As we have often said, there are few better barometers of the advance of global warming than the condition of our polar ice caps.

And once again today, we are confronted with dramatic news that ice is melting – and global warming advancing – much faster than previously thought. As was reported today, the summer ice pack in the Arctic – air conditioner to the planet and home of the majestic polar bear and other equally stunning animals – reached a new record low, smashing the old record set in 2005. Incredibly enough, 69,000 square miles of ice – roughly the same size as the state of Florida – has melted… in just the past seven days!

The news by itself is alarming enough. It’s also disturbing to note the mainstream media’s seeming inability to follow the news on this critical issue, since the possibility of an summer ice-free Arctic by 2020 was already predicted in a report by the National Snow and Ice Data Center this past May. Equally disturbing is the idea that nations are now fighting over the “fabled” Northwest Passage through the Arctic that is suddenly opening up, as opposed to redoubling (or quadrupling) their efforts to make sure that climate change is halted and reversed, Northwest Passage be damned.

As the article notes, this dramatic loss of Arctic sea ice will spell doom for the polar bear and other inhabitants of the Arctic, and it will also likely have a dramatic effect on weather patterns for the rest of the planet. It’s not just the polar bears that are threatened with extinction anymore. In the words of Rob Watson, “people see an endangered species every day now when they look in the mirror.”

There is still time left to act, but it is running out. Thanks for joining the Chesapeake Climate Action Network in our campaign to fight global warming. And in particular, please consider joining us as we stand up and speak out for the polar bears in our Third Annual Polar Bear Plunge on December 8th. Check it out, and sign up, at www.keepwintercold.org