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Rapid Arctic Melt Called 'Planetary Emergency'

Freshly Exhumed writes "Drawing on new data released Wednesday by the National Snow and Ice Data Center that the Arctic ice pack has melted to an all time low within the satellite record (video), NASA climate scientist James Hansen has declared the current reality a 'planetary emergency.' As pointed out by Prof. David Barber from the University of Manitoba, 'The thaw this year broke all the records that we had previous to this and it didn't just break them, it smashed them.' So, not sure why your mainstream press isn't covering this story? 'It's hard for the public to realize,' Hansen said, 'because they stick their head out the window and don't see much going on.' Thankfully, some people are noticing, as Bill McKibben's recent Rolling Stone article, Global Warming's Terrifying New Math has gone viral."

11 of 757 comments (clear)

  1. I don't believe this is happening by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Therefore it isn't happening.

  2. Nothing we can do by cod3r_ · · Score: 2, Funny

    Brace yourselves. The end is near.

  3. Re:The real emergency is... by Rosy+At+Random · · Score: 5, Funny

    Clearly the ice has a liberal agenda.

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    Would you like a slice of toast?
  4. Re:The real emergency is... by GameboyRMH · · Score: 5, Funny

    If this is legitimate global warming, the planet has ways of shutting the whole thing down, no need to worry.

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    "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
  5. The Planet is fine by Stirling+Newberry · · Score: 5, Funny

    many of us dependent on a rather thin surface of the hydrosphere, however, are not going to like what happens next.

  6. Obligatory Carlin Quote by TheWoozle · · Score: 3, Funny

    "The planet will be fine. WE'RE fucked."

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    Insisting on "correct" English is like saying that there is only one, definitive recipe for chili.
  7. Re:Press coverage by h4rr4r · · Score: 4, Funny

    When they start building trailer parks in NYC? We know that is what attracts tornadoes.

  8. Re:The real emergency is... by GameboyRMH · · Score: 3, Funny

    Look, global warming happens. You just have to prepare for it like you would for getting a flat tire.

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    "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
  9. Re:Press coverage by AnotherAnonymousUser · · Score: 3, Funny

    I've seen people answering both sides of this saying the other is wrong. Can we get some further discussion and consensus on this? I'd love to know in one way or another.

  10. Re:Press coverage by PIBM · · Score: 3, Funny

    Hotter summer; check -- even got a pool since it's now useable !
    Less rain; check -- got to use that pool much more than it would have been possible a few years ago !
    More snow in the winter; yay, we can ski even more !

    So, that totally depends on where you are looking from :)

  11. Re:Press coverage by Zordak · · Score: 5, Funny

    or waiting another week to get it because the container ship was wind powered

    I am interested in this new-fangled "wind" shipping you are championing. How would the ship capture the wind power and convert it to momentum? I'm thinking you could have huge sheets of canvas that could pick up wind pretty easily, but I'm stymied where you go from there. Funnel it into some kind of huge turbine or something? Maybe we'll have the technology for this in 10 to 20 years, but I'm not convinced we have it today. And when we get the technology, doesn't that mean that the ship will be at the mercy of the winds? What will happen if the wind stops? You could have a ship sitting in the middle of the ocean for days, "becalmed" to coin a term, with no way of making forward progress. And what if the Somali pirates got their hands on this cutting-edge technology? Ships could be vulnerable to attack on the high seas. You would almost have to arm the ships with some kind of heavy weaponry to fend off hostiles. Also, what are you going to do about scurvy?

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