Arctic melt presents web of grave phenomena.

A warmer Arctic with less ice means loss of permafrost and more of the suns’ heat being absorbed into the atmosphere and ocean. Fresh water from melting ice could mix with deeper ocean regions, destabilizing temperatures throughout the northern hemisphere. As for living conditions in countries near the Arctic, earth scientist Dr. Peter Schlosser explains how serious the effects can be.

Dr. Peter Schlosser, Professor of Earth and Environmental Engineering, Columbia University, USA (M): The infrastructure might be impacted, especially infrastructure built on the permafrost. But also the entire coastal erosion, which is also related to the thawing of permafrost, will lead to changes in the habitability of these areas, and whole communities have to be relocated.
VOICE: Given these consequences, nearly all geologists are in agreement that it is wiser to act now to avert them, rather than use precious time fine-tuning the scientific case.

Dr. Peter Schlosser (M): It’s one of the most vexing, one of the biggest, most complex problems we are facing right now as a social society. And what we have already experienced about a 0.7 degrees Celsius of warming globally, about 2 to 3 degrees of warming over the Arctic. It’s enough evidence for me to advise that we start to deal with the problem.

VOICE: We asked Dr. Schlosser whether reducing consumption of meat, a carbon-intensive commodity, should be a part of dealing with the problem.

Dr. Peter Schlosser (M): Certainly, if we are serious about solutions, we have to change the way we live in many directions. And consumptive patterns are probably one of the many ways in which we have to change.


VOICE: We appreciate the advice of scientists such as Dr. Schlosser, who are the first concerned advocates for our survival. May these unfavorable Arctic scenarios never come to pass, as we adopt sustainable lifestyles such as the animal-free vegetarian diet that most quickly can benefit our Earth.