"Scary" Fragmenting Of Arctic Ice

With record heat for the northern hemisphere this year, Arctic sea ice is fragmenting in places where the ice historically has been the thickest and most enduring. The sea ice north of Greenland has never seen the ice break up so extensively:

"The sea off the north coast of Greenland is normally so frozen that it was referred to, until recently, as 'the last ice area' because it was assumed that this would be the final northern holdout against the melting effects of a hotter planet.

But abnormal temperature spikes in February and earlier this month have left it vulnerable to winds, which have pushed the ice further away from the coast than at any time since satellite records began in the 1970s."

Glaciers and polar ice caps constitute an early warning system for a warming climate caused by human activity and greenhouse gasses. The impact can range from coastal flooding to stronger storms caused by slow-moving weather systems, and more:

"As well as reducing ice cover, the ocean intrusion raises concerns of feedbacks, which could tip the Earth towards a hothouse state.

Freakish Arctic temperatures have alarmed climate scientists since the beginning of the year. During the sunless winter, a heatwave raised concerns that the polar vortex may be eroding.

This includes the Gulf Stream, which is at its weakest level in 1,600 years due to melting Greenland ice and ocean warming. With lower circulation of water and air, weather systems tend to linger longer."

We may or may not have reached the point of no return in creating a permanent hot house for Earth. What isn't debatable are the growing signs that the planet is reacting to our greed, ignorance and failed stewardship. We can expect more of the same.

Today's Tomorrow Cartoon And NASA/AMS Report On Climate Change

(click on image to enlarge)

(Tom Tomorrow, via Daily Kos)

Those characters depicted in the fourth panel?  Arguably two of the most ignorant and craven people ever elected to office, Republican climate change deniers Sen. James "Sen. Snowball" Inhofe (R-Oilpatch) and Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Nitwit).

From the 25th annual "State of the Climate" report by NASA and the American Meteorological Association:

“Most of the dozens of essential climate variables monitored each year in this report continued to follow their long-term trends in 2014, with several setting new records,” the report said.  [snip]

Perhaps Jeff Severinghaus of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography provides the best takeaway from the report, saying, if this is Earth’s annual checkup, “the doctor is saying ‘you are gravely ill.'”  (our emphasis)

If by "several" records you mean seven, including hottest year, record high greenhouse gas emissions, and record Greenland and Antarctic ice melt.  But, it's just scientific evidence, so if you're a Republican, feel free to continue ignoring it.

BONUS:  Meanwhile, in other climate change denial news, there's this from Down Under:

[Sydney] Cardinal George Pell has publicly criticised Pope Francis' decision to place climate change at the top of the Catholic Church's agenda.

Cardinal Pell, a well-known climate change skeptic, told the Financial Times the church had "no particular expertise in science".

"The church has got no mandate from the Lord to pronounce on scientific matters," he said,

"We believe in the autonomy of science."

This clerical cluck, unfortunately, was placed in an important Vatican post by Pope Francis (Prefect of the Secretariat of the Economy), who may now rue that decision.  Pell is also not alone among his countrymen:  Australia has the highest percentage of climate change skeptics in the world, with 17% of the population having their head up their asses (the US is fourth, with 12% similarly afflicted).