We have officially hit the all time Arctic sea ice area low

[XemaSab]

The previous record was from 2007, and today we beat it by 0.002.

We're already at the all-time low for volume this year, and the extent records are going to be very close.

Arctic sea ice is going to be functionally gone by 2016. You heard it here first.

[Edweird]

1. "All time"? You sure about that?

[XemaSab]

2. Clarification:

Within the last 800 or so years.

[DCBob]

4. which is highly significant.

regardless of what has happened in ancient history.

[KelleyKramer]

9. So is this a good time to lower ozone regs and approve tar sands pipeline??

Yes I would agree that this is 'highly significant'.

That's one of the biggest reasons I vote Democratic, so that insane, disastrous policies from Republican presidents are not put into action.

But Obama is doing it.

That is exactly the most extreme rightwing stuff that Bush and Dick Cheney would have done if given a third term.

I cannot tell the difference any more, they are both the same.

Unfortunately I was very wrong about Obama.


.

.

[amborin]

3. kr

[joshcryer]

5. Wow. Thanks for keeping track of this.

Incredible.

[Overseas]

6. Scary. Warming accelerating.

More climatic destabilization. More extreme weather.

So crazy that we couldn't even go for the 20% alternative energy goal Jimmy Carter proposed years ago. The climate would still be warming but not at this wildly accelerating rate.

[joshcryer]

7. Feedbacks. How do they work?

[karynnj]

8. I wonder if this has any impact on the record flooding that is happening in teh NE

It would seem if there is less ice, there is more water. Could thi have intensified the hurricane.

[Zoeisright]

10. There's definitely more water in the atmosphere.

Melting ice from a warming climate puts more water into the atmosphere, which creates more and more violent storms. It's a direct result of global warming.