Greenland Melting
Greenland has become a symbol of global warming as the massive ice sheet that covers it is melting at a much faster rate. The Greenland ice sheet extends over 1000 miles, which is over 80% of the landmass of Greenland. It is melting at an unprecedented rate and as it melts, the edges start to break apart and fall into the water. Crashes can be heard nearby as the chunks of ice fall into the water. 10% of the world’s fresh water is frozen in Greenland, which is enough to raise sea level 23 feet globally. This is where the “global meltdown” begins.
According to a UK newspaper article in The Telegraph, an “area of ice three times the size of Manhattan Island” broke off between July 28th and August 5th in 2010. This photo shows the massive chunk breaking off.
As scary as it may seem to live in Greenland, there is a population of about 56 thousand. What may be even more shocking is that the melting is beneficial to residents of Greenland. The documentary I Heart Global Warming explains how new areas of land are being uncovered due to the warming temperatures. This is exposing land that can now be explored. There are economic benefits of the melting because of all of the oil, gas, and minerals that can now be found. They are finding precious metals in the ice. There has even been success with selling bottled glacial melt water.
An article on thinkprogress.org explains how researchers are finding that “even if you don’t have record-breaking highs, as long as warm temperatures persist you can get record-breaking melting because of positive feedback mechanisms.” This cycle of warming and melting is very difficult to halt. The I Heart Global Warming documentary concludes with a powerful statement: “We’ve awakened a giant. And whatever we did to cause this, there’s no turning back. There’s no more preventing it. Maybe we can slow it down- we can still blunt its force. But it’s coming.”
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