Life at the Edge

This month's edition of the National Geographic Magazine paints a chilling picture about the effects of global warming on our planet. According to the cover story, entitled "The Big Thaw", the world's ice is melting faster than anyone though possible.

"The temperature threshold for drastic sea-level rise is near, but many scientists think we still have time to stop short of it, by sharply cutting back consumption of climate-warming coal, oil, and gas. Few doubt, however, that another 50 years of business as usual will take us beyond a point of no return."
--"The Big Thaw", by Tim Appenzeller, National Geographic Magazine, June 2007

In addition to the global threats of sea-level rises and severe climate change, the shrinking of the Arctic ice cap has a devastating effect on the local ecosystem, as illustrated very clearly by "Life at the Edge", another feature article in June's issue. Over the past 30 years, Arctic sea ice has thinned as much as 40 percent. Click on the image below for an interactive map, and make sure to visit the photo gallery by National Geographic photographer Paul Nicklen.


As Nicklen puts it: "If global temperatures continue rising, the ice will likely disappear. An Arctic without ice would be like a garden without soil."