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The Melting Of The Ice Caps

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Ice cores taken from the Arctic have shown that carbon dioxide levels are much higher now than the last thousands of years. The higher amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere means warmer temperatures. There is now stronger evidence linking the warming of the ice to human activity. Global warming is caused by the green house gases, which leads to the melting of the ice, thereby affecting the ecosystem. Therefore, there is a need for everyone to reduce the amount of carbon emissions that causes the warming effect. The melting of the ice caps is the biggest and fastest change to the Earth ever caused by human activity. Alun Anderson, author of “The Great Melt The Coming Transformation of the Arctic”, states that “Temperature rise was always expected to be fastest in the Arctic. White ice reflects sunlight back into space like a giant mirror, but when it turns into dark water, the heat is soaked up instead. The seas then warm, more ice melts, and even more heat is absorbed in a destructive feedback loop that amplifies temperatures.” The disappearance of the ice is by no means the end of the Arctic itself. Humans will not only have destroyed the Arctic but transformed it as well, making it more like the waters of the south. Humans have contributed to greenhouse gases by burning coal and oil, such as gasoline, deforestation and other gases that are released into the air. As greenhouse gases are released into the Arctic, they will carry with them the possibility of increasing

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