Arctic sea ice: When the maximum is not enough

Ice is not exactly what’s on top of your mind when you’re sitting in an air-conditioned office, or in your cosy home. But if you’re worried about climate change, like I am, then you might want to sit down before reading any further.

There are a few indicators that come out every year that really help us to grasp the magnitude of the changes going on in our world. The Arctic ‘sea ice maximum’ is one of these and the best thing about it is that you don’t need to be a scientist (or in my case, a climate campaigner) to understand the urgent message loud and clear.

The Arctic sea ice maximum is the annual measurement of the maximum extent of sea ice reached in the winter months. Put simply: how much sea ice grows back each year. But this year is exceptional.

The folks at the NSIDC have just announced the annual Arctic sea ice maximum extent for this year and unfortunately it’s not good news at all – it’s yet another record low.

The extent of sea ice is 14.54 million km2, some 1.1 million km2 below the 1981-2010 average and 130,000 km2 below the previous lowest extent that occurred in 2011.

I don’t know what you think, but I wonder what a 10 year old might say when looking at these pictures. For me it makes it crystal clear how cynical Shell’s attempts to drill in the Arctic are. They’re partly responsible for this uncomprehensible change and now they want to profit from it, and it makes me both scared and extremely angry at the same time.

What scares me is that the window to act is getting smaller and smaller. And I’m angered by the fact that we have all the technology needed to reverse this run away madness. If it wasn’t for Shell and the other big fossil giants trying to stop us from developing, we would be well into a renewable economy by now. Unfortunately fossil fuels still recieve four times as many subsidies as renewble energy. And right now, Shell is hoping to receive a permit to start expoliting the Arctic from the Obama adminsistration.

But Shell won’t ever have our permission! Help Save the Arctic.

Join us in build a movement of people around the world that is strong enough to stop a giant like Shell.

Isadora Wronski is a Climate Campaigner for Greenpeace Nordic.