Alarming predictions coming in with warnings that climate change will melt the Arctic ice by 2050. It's actually been melting four times faster than the estimated rate from 1979 to 2008.
Stefan Rahmstorf, professor of Physics of the Oceans at Potsdam University warns that the melting ice will affect all of us. "If the Arctic ice disappears in the summer months, we will lose a giant mirror that reflects solar heat back into space and helps keep the planet cool. The ice loss will amplify global warming and upset weather patterns … The warmer it gets, the faster the sea rises. While sea level was nearly constant for centuries after the Middle Ages, it rose at an average rate of almost two centimeters per decade during the twentieth century. Over the past two decades, the rate has exceeded three centimeters per decade. While future sea level is hard to predict, most experts would agree that unabated global warming could lead in the coming centuries to a rise measured in meters, threatening the very existence of many coastal cities and entire island nations."
Ironically, the big winners out of this will be the oil companies. The New York Times reports that oil companies might be the most likely beneficiaries, as the receding polar ice cap opens more of the sea floor to exploration. Already, Exxon Mobil has signed a sweeping deal to drill in the Russian sector of the Arctic Ocean. It represents big commercial opportunities for business. As Russian leader Vladimir Putin put it, the Arctic is the shortcut between the largest markets of Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.
Too bad for the rest of us.
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