Jos

Wot? No comments on the rowers who made the North Pole in the last week or so? Has the North Pole ever been ice free before?

OK, so they had to haul the boat for 3 kilometers to sit above the actual pole. Leaves a pretty small Ice Cap.

I don't know how far south Arctic icebergs have been found but Antarctic icebergs just off the West Coast of New Zealand is a novelty.

These events are not particularly scientific but surely might help to persuade the general population that we are in an unprecedented warming phase (instead of the ice age we should be entering), mainly caused by human activity. We can't let the lobbyists of Big Oil, Big Coal, Big Cars, etc win the debate with pseudo science, appeals to greed and massive advertising and promulgation of lies.

And as for Canadas' Tar Sands and the pipeline to Texas. Shouldn't we be trying to prevent exploitation of this high carbon and other pollutant producing resource? Not least for the Native Americans whose Lakes and Tribal Lands are already badly polluted.

Oh! and about melting ice. Is the 180 times the heat needed for the actual melt phase (as opposed to the temperature change phase) making much of an impact? or is it's effect minimal given the vastness of the sea?