Johannesburg, South Africa – Called a huge ship RV Polarstern Ct 389 days trapped in the ice slowly flowing towards the Arctic. It was a scientific mission on an unprecedented scale, and participants say their findings should warn that people in every corner of the globe will pay the price if action is not taken.
Before she started her journey a year ago, Dr. Rhode Island native. Allison Fong told CBS News that she and her colleagues at Polarstern “are considering creating a complete picture of what the Arctic will do in the coming years.”
Alfred Wagner Institute / Liana Evans Nixon
The picture that emerges from their makeshift labs – non-ice and high-tech devices – is not beautiful. Scientists say it’s devastating evidence of a dead Arctic Ocean, where man-made ice-free summers could become a reality in just decades. Greenhouse gases heat the planet.
“As scientists, I think we need to be more clear about the crisis we face,” Fong told CBS News. “We know that what we’ve done is caused the earth’s temperature and carbon dioxide to rise, and that causes warming, and that warming causes melting in both north and south. And the loss of this ice, both north and south. , Is the cause of major changes in the way climate works. ”
Scientists Say it fuels U.S. Intense wildfires, strong hurricanes and more extreme floods and droughts worldwide.
The research team isolated the polar bear, for days and months of complete darkness. In addition to the research done during the mission, they also brought ice samples back home for further study.
But the world they returned to after more than a year off the ice looked very different. They left dry land before anyone heard of COVID-19, and then set foot on solid ground last month during an epidemic.
“Some people think that maybe because of this focus on the global epidemic, we can’t even address the issues of climate and global warming. But that’s not the only one,” Fong said. “We’re trying to do things. But the reality is, trying is not enough anymore. We must take action.”
Alfred Wagner Institute / Liana Evans Nixon
In part, that action boils down to what climatologists and environmental campaigners have been urging for years: producing clean waste, recycling, recycling, and reducing consumption.
“But on the second level, we need to influence those who speak and are in a position of power so that they accept that there is a reason to choose to do something different from what we have chosen over the last 50 to 100 years.” . “You have to have different choices about how we sustain humanity.”
She believes she will make different choices on that basis, nationally and internationally, to help prevent damage to our warming world.
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