Article 1
Topic: Melting of Ice Because of Greenhouse Gases
Author: Justin Gillis
Date: September 19, 2012
This article stresses the fact that the Arctic Sea Ice continues to melt because we fail to limit our gas emissions. Scientists stated that the sea ice covered about 1.32 million square mile, or 24 percent. The sea ice in the summer typically covers about half the Arctic Ocean, but now it has been declining because of our impact. Scientists consider the rapid warming of the region to be the consequence of our release of greenhouse gases and this is a warning of big changes to come in the rest of the world. Governments fail to respond to this change about limiting greenhouse emissions. Instead, they intend to plan for exploitation of newly accessible minerals in the Arctic, like drilling for more oil. The main concern is the large rise in the level of world's oceans. The disappearance of summer ice cover replaces a white, reflective surface with a much darker ocean surface, allowing the region to trap more of the sun's heat, which melts more ice.
I decided to choose this article because it relates to the issues we talked about in our class. The burning of fossil fuels releases greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and ultimately affects the melting of ice. It also came to my attention that governments fail to respond to this crisis and intended to look for new ways to access resources there. It surprised me how they are not willing to limit gas emissions and continue to look for loopholes to get out of this crisis. If we do not start paying attention to this, it will be too late and the damage will be permanent.
Author: Justin Gillis
Date: September 19, 2012
This article stresses the fact that the Arctic Sea Ice continues to melt because we fail to limit our gas emissions. Scientists stated that the sea ice covered about 1.32 million square mile, or 24 percent. The sea ice in the summer typically covers about half the Arctic Ocean, but now it has been declining because of our impact. Scientists consider the rapid warming of the region to be the consequence of our release of greenhouse gases and this is a warning of big changes to come in the rest of the world. Governments fail to respond to this change about limiting greenhouse emissions. Instead, they intend to plan for exploitation of newly accessible minerals in the Arctic, like drilling for more oil. The main concern is the large rise in the level of world's oceans. The disappearance of summer ice cover replaces a white, reflective surface with a much darker ocean surface, allowing the region to trap more of the sun's heat, which melts more ice.
I decided to choose this article because it relates to the issues we talked about in our class. The burning of fossil fuels releases greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and ultimately affects the melting of ice. It also came to my attention that governments fail to respond to this crisis and intended to look for new ways to access resources there. It surprised me how they are not willing to limit gas emissions and continue to look for loopholes to get out of this crisis. If we do not start paying attention to this, it will be too late and the damage will be permanent.