Arctic White
Lie?
This article focuses on the claims that the Arctic
Sea ice is actually decreasing year by year. The claims are being supported by
the US National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) because they are saying that
the amount of Arctic Sea ice is the lowest on records as a result of global
warming. However, they are not telling us that there is a yearly cycle that
explains why this is happening. The NSIDC doesn’t tell the public that every
year, most of the Arctic Sea ice melts. The total amount of melted ice varies
from a maximum of about thirteen million square km to a minimum of about four
million square km.
In the summer, sunlight melts the
ice. The North Atlantic Current, flows of warm water from the Pacific, and
flows of fresh water from Russia and North America, and water mixing due to
storms and winds also causes a decrease in the amount of Arctic Sea Ice. The thinness
of the ice makes it easy for these natural processes to crack or melt it in the
summer.
For centuries, people have known
about the thawing of Arctic ice in the summer. Expeditions had been sent out to
try to find the Northwest Passage through the Arctic Sea to China. After disastrous
voyages in which ships became stuck in ice, people knew not to travel that way during
the winter. They, however, knew that they could voyage in that direction during
the brief summer thaw.
The article states that “In the
last northern winter, the amount of Arctic Sea ice was about the same as for
any one of the previous 10 years, perhaps a little more.” This proves that
global warming is having almost no effect on the Arctic Sea ice. The NSIDC only
commented on the amount of ice in the spring/summer thaw.
The amount of carbon dioxide being
released into the atmosphere has increased tremendously. Since it’s a
greenhouse gas, scientists theorize that it is trapping heat in our atmosphere.
This causes the overall temperature of the biosphere to increase. Although the
rise in temperature is subtle, it is having a huge impact on many ecosystems,
including the ecosystems in the North and South Poles.
We are constantly being fed a
steady stream of news about how harmful global warming is. For example, in the
video “Pole to Pole” produced by Discovery Education, they teach us about how
global warming is harmfully affecting the polar bears’ environment. After reading this article, I now wonder if we
are being given all of the facts about the effects of global warming. I think
that it was very manipulative of the NSIDC to only give out the amount of ice in
the Arctic in the summer and spring thaw when the amount of ice for the
winter freeze hasn’t decreased. Maybe other organizations are only giving us
some of the facts too.
The story that the NSIDC gave to
the general public could have good effects on society even if it’s not accurate.
If people believe them, they may try to reduce the amount of carbon they
release into the atmosphere. That could help reduce the effect global warming
has on other areas of the world.
This article causes some tension
between the readers and the NSIDC. Reader would be angry that they are only
being given part of the truth. They may feel like they have been lied to and
may think that there is no such thing as global warming.