Will Steger: We Lost 50% of the Arctic Ice Last Summer

Jun 17, 2008. After returning from an arctic expedition on Ellesmere Island, Will Steger was on-hand at the DECC to share his experience.

Steger's findings indicate that humans are walking on "thin ice" when it comes to taking action against climate change.

"We need to start taking action," said Steger, polar explorer and educator.

"In the arctic, we lost 50% of the ice last summer and that is not like a sea level rise, but we're losing 50% of what was once a reflective area," said Steger.

Despite the incredible findings, Steger says huge chunks of ice clogged arctic waterways and prevented him from getting to his final destination.
Steger says this was the result of global warming.

"We went up these large straights and sounds - hundreds of miles, they were almost 700 miles these are all clogged with ice from the Arctic Ocean that disintegrated last year," said Steger.

"And these salms are usually really flat going and as a result, we didn't really meet our objective of the northernmost part of Ellesmere."

Steger says humans can do their part to alleviate climate change by reducing carbon emissions in an effort to prevent the worst-case scenario.

"The worst catastrophe, which would be the disintegration of the Greenland and Western Antarctic shelves," said Steger "These are the real major thing here."

When it comes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, experts say is not just about saving the planet.

"It all has to do with, you know, saving money in the pocketbook, getting into new technologies, getting research going. It's the best thing for the economy," said Steger.

Source:
http://www.northlandsnewscenter.com/news/local/20118544.html

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Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• arctic
• ice
• melting
• global
• warming
• climate
• change