According to scientists from the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), the Arctic Ocean will be ice-free by 2060 if current warming trends continue. NSIDC research last summer found that the Arctic was "experiencing an unprecedented sixth consecutive year with much less sea ice than normal," and that the extent of Arctic sea ice for 2007 "set a new record minimum that [was] substantially below the 2005 [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] record." This summer looks to be on track for a near-record melt, though probably not as extreme as last summer's.
The impacts of global warming and the resulting Arctic thaw will be profound. Michael T. Klare, a professor of peace and world security studies at Hampshire College and defense correspondent for "The Nation," once explained to me that "global warming will affect resource competition and conflict profoundly" in the coming years, and while "global warming's effects cannot be predicted with certainty, it is likely to produce [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] diminished rainfall in many parts of the world, leading to a rise in desertification in these areas and a decline in their ability to sustain agriculture" -- which may in turn "force people to fight over remaining sources of water and arable land, or to migrate in large numbers to other areas, where their presence may be resented by the existing inhabitants."
Klare said that "global warming is also expected to produce a significant rise global sea levels, and this will [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] result in the inundation of low-lying coastal areas around the world," resulting in "the widespread loss of agricultural lands, forcing many millions of people to migrate to higher areas, possible encountering resistance in the process." He cautioned that "because many poor countries will be unable to cope with the catastrophic effects of global warming, state collapse is a likely result along with an accompanying epidemic of warlordism, ethnic violence, and civil disorder."There are climate change skeptics and deniers out there; but I've seen evidence of the thaw, from melting permafrost and boiling [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] methane fields, to the emergence of new hybrid polar/brown bears as a new genetic mixing takes place with more and more of the proud white bears migrating south, onto land, where they not only compete with the grizzlies but are now breeding with them.
The impacts of global warming and the resulting Arctic thaw will be profound. Michael T. Klare, a professor of peace and world security studies at Hampshire College and defense correspondent for "The Nation," once explained to me that "global warming will affect resource competition and conflict profoundly" in the coming years, and while "global warming's effects cannot be predicted with certainty, it is likely to produce [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] diminished rainfall in many parts of the world, leading to a rise in desertification in these areas and a decline in their ability to sustain agriculture" -- which may in turn "force people to fight over remaining sources of water and arable land, or to migrate in large numbers to other areas, where their presence may be resented by the existing inhabitants."
Klare said that "global warming is also expected to produce a significant rise global sea levels, and this will [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] result in the inundation of low-lying coastal areas around the world," resulting in "the widespread loss of agricultural lands, forcing many millions of people to migrate to higher areas, possible encountering resistance in the process." He cautioned that "because many poor countries will be unable to cope with the catastrophic effects of global warming, state collapse is a likely result along with an accompanying epidemic of warlordism, ethnic violence, and civil disorder."There are climate change skeptics and deniers out there; but I've seen evidence of the thaw, from melting permafrost and boiling [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] methane fields, to the emergence of new hybrid polar/brown bears as a new genetic mixing takes place with more and more of the proud white bears migrating south, onto land, where they not only compete with the grizzlies but are now breeding with them.