One aspect of the threat from climate change that doesn't get much press is the situation in the polar regions with permafrost. When temperatures are cold enough year round the ground remains in a permanent frozen state. Scientists have long known that gigantic quantities of methane hydrate, one of the world's most potent greenhouse gases, is locked up in the permafrost at the poles.
The problem we have now is the warming of our Earth's atmosphere has caused the permafrost to start thawing during Summer months. The more the permafrost thaws, the more greenhouse gases are released in the atmosphere, creating a situation that feeds on itself...in effect a runaway greenhouse feedback loop.
The prospect of this is very frightening. Once it reaches a tipping point, it appears there will be no stopping it, no matter how much we reduce human or anthropocentrically generated greenhouse gases.
Here is a very compelling 90 second video that explains that threat from melting permafrost.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdMLy--JxCQ&feature=player_embedded
No comments:
Post a Comment