Pay attention, Don: We're melting!

We're in deep, deep trouble, and all those idiots who think that there is no such thing as global warming ought to be the first ones thrown into the rising meltwater. Seth Borenstein of the AP has an article on it, "Ominous Actic Melt Worries Experts:"

Just last year, two top scientists surprised their colleagues by projecting that the Arctic sea ice was melting so rapidly that it could disappear entirely by the summer of 2040.

This week, after reviewing his own new data, NASA climate scientist Jay Zwally said: "At this rate, the Arctic Ocean could be nearly ice-free at the end of summer by 2012, much faster than previous predictions."

All these limp action plans by presidential candidates like Barack Obama, who talk about getting 80% carbon emissions down by 2050, are stupidly ineffective (even though Obama's is one of the more agressive!). We're going to be in a pressure cooker by 2050. We've got to do something NOW.

Even Australia's figured it out. Here's a quote from their new prime minister, Kevin Rudd, at the Bali Climate Change Conference:

In my first act as Prime Minister, I signed the formal instrument for Australia to ratify the Kyoto Protocol. And just a few moments ago I handed, personally, that instrument of ratification to the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

I did so, and my Government has done so, because we believe that climate change represents one of the greatest moral, economic and environmental challenges of our age.

Australia now stands ready to assume its responsibility in responding to this challenge – both at home and in the complex negotiations which lie ahead across the community of nations.

For Australians, climate change is no longer a distant threat. It is no longer a scientific theory. It is an emerging reality. In fact, what we see today is a portent of things to come.

But Alaska, and the United States, is represented by boobs who don't have a clue that yes, they too will be affected by this, and they'd better get off their keisters and work on all those environmental issues that us Greens have been yelling about for years. Mostly, what we need to do is USE LESS ENERGY.

Going to greener energy sources, traveling less and traveling lightly are other ways to help. There's a solar power initiative starting up here in the Fairbanks area, to produce electricity to feed into the GVEA grid. The aim is to create a large solar power plant, rather than the smaller setups so far producing electricity for the SNAP program. More on this later.