This is not a new phenomenon, the past six years have been the top six record holders for least amount of arctic sea ice. This is not something that happened all at once, we built up to this. The graph referenced to in the nature.com article shows the trend we have created. The ice has slowly but surely been shrinking in size not only at its minimum, but at its maximum as well. This means that not only are we hotter on average than we used to be, but we also have a bigger degree difference between the seasons than we had before: the gap has gotten larger and has been shifted upwards.
Somehow people can still deny this information. With superstorm Sandy only hitting us three weeks ago, for people to say that climate change did not play a role in its immense scope and power is incredible. But America is accustomed to science denialists, and it is important to understand that some people make their living on causing controversy by denying science and scientific impacts. Some people have other beliefs, such as religion, that cause them to null and void facts that go against their most cherished thoughts. While everyone is entitled to their own beliefs, they are not entitled to their own facts. When we create walls against facts and those walls begin to impact how we as a nation address issues of national importance, there is a problem.
This article shows how blind we seem to others around the world, and that is very scary when the most powerful country on earth will not acknowledge an issue that affects everyone on earth. We make up five percent of the global population, but our actions impact one hundred percent of the total life on earth, of which the human race is an even smaller segment (0.1% of total biomass on Earth (and the Universe for all we know) is humans). I invite anyone who happens to read my blog to comment on climate change. I do not mind views on either end of the spectrum, talking politics and large issues is something I like to do for fun, I guess I'm kind of a junkie that way.
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