Losing the Race of Time With Arctic Ice

The ice at the North Pole is melting at a rather quick rate, leading scientists to warn people that the Arctic could be free of ice by the summer of 2013. Due to the loss of such an an enormous amount of arctic sea ice there are a lot of problems that will follow. The region acts like a huge refrigerator, which has a very strong effect on the northern hemisphere’s meteorology. Without the cooling influence weather will take a turn in a different direction, which include storms sweeping over Britain.

Apart from the weather taking a turn for the worse there are other things that we don’t see that can and more than likely will happen. Polar bears and seals that use sea ice for resting and hunting will face major threats. Coastlines that were once insulated by ice from wave damage will suffer erosion, which is already happening in Alaska.

Without sea ice to bolster them, land ice along with glaciers could possibly topple into the ocean and raise global sea levels, which would threaten many low-lying areas, all of which include Bangladesh and scores of Pacific islands. The disappearance of ice over the Arctic would mean that solar radiation wouldn’t bounce back into space any longer, which would cause the planted to be heated even more.

The information regarding the Arctic Ice was found at guardian.co.uk, which can be found on their website.

Want to help fight global warming? A good start would be to first start signing some petitions online. Here are a few current petitions related to global warming:

Global Warming Needs to Stop
Urge Congress to Permanently Protect the Arctic Refuge!
Support the Global Warming Wildlife Survival Act
Stop Extreme Weather by Stopping Global Warming
Have Your Voice Counted

What else can you do to help fight global warming? A great defense against global warming is to plant trees, even if you can only plant just one tree it still makes a difference. One is better than none as a matter of speaking. Trees suck up carbon dioxide make the air clean, which makes it possible for us to breathe. Trees save around 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year. Other things that you can do to help fight global warming include insulating your water heater, use a push mower, use CFL light bulbs in place of regular light bulbs, run your dishwasher with only a full load (this will save 100 pounds of carbon dioxide per year), use recycled paper, keep your thermostat down 2 degrees in winter and up 2 degrees in summer (this will save 2,000 pounds carbon dioxide and $98 a year), clean or replace dirty air conditioner filters as recommended (this will save 350 pounds of carbon dioxide a year), don’t keep unused electronics plugged in (this will save 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year, more or less depending), air dry clothes by reducing the use of energy used by a dryer, use reusable shopping while grocery shopping or even shopping at your favorite store (you might want to try this at the mall that you shop at as well), etc. There are so many different ways to help fighting global warming aside from the ways listed here, just try searching for different ways to help via your favorite search engine.

jennl | My Bio & Articles

Jennifer is a freelance writer, and has written for various health and environmental blogs, which includes running her own green living blog. Currently she is studying to become a C++ Programmer.