(Climate change video shoot Alaska 2008)

The 2°C limit for global temperature rise seems to have slipped a bit further into the realm of impossibility. Figures published by the International Energy Agency indicate that CO2 emissions from energy reached a record high during 2010. This probably reflects the economic recovery.

Greenland iceberg

A comprehensive new report on the the extent of climate change in the Arctic indicates that change is happening even faster than scientists were expecting. There is more on the Science Daily website.
WWF Arctic says the report shows Arctic states have to take urgent measures to protect the Arctic environment – and should take on a leading role in tackling the roots of the problem by radically reducing the production of greenhouse gases.
One thing that makes it clear just how important the Arctic is for the world as a whole is that the report says global sea level could rise through ice, snow and permafrost melting on land by up to 1.6 metres by 2100.

Vulnerable Treasure: Icebergs in Disko Bay, Greenland

Vulnerable Treasure: Chukchi Sea, Alaska

There was plenty of icy news awaiting me when I got back from my spring break. One of the items was entitled “On thin ice: vulnerable Arctic treasures identified”.