Tales from the Poles

Everyone has heard the dire predictions about the current state of the Earth’s polar ice caps. Back in 2007, Al Gore stated in his Nobel Prize speech that in seven years the Arctic ice cap could disappear completely during the summer months.  This dire prediction was extreme, and, as time has proved, inaccurate.

Recent satellite images of the Arctic ice cap show, that instead of shrinking in recent years, the Arctic ice cap has actually grown. The ice cap has grown significantly since 2012, and is now the largest it has been since 2006. In fact, the Arctic ice cap has grown by 43% since 2012. Compared to 2012, an area of open water the size of Alaska has been covered with ice. What is even more impressive about the growth of the Arctic ice cap is the increased thickness of the ice. This increased thickness is largely due to the mild summers we have experienced over the last two years. Thicker ice will help sustain the ice caps in the future, and prevent future melting. Ice in the Antarctic is also doing very well. In fact, the amount of sea ice around Antarctica is at record levels for this time of the year.

It is important to research the issues before believing the hype surrounding global warming. Dire predictions of doom and gloom are all too common, and often they are based on data that might not be accurate. So, instead of getting caught up in all of the hot air about global warming stay cool and look at the facts.