Recent
data from earlier explorations made by the World Wildlife Fund UK in
partnership with the Catlin Arctic Survey, an international
collaboration of scientists, found the average thickness of Arctic ice
to be only 1.8 meters (6 feet).
The scientists also said that
the multi-year ice, which for centuries had blocked the Arctic
passageway, has nearly disappeared completely and is melting at an
incredibly rapid rate.
The ice cover for 2009 is the third lowest
on record after the past two consecutive years. Because the Arctic sea
ice plays a significant role in stabilizing climate, Dr. Martin
Sommerkorn of the World Wildlife Fund’s Arctic program is urging quick
action to reduce emissions, saying, “We can't switch off global warming
by
being good in the future, we have to start being good now.”
Many
thanks, Dr. Sommerkorn, World Wildlife Fund and Catlin Arctic Survey
scientists for your detailed observations of the Arctic sea ice,
despite their alarming implications.
We pray that this rapid
decline will be reversed through our united actions to cool the planet.
Noting these urgent trends, Supreme Master Ching Hai has worked
continuously to encourage people better stewardship on Earth, as during
an interview with The House Magazine for the September 2009 edition.
Supreme Master Ching Hai:
Our planet is on a dangerous course to passing irreversible tipping
points with disastrous consequences. Like melting of the Arctic sea ice
which causes oceans to absorb more sunlight and speeds up melting; and
the melting of permafrost which in turn releases toxic methane gas,
resulting in more warming of the atmosphere; and the extinction of
cornerstone species that cause further collapse to our already ailing
ecosystems, thus endangering even more species, and most important of
all, us humans.
Reference
http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-10-15-voa41.cfm http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory.id=8947320 http://www.spa.gov.sa/English/details.php.id=713958