Imminent Climate Change

         Change is coming worldwide whether people care to believe in the science staring them in the face or not. Climate change is still a matter of opinion in some circles. Arctic ice melt however would be hard to miss without actively trying to. In fact, many people seem to see the whole situation as an opportunity rather than a warning bell. This is not overly surprising, at least to some extent, because of the world’s profit driven, money oriented mindset. Arctic Expert predicts final collapse of sea Ice within four years, by John Vidal, Arctic Ice Melt, Psychopathic Capitalism and the Corporate Media, by David Cromwell and David Edwards, Climate Change Takes a Bite Out of Global Food Supply, and The Race For What’s Left: The Global Scramble for the World’s Last Resources, by Michael Klare provide information on what is happening in the artic and around the world due to climate change.

            Carbon Dioxide may be out-of-sight-out-of-mind enough for people to ignore, but the melting ice caps are easy to see without scientific translation. The ice in the Arctic Sea is now more depleted in surface area than it has been since 1979 when it first started being monitored regularly (Cromwell & Edward, 2012). Even more distressing is the prediction that the final collapse of Arctic sea ice will occur within four years (Vidal, 2012). The water in the region is now warming up to about seven degrees Celsius in the summers (Vidal, 2012). These changes are significant because of the compounding effect that ice melt can trigger. In the past, the Arctic ice has reflected some of the sun’s rays more effectively than it can now because of the decrease in ice. The water in the artic is dark enough to absorb over 90 percent of the solar energy that reaches it and now that the ice has less surface area this will increase the speed of the ice melt (Cromwell & Edward, 2012). This is not just a local phenomenon; changes in the Arctic will have an affect on the rest of the world. When the light from the sun is effectively being reflected, it makes the clouds whiter and helps the ocean absorb more minerals that help the ocean absorb more carbon dioxide (Vidal, 2012). When this reflective capacity diminishes and is combined with the amount of greenhouse gases humans are releasing the whole process accelerates because not as much carbon dioxide is stored in the oceans and more carbon is released form the permafrost that used to trap it (Cromwell & Edward, 2012). Professor Peter Wadhams of Cambridge University, says that there is not any more time to plan ahead, climate change is in full effect and alternatives are needed to slow and reverse carbon emissions (Vidal, 2012). In the past, climate change has always seemed to be a far off problem that could be dealt with later, but this is no longer the case.

            DARA, a humanitarian organization, released a report commissioned by twenty governments predicting that “more than 100 million people will die by 2030 if the world fails to tackle climate change” (Cromwell & Edward, 2012). This is apparently based on the number of people who already die because of air pollution, hunger and disease. It is expected that these deaths will occur in mostly developing countries. Climate change is apparently pushing fish farther too the poles as it gets to hot for them near the equator (Leahy, 2012). The ocean is also undergoing acidification due to climate change. Since seafood is one of the cheapest sources of protein in the world, this means that many will go hungry as a result of climate change. A drought in the U.S. this year also drove up food costs for the financially impoverished people of the world (Leahy, 2012). It will not be long before these effects are felt even more strongly and on a wider scale than they already are.

            Oddly enough, ice melt due to climate change has had a different effect on the energy industry. Rather then forsake conventional fossil fuels as they run out, the energy industry is holding on for dear life and they are doing this in places like the Arctic. As the ice melts new territories become less hostile and energy reserves can be tapped more safely. Russia, Canada, Greenland, Denmark, Norway, and the United States are now staking claims on what is now less harsh territory (Klare, 2012). This mad dash is primarily due to fresh geologic surveys that hint that the Arctic region may have some of the largest untapped reserves of oil and gas in the world (Klare, 2012). These countries are also likely wary of the proximity their neighbors would be in relation to them after the artic is exploited. Russia and its competitors are trying to determine whom parts of the region belong to by showing that parts of the Arctic land mass are and always were part of their continent’s landmasses.

            The developing world appears to be in great danger that is only compounded by developed countries attempts to continue business as usual. It would seem that these developing countries almost always get the raw and less profitable end the deal when it comes to the wellbeing of the people on this planet. If the increased ice melt is any indication, it will not just be developing countries that suffer in the end. It makes no sense to offset the health of poor nations when western society has taken it upon itself to aid the poor countries of the world. The developed world is working against its best interests and following a path that provides gain in the short run and dooms them in the long run. While the developed world is trying to figure all of this out the problem is compounding to a point it may be impossible to come back from. The global community needs to get its priorities straight.

References

Cromwell, D., & Edward, D. (2012). Arctic Ice Melt, Psychopathic Capitalism and the Corporate Media. Truthout. Retrieved October 10, 2012, from http://truth-out.org/news/item/11970-arctic-ice-melt-psychopathic-capitalism-and-the-corporate-media

Klare, M. T. (2012). The Race for What’s Left: The Global Scramble for the World’s Last Resources (First ed.). Metropolitan Books.

Leahy, S. (2012). Climate Change Takes a Bite Out of Global Food Supply. Inter Press Service. Retrieved from http://www.ipsnews.net/2012/09/climate-change-takes-a-bite-out-of-global-food-supply/

Vidal, J. (2012, September 17). Arctic expert predicts final collapse of sea ice within four years. the Guardian. Retrieved October 10, 2012, from http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/sep/17/arctic-collapse-sea-ice