Saturday, September 12, 2009

Global Warming Opens Fabled Northeast Passage

Global warming continues to revolutionize the Arctic, allowing two German ships to travel from South Korea along Russia's coast to Siberia:
Niels Stolberg, the president of Beluga, which is based in the German city of Bremen, called it the first time a Western shipping company successfully transited the Northeast Passage. [...]

"We are seeing an expression of climate change here," said Mark Serreze, director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colo. "The Arctic is warming; we're losing the sea ice cover. The more frequent opening of that Northeast Passage is part of the process we're seeing."

"The Arctic is becoming a blue ocean," Serreze told The Associated Press.
That blue ocean is part of global warming's self-reinforcing feedback loop. As the ice melts, the darker-colored blue water soaks up more of the sun's rays, warming the planet even further.

So as the Senate debates, global warming is accelerating at an even faster pace. Please take a moment to tell Senators Warner and Webb it's time to act.

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