A ‘glacial pace’ just ain’t what it used to be

by Cassady Craighill

December 6, 2012

A young polar bear (Ursus maritimus) wanders on ice, seen from the Greenpeace ship during an expedition to document the lowest sea ice level on record.

© Daniel Beltrá / Greenpeace

We’ve been saying it for awhile now, but you just can’t argue with science: the Arctic is in serious trouble. To echo our favorite Reading Rainbow host Levar Burton, “don’t take our word for it.”

We’ve all heard that Arctic glaciers are melting, and we’re losing critical ice sheets. What we didn’t anticipate was how fast it was happening. A new report released yesterday by theNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Association revealed that Arctic glaciers are retreating and sea levels are rising at record levels, much faster than originally anticipated by scientists.

As our international executive director Kumi Naidoo told President Obama in a letter yesterday, “we’re running out of time.”Not only is the Arctic under threat from climate change, but also from oil companies such as Shell looking to capitalize on the retreating sea ice. We must act globally and quickly to protect the Arctic and curb the effects of climate change.

Join us as we ask President Obama to suspend Shell’s oil drilling permits in the Arctic and keep oil drilling out of the critical region for good.

Save the Arctic: Take Action

Cassady Craighill

By Cassady Craighill

Cassady is a media officer for Greenpeace USA based on the East Coast. She covers climate change and energy, particularly how both issues relate to the Trump administration.

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