by Dorothy Cutting, participant in the Climate Emergency Fast, Salt Spring, British Columbia
As reported on BBC World News on Saturday, August 11, there are now 28 million people – yes, 28 million
Arctic Sea Ice at All Time Low
On August 9th the Northern Hemisphere sea ice area broke the record for the lowest recorded ice area in recorded history. The new record came a full month before the historic summer minimum typically occurs. There is still a month or more of melt likely this year. It is therefore almost certain that the previous 2005 record will be annihilated by the final 2007 annual minimum closer to the end of this summer.
The University of Illinois Ice site, which monitors Arctic sea ice, is reporting:
In previous record sea ice minima years, ice area anomalies were confined to certain sectors (N. Atlantic, Beaufort/Bering Sea, etc). The character of 2007’s sea ice melt is unique in that it is dramatic and covers the entire Arctic sector. Atlantic, Pacific and even the central Arctic sectors are showing large negative sea ice area anomalies.
Read more on Daily Kos.
The Arctic ice cap is melting much faster than expected and is now about 30 years ahead of previous predictions made by the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change. This means the ocean at the top of the world could be free or nearly free of summer ice by 2020, three decades sooner than the global panel’s gloomiest forecast of 2050.
Climate Scientists: "A Clear Human Fingerprint on Changing Global Rainfall Patterns
It’s official: human activities that cause climate change are changing global rainfall patterns. Earlier today the “BBC Newshour” interviewed one of the authors of the study just released in the British journal “Nature.” The scientist said his study is the first to show that human activities are largely to blame for changes in rainfall patterns over the last century. The author hopes his report will serve as a wake-up call that we need to act now to curb global warming.
The report was released as record rains caused severe flooding in Britain, China and Indonesia.
Tewkesbury, Britain, and its famous Abbey are seen swamped by floodwaters on Monday.
I can’t help but notice a very disturbing discrepancy here:
When it rains in biblical proportions in Europe, conversations understandably turn to global warming. Not so in the U.S. Continue reading
Poison Ivy Thrives with Climate Change
A recent study indicates that as carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere increase, poison ivy will grow larger and produce more rash causing oils. Even small increases in the concentration of CO2 were found to increase the size of the plant and allow it to recover faster after having its leaves removed. The study comes along with increasing evidence that vines and plants similar to poison ivy, which can cause significant harm to forests, have become more widespread in recent years. Read more about the study here
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