By Owen Xu Li
Greenland’s massive ice supply is about the same size as Alaska and contains enough ice to raise global sea levels by 20 feet. Unfortunately, Greenland’s ice sheet melted for the first time since July 2012 and the third time in 700 years.
This summer was particularly warm, we had the warmest June and July in history. As a consequence, Greenland’s ice sheet was left with a very thin cover, and lost massive amounts of ice during the summer.
It is normal for Greenland to lose some ice during the summer and fall, but nothing like this, especially in large scales that affects the annual loss. Martin Stendel puts that into perspective by stating that the amount of ice is enough to cover either all of Florida with 5 inches of water, Germany with 7 cm of water, or Denmark with half a meter of water.
Antarctica is also a topic of worry since there is 10 times more ice in Antarctica than in Greenland. If it melts, it can raise global sea levels by 200 feet.
Bernie Sanders has said that America has to shift its mentality and actions just as they did in the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941, and he is absolutely right. If we don’t change our mentality, we will not be able to solve this climate crisis that affects us all. Scientists have warned that global temperatures must not pass 1.5 C to avoid the worst consequences from climate change to happen, but if we continue with the current rate, temperature may rise to 3 or 5 C by the end of the century.
