening.

    T_T

  • Josh Bisker

    Perhaps it’s a good opportunity to try to think outside the “I’m powerless” paradigm and see what you can do to help, or to aid those already fighting this. There are lots of people engaged in the struggle to stop this — help them!

    • http://www.nathanhornby.com/ Nathan Hornby

      I think many of us who care are doing what we can, the problem is we can’t do much if the people with power have interests elsewhere.

      • greebo

        Bill McKibben, when asked what the three most important things to do wrt climate change are, said: “the number one thing is to organize politically; number two, do some political organizing; number three, get together with your neighbors and organize”.
        That’s why he started http://www.350.org/
        I also like the work of the Citizen’s Climate Lobby:
        http://www.citizensclimatelobby.org/
        Join them. Help out. It’ll stop you feeling helpless.

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/MWNNAJTTXSXFUN4A6FLTKAT264 Michael

    A recent headline indicated that “Climate change threat more real to those with perceived personal experience” (Vancouver Sun). The melting Arctic is not experienced by the vast majority, only reported. The article warns of a “global disaster” but offers very few details. What will the consequences be? There needs to be a mention of specific effects for humans to act or else we will just keep ignoring it.

    • wysinwyg

       Seeing as no one has ever reliably demonstrated the ability to predict the future I guess that means we will just keep ignoring it.

  • DD4U

    I thought the world is anyway ending in December 2012?… Seriously, is anyone keeping track of disastrous predictions that have gone wrong, and the “experts” who made them?

    • wysinwyg

      A little bit esoteric, but Archdruid Report has had an ongoing feature discussing failed apocalyptic prophecies at the end of every post.  A lot of them are pretty fascinating.  I get the impression that an exhaustive list would be very difficult to compile due to the sheer number of failed prophecies.

    • andygates

      The boffins on Arctic ice melt have been caught on the hop by how fast it is: it’s gone deeply non-linear and really, by the time we work out what the hell is happening, summer ice will be gone.  The trend lately fits very nicely to an exponential acceleration of ice loss until it’s all melted: you get more precipitation, more storms, weaker jetstreams so possibly more hard winters in northern Europe and America.  Predictions for crops?  Good luck with that.

  • Ashen Victor

    Four years?

    Time to check housing prices in Lapland…

  • Richard

    When the Guardian published this photo and article last Friday, I took note of the fact that the “Arctic sea ice’ is really only a jumble of floating bergs this time of year. It is not the big sheet of solid ice I thought it was:

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/picture/2012/sep/14/arctic-sunrise-sea-ice-melt-big-picture?intcmp=122

    I’d looked at the Guardian’s coverage because of last weeks Radio Ecoshock program:

    ARCTIC MELT DOWN Scientists Speak Out
    http://www.ecoshock.info/2012/09/arctic-melt-down-scientists-speak-out.html

    For daily updates on the Arctic ice pack size, that information is located here:

    http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/

  • Brainspore

    The climate catastrophe will seem tame compared to the terrible vengeance exacted upon us by the polar bears.

    • http://twitter.com/beep54orama B E Pratt

       Wait…weren’t the polar bears nice in ‘His Dark Materials’?

    • Felton / Moderator

      Revenge is a dish which is best served fuzzy.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=521240745 Ryan Griffin

    Extremely happy I live at 6500′ above sea level.

  • Matthew Stone

    What’s really sad about this is that once the ice is finally gone, we can expect the people in power to go, “At last! All that annoying arctic ice is out of the way! Now we can drill for more oil up there!”

  • http://mrsplooge.myopenid.com/ bob

    “lowest extend ever recorded.” Because humans have been recording sea ice for a comparatively long time (to the age of the earth)…