arctic

As iconic species go, the polar bear is quite literally up there. They are emblematic of the top-most chunk of the planet, as well as the emotive symbol of the effects of catastrophic climate change.

Polar bears are quite impressive. They are the world’s largest land predator, and undoubted 'rulers' of their ice kingdom. In popular culture they exist as cuddly toys, heroic fighters, and fashion accessories for Lady GaGa (don’t worry, I checked, it’s fake).

Still melting

Juliette in our international office posted this on the Climate Rescue blog and, as similar thoughts have been going through my head in response to the current cold weather, it's worth reposting here.

It cannot be said too often that climate and weather are not the same thing. The first regulates the temperature and weather patterns on a long term basis, the other one is guilty for blocking the traffic with snow this morning, or making the heat today unbearable. NASA puts it better than I could:

Weather is what conditions of the atmosphere are over a short period of time, and climate is how the atmosphere "behaves" over relatively long periods of time.

There's some stunning photography in this final video from the Arctic Sunrise's arctic expedition. Ice sheets, icebergs, glaciers and (yes) polar bears all feature in a kind of greatest hits package from Greenland and beyond. View it on Youtube for a larger, more panoramic version.

Two more powerful video blogs from Eric Phillips, polar explorer and survival guide aboard the Arctic Sunrise in Northern Greenland. With years of experience exploring both polar regions, Eric describes the changes he's seeing now compared to previous trips, and outlines some of the latest findings of the research team he's providing expert support for.

The Arctic Sunrise is in Greenland to survey melting glaciers and observe the effects of climate change. In this latest update from the tour, Indian journalist Gaurav Sawant decribes his experiences aboard and ponders the implications for the sub-continent. But first web editor Juliette sets the scene...

India seems (and is) quite far away from Greenland and the Arctic. Yet, with the world's second largest population and with major cities like Mumbai (parts of which lie just a few metres above sea level), the country cannot ignore what is happening. India is now a major player in international politics. If its population and leaders start making climate change the political priority, the world will listen.

You may have already seen this on our Making Waves blog, but for the sake of completeness (and to help demolish the climate denial zombie that's risen once more) here's Brian's piece on the arctic sea ice controversy.

The right-wing, conservative, climate-denial blog-and-twitosphere is abuzz with the news: Greenpeace admits live on the BBC that it lied about arctic melting.

That's not true, it's being promoted by the handful of global warming skeptics still standing, and we're hitting back. You can help us by tweeting, blogging, and sharing this clarification on Facebook.

Just in via our Climate Rescue weblog, here's a beautiful little filmic essay on the realities of climate change from Greenpeace China campaigner Xin Yu (otherwise known as "Fish"), made aboard the Arctic Sunrise during the current expedition to monitor a 100 km² ice island breaking off Greenland's Petermann glacier.

More breathtaking images just in from Nick Cobbing, aboard the Arctic Sunrise in Greenland, where the crew are working with leading climate scientists to monitor the break-up of the Petermann Glacier.