The International Polar Year of focused scientific study ended a while ago, but results are still coming in, and adding new information to discussions about global climate change. One recent addition comes from the Circumpolar Flaw Lead System Study, which measured the extent of ice on the Arctic Ocean.
The group found that reduction of Arctic sea ice is “happening much faster than our most pessimistic projections”. As a result of their findings, the group is revising predictions of when the Arctic Ocean will melt completely, warning that the ocean will be completely ice free in the summertime within 20 years from now, but perhaps 2 years from now.
Deficit hawks should pay attention. A separate study just released estimates the cost to the United States of the Arctic melt at $2.4 trillion by 2050. (Translation for Tea Party activists: That’s more than 340 percent of the TARP bailout.)
