New York Times (April 20, 2013)
“The central Arctic Ocean has been covered in ice for eons, but under the influence of global warming, nearly half of it is now open water for part of the year.” Humans must now step up with a treaty to protect this fragile ecosystem, which includes some of Earth’s last untouched fishing stocks. “No matter how severe, how austere, the Arctic may seem in our imaginations, it is almost unbelievably fragile, as are many of the species newly exposed under what is now open water. It is time, now, to intercede and protect this environmental oasis.”
Tags: Arctic Ocean, Environment, Fishing, Fragile, Global warming, Humans, Ice, Species
The Guardian (September 17)
“Sometimes, the future arrives with alarming speed.” In 2000, scientists warned urgent action was needed; otherwise summer sea ice would disappear from the Arctic Ocean by 2050. The actual results have been “far more dramatic….The summer Arctic could be an open sea within a decade.”
Tags: Arctic Ocean, Climate change, Sea ice, Summer
