Melting Ice Caps
Melting Ice Caps The Arctic is global warming’s canary in the coal mine. It is a highly sensitive area which is profoundly affected by the changing climate. The average temperature in the Arctic is rising twice as fast as elsewhere in the world (nrdc.org). Because of this, the ice cap is getting thinner, melting away, and rupturing. Here is an example of this; the largest ice block in the Arctic, the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf, had been around for 3000 years before it started cracking in 2000 (nrdc.org) By 2002, the Ward Hunt has cracked completely through and had started breaking into smaller pieces. The melting ice caps are affecting the earth and its inhabitants in many ways. In this paper, the following concepts and subjects will be discussed: the polar regions and how they are affected by the melting ice caps, the rising ocean levels and how they are a result of the ice caps, and a way in which we are trying to create a major breakthrough that will help to stop or limit the melting of the ice caps. The history of the ice caps is a long and complicated one. The ice caps are located in the polar regions of the world. When these ice caps melt, however, it affects the whole world in some way or another. Some research, however, indicates that the expanding and contracting of the ice caps are just a natural cycle that they go through every 60 to 80 years (ff.org). During the Ice Age, it is speculated that melting ice caps contributed to the earth being sent into the Ice Age (washingtonpost.com). During this age in which human beings worry about everything in this world from economics to wardrobe possibilities, it is just natural that the melting ice caps are an issue on everyone’s mind. Is it possible that this issue is just being grossly miscalculated, or should this issue be utilized as much as possible? Many believe that the melting ice caps are just a common occurrence that happens naturally. Others, however, believe that it is a serious issue