President Obama Makes Bold Prague Statement

"Together we must confront climate change by ending the world's dependency on fossil fuels by tapping the power from the sources of energy like the wind and the sun and calling upon all nations to do their part. And I pledge to you that in this global effort the US is now ready to lead."

Let's hold him to it. It will take all of us doing our parts and replacing representatives in election cycles when necessary. This is an urgent situation with climate change accelerating and time of the essence.

Arctic's Positive Feedback Loop

This to me is the simplest way to illustrate what is happening in the Arctic. The polar ice cap reflects the sun's energy back into space. But there is now less older ice and more open water in the melt season (darker, absorbs energy as heat). More new ice forms in freezing season. It replaces older ice but is less thick. Breaks up easier in summer, more light penetration, more heat....feeds on itself....

Arctic Sea Ice Thinner + Positive Feedback Loop

This data visualization from the AMSR-E instrument on the Aqua satellite show the maximum sea ice extent for 2008-09, which occurred on Feb. 28, 2009. Credit: NASA Goddard’s Scientific Visualization Studio
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Until recently, the majority of Arctic sea ice survived at least one summer and often several. But things have changed dramatically, according to a team of University of Colorado, Boulder, scientists led by Charles Fowler. Thin seasonal ice — ice that melts and re-freezes every year — makes up about 70 percent of the Arctic sea ice in wintertime, up from 40 to 50 percent in the 1980s and 1990s. Thicker ice, which survives two or more years, now comprises just 10 percent of wintertime ice cover, down from 30 to 40 percent.

According to researchers from the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colo., the maximum sea ice extent for 2008-09, reached on Feb. 28, was 15.2 million square kilometers (5.85 million square miles). That is 720,000 square kilometers (278,000 square miles) less than the average extent for 1979 to 2000.

“Ice extent is an important measure of the health of the Arctic, but it only gives us a two-dimensional view of the ice cover,” said Walter Meier, research scientist at the center and the University of Colorado, Boulder. “Thickness is important, especially in the winter, because it is the best overall indicator of the health of the ice cover. As the ice cover in the Arctic grows thinner, it grows more vulnerable to melting in the summer.”

Launching a New World

For Immediate Release:

Information Contact: Dan McConnell 206-819-9211

64-foot Ocean Watch sailboat gets official launch for sea trials:

Historic Sailboat leaves May 31 for first-ever circumnavigation Around the Americas:

SEATTLE—On Tuesday, March 31at 12 noon, the sailing vessel Ocean Watch will be officially launched from Ballard’s Seaview East Boatyard to begin sea trials in Puget Sound. On May 31, the boat and crew will leave Shilshole Marina for the first-ever circumnavigation of the Americas through the Northwest Passage, around Cape Horn and back to Seattle in July, 2010.

This unique voyage, called Around the Americas, has two primary objectives:

1) Engage and educate citizens in North and South America about ocean health issues using science-driven, online education materials and shore-side activities.

2) Inspire and empower citizens to change their behavior to mitigate adverse effects on the health of our seas.

Seattle’s Pacific Science Center has launched Around the Americas in collaboration with non-profit Sailors for the Sea, inspired by David Rockefeller Jr.’s work on the Pew Ocean Commission, the University of Washington’s Applied Physics Lab, and the Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean. The 13-month effort, with planned stops in 30 host ports, will build awareness about ocean health on an international scale,

Through most of April and May, Ocean Watch will be conducting sea trials around Puget Sound to get ready for the difficult west to east transit of the Northwest Passage. With a permanent crew of four, led by world-record-holding two-time solo circumnavigator Mark Schrader and NW Passage Sailor David Thoreson, along with an onboard educator and scientist, the steel-hulled, newly outfitted boat will be conducting a variety of ocean science research projects during the voyage. The sea trials will give the crew their first opportunity to work with the scientific equipment installed on board. Measurements and observations to be recorded during the voyage include sea ice coverage, seawater chemistry (including measurements of salinity, temperature, pH), aerosols, and cloud cover.

Noted conservationist David Rockefeller, Jr. said today, “Individuals can play an important role in protecting and improving the health of our oceans, whether they live in a seaside town or in the Midwest or the pampas. We need to mobilize the citizens of the Americas to take action to protect our fragile oceans. Our life on land is dependent on the health of our seas. It is this message that is being carried on Ocean Watch around the Americas.”

This multi-million dollar Around the Americas awareness effort has currently received major support from the Tiffany & Co. Foundation, the Osberg Family Foundation, and more.

Fundraising efforts are continuing and tax deductible donations in the name of Around the Americas can be sent to Pacific Science Center, 200 Second Avenue North, Seattle, WA 98109-4895 or Sailors for the Sea, 56 Commercial Wharf East
Boston, MA 02110

Stimulus is Good Green Environmental News

Those in the know are saying positive things about buried environmental news in the stimulus bill. Let's hope they are right.

"It's rare for a compromise to make a bill better, but that's what happened yesterday," said Gene Karpinski, president of the League of Conservation Voters. "According to the reports we've seen, the members of the Conference Committee kept the best aspects of the House and Senate versions of the bill. Tens of billions of dollars for clean energy, energy efficiency, public transportation, scientific research and a smart energy grid remain. Tens of billions set to be wasted on coal and other outdated energy sources were removed."

"This is a huge win, for our planet and for taxpayers who want stimulus funds to be invested wisely," said Friends of the Earth President Brent Blackwelder. "The bailout in question would have thrilled nuclear industry lobbyists but done virtually nothing to stimulate the economy. Congressional leaders did the right thing and prevented waste by removing this bailout."

University of Miami Rosenstiel School-Speaking Feb.18

2009 Sea Secrets Speakers Announced

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sailing The Northwest Passage in
 The Era of Climate Change

Famed Filmmaker Examines “Chilling” Reality of Global Warming

VIRGINIA KEY, Fla. — The conquest of the Northwest Passage, a sea route through the Arctic Ocean, winding along the northernmost coast of the Americas, has baffled and intrigued explorers for centuries. Its treacherously frigid waters represent untold beauty and unparalleled economic access as one of the only free transit routes left in the world. The Artic pack ice has long left this route impassable, but now climate change has opened up previously frozen straits to a whole new era of explorers. February 18, join the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School as it welcomes David Thoreson, explorer and Blue Water Studios photographer and filmmaker as part of its 2009 Sea Secrets lecture series.

Thoreson will provide a perspective on polar exploration through his stunning photographs and tales of adventure, and share firsthand accounts on how climate change is shining new light on a mysterious northern wonder. The presentation will take place in the Rosenstiel School Auditorium, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Virginia Key. The event includes a reception at 5:30 p.m., followed by the lecture at 6:00 p.m., and is free and open to the public.

2009 Expedition AtA

The Arctic continues a downward trend in sea ice. As the Around the Americas campaign kicks off from Seattle, May 31, for the Northwest Passage, this is one of the trends we will be taking a look at. I sailed the Passage in 2007 from east to west. Will the Passage again be open for a west to east transit? And what will be the conditions of the sea during the summer of 2009? Stay in touch through my website and follow the links as we embark on a 25,000 mile sail around the North and South American continents.

February 3, 2009
Ice extent continues to track below normal.
National Snow and Ice Data Center

As is typical during mid-winter, sea ice extent increased overall in January; maximum monthly extent is expected in March. However, January ice extent remained well below normal compared to the long-term record. Ice extent averaged for January 2009 is the sixth lowest January in the satellite record. Also of note is that from January 15 to 26, ice extent saw essentially no increase; an unusual wind pattern appears to have been the cause.

2008 year in review

Arctic sea ice in 2008 was notable for several reasons. The year continued the negative trend in summer sea ice extent, with the second-lowest summer minimum since record-keeping began in 1979. 2008 sea ice also showed well-below-average ice extents throughout the entire year.

The ice cover in 2008 began the year heavily influenced by the record-breaking 2007 melt season.

Ultimately, summer 2008 finished with the second-lowest minimum extent in the satellite record, 9% above the 2007 minimum and 34% below average. A more diffuse ice cover and a thinner pack nevertheless suggested a record-low ice volume (ice area multiplied by thickness) at the end of summer.