The Arctic ice is melting at an accelerating pace, with this year already showing record retreat. There is still a month or so left of summer heating, but the record minimum ice melt has already been reached. "It is therefore almost certain that the previous 2005 record will be annihilated by the final 2007 annual minima closer to the end of this summer."(1) That means more area for oil development.....right? Well, yea....if you care only about money and nothing about the climate. The governments of Russia and Canada are moving to claim the Arctic Ocean in the hope of drilling fossil fuels. That is just what the Arctic does not need! "But there is an even more dangerous aspect to the unfolding drama in the Arctic. While governments and oil giants are hoping the melting ice will allow them access to the world's last treasure trove of oil and gas, climatologists are deeply worried about something else buried under the ice that, if unearthed, could wreak havoc on the biosphere, with dire consequences for human life."(2) THE PERMAFROST IS MELTING! Researchers in Russia are finding that vast areas of peat bog are melting in the presence of water which means it will release methane instead of CO2. Methane is 23 times as potent a greenhouse gas as CO2. "Scientists calculate that thousands of tons of methane will be released from Arctic lakes as the permafrost thaws. A global tragedy of monumental proportions is unfolding at the top of the world, and the human race is all but oblivious to what's happening."(2) JULY WAS SEVENTH WARMEST ON RECORD NOAA released it's monthly report stating "RECORD WARMTH IN WESTERN U.S. IN JULY...." and that July was the seventh warmest global mean average on record......fitting right in with the past twelve years being the hottest years since record keeping began, except for one.(3) Does that sound like the energy giants should continue using fossil fuels and simply piddle around with alternative energy like hydrogen - the most abundant substance in the universe, and a totally green fuel? (It can be produced with solar power very easily.) Internal combustion engines could and should have been switched to hydrogen in the Eighties. With stainless steel valves and exhaust systems they will operate exactly as they do with gasoline - no expensive fuel-cell required. The politicians in Canada and Russia who were prodded by the energy giants to follow this archaic, insane and ridiculous path of getting rights to drill in the arctic should be wise enough by now to turn these investment dollars towards alternative green energy, but don't hold your breath. The oil industry would have to invest in new infrastructure......and their oil would stay in the ground and loose value. They don't really like that idea. So things are not looking real good for the Arctic.......or any other place on Earth for that matter. The energy giants and the industrial war complex are proving to be the worst things ever developed on this planet, with the exception of the dinosaurs. Just as their profits have reached astronomical heights, it will be a very difficult task to get them to change their ways. That's the problem we are faced with......and it IS a gigantic problem. Cross your fingers - is all I can offer at this point as the American public seems to be confused by the global warming deniers, or distracted by the reality of urban life, or complacent with 120 TV channels to choose from to care about any civil responsibility they may have. And once again, these news items were not given the coverage that they deserve by the corporate media, but they are available below. **************** References: 1) New historic sea ice minimum, 8/9/07 http://arctic.atmos.uiuc.edu/cryosphere/ 2) Ticking Time Bomb Under the Ice, 8/13/07 http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2007/08/13/008.html 3) RECORD WARMTH IN WESTERN U.S. IN JULY, DROUGHT SEVERITY WORSENED, GLOBAL TEMPERATURE 7th WARMEST FOR JULY, 8/15/07 http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2007/s2908.htm