We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Sunday, September 18, 2011

The New Arctic Abnormal: Record Low Sea Ice Volume, Area and Extent*

Click here to access article from Climate Progress. 

So far this year the melting data of polar ice from the Arctic portends the complete disappearance of the icecap by 2020.
...what does make it incredible, is the way that freak melting season 2007 has been equaled and even surpassed in some data sets [for 2011].
See also this EarthSky report that provides data from NASA illustrated with great graphics while failing to mention the ominous implications.