Monday, September 20, 2010

Arctic Ice in Death Spiral

by Stephen Leahy from IPS.

I find it hard to believe that with the loss of Arctic ice we can stabilize the greenhouse effect and global warming by installing a lot of solar panels as this concluding paragraph suggests:
Meanwhile, a new generation of low-cost, thin-film solar roof and outside wall coverings being made today has the potential to eliminate burning coal and oil to generate electricity, energy experts believe – if governments have the political will to fully embrace green technologies.
From this data it is hard to believe that we haven't already passed the tipping point on global warming. The loss of ice will set in motion numerous positive feedback loops that will accelerate global warming and flooding of low lying areas. 

On the other hand, what have we to lose by working to replace a system that is obsessed with more production and more consumption to drive more profits for a tiny capitalist class?