Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/20/science/earth/arctic-sea-ice-stops-melting-but-new-record-low-is-set.html?_r=0
Publication: The New York Times
Date: September 19th, 2012
Summary:
Every summer, a drastic amount of the polar ice melts, and then as the colder seasons roll around, it refreezes for the winter. In 2007, the percent of sea ice that covered the surface of the
Arctic Ocean reached an all time low of 29%. That record was broken this year, in 2012, only 24% of the ocean surface was covered with ice. Many experts believe that this is a result in the amount of greenhouse gases that are produced from human activities. The ice is a very important resource on earth, because it is considered "Earth's Air-Conditioner" and helps keep the plant's temperature regulated. Although the water refreezes in the winter, it will be substantially thinner and more prone to melting. If the rapid erosion of the ice continues at this rate of speed, researchers are speculating that in the year 2020, all of the ice will be gone. Even now, the ocean is rising at 1 foot a year, which is an alarming rate, and without any restrictions on emissions, the Polar Ice and the species that inhabit them may be doomed.
Above is a picture of where the polar ice caps were in 1979, (outlined in red) compared to where they are today.
Reflection:
I think that the health of the planet is rapidly deteriorating, and it needs to be mended somehow. Many species of animals inhabit these regions, and without them, biodiversity will go down, and the oceans will start to become overflowed, and all over the world, the climate and temperatures will be affected greatly. I believe that something needs to be done to help reduce the amount of greenhouse gases that are heating the planet up.
Questions:
1.) How do you believe that the human population can reduce the amount of greenhouse gases and emission that is put into the air?
2.) Do you believe that global warming exists, or is it just something that was bound to happen naturally?
3.) Do you think that it is important to put time and money into saving the Arctic Ice? Why or why not?
1.) How do you believe that the human population can reduce the amount of greenhouse gases and emission that is put in the air?
ReplyDeleteI personally believe that the human population is contributing little, if any, damage to the polar ice caps. I believe that the planet is just going through a warming stage. We are improving on using alternate forms of energy. Once this use of alternate energy is in full bloom, people will no longer be concerned about global warming. The process will be complete, and at the same time, our planet will benefit from the new and cleaner energy sources
2.) Do you believe that global warming exists, or is it just something that was bound to happen?
I do not believe that global warming exists because our world has gone through ice ages before. How did the Earth recover? We need to wait for the warming cycle to take place. This is just another cycle that we are going through.
3.) Do you think that it is important to put time and money into saving the Arctic Ice? Why or why not?
I say no to wasting time and money. The Arctic Ice situation is a natural process and it will go its course, good or bad. Human interference will not help the situation or the process. If anything, we should have scientists document this information for future generations to understand and be aware of upcoming changes.
Dr. DanIel Kammen is a great person to have comment on our blog. He is a Climate advisory in the Obama administration. he is a professor in the Energy Resources Group. Also he is the founding Director of Renewable and appropriate Energy Laboratory.
ReplyDeleteHello Dr. Kammen
My name is Mikayla Walls. I am a freshman at Hatboro-Horsham High School. My science class is doing a blog where we find an article that we find interesting, then in group we talk about. It would greatly enhance our understanding of this topic if you could please take a moment and give us your opinion. The link to our blog is http://bndmdeluca.blogspot.com/
Thank you
Mikayla Walls
This is a cool video showing how scientists test how much ice is in the ocean, as well as scientists talking about their findings.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VL1it8NyEA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfFb4Ez95gY&feature=relmfu
I found this video really interesting because it makes this issue seem more real, by showing how the data is collected to reach the conclusion of what is happing to the sea ice. It's important for people to see others talk about the issue rather then just reading about it. People are able to see how passionate others are about the issue and I feel like they would be more prone to help and be interested in telling others about the problem. Julienne Stroeve, one of the scientists in the video talks about how she is surprised to see so much ocean and so little ice. The scientists in the video talk about how the sea ice melting will greatly effect the climate all around the world. The video also shows how a lot of complex technology is used to calculate and find the data that is presented to people, and inform them of this issue.