The Collapse of the Antarctica Shelf Ice is Happening in Real

I’m not a misanthrope at all

Tom

28 Jun 2023 — 3 min read

The Collapse of the Antarctica Sea Ice is Happening in Real Time

I watched a video by prominent climate change scientist Kevin Anderson that warned we’re on track for a 7 to 8-meter sea level rise over the next decades. For those that don’t understand the metric system, that’s roughly 21 to 24 feet of sea level rise, and it’s a hella lot.

That’s not a foot or two, but the height of a two-story house. When that happens we can kiss goodbye to Miami, New York City, New Orleans, parts of Los Angeles and San Francisco, and just about any coastal city in the world. Worst of all, my beloved Sandy Hook NJ will be underwater. All the wildlife and nesting birds will suffer and probably go extinct, or at least be severely affected.

Don’t believe it’s happening? Look at the data and the odds of it happening. Retired mathematics Professor Eliot Jacobson posted this tweet that made me realize we are losing the war against saving this world, holding onto the dear life that it is today.

The Antarctic sea ice is collapsing, it’s at the lowest area ever recorded. The chart above is a “how far are away from the average sea ice area” anomaly chart. Professor Jacobson ran the math and found that this year’s deviation from the mean is 4.78 standard deviations.

In math terms, that’s insane and he calculates the probability of that happening as a 1 in 1,150,000 chance. Add in the fact that ocean temperatures are well above 2 standard deviations and I’m going to say that the negative environmental feedback loop is in full gear around the world.

You see, I don’t care about most humans that much anymore. We’ve had over 30 years to heed the warnings of climate scientists. We’ve had over 30 years to stop the negative environmental feedback loop that’s happening now, in real time.

I don’t care about billionaires joy riding to the Titanic. I don’t care about oil executives and politicians that weaken our environment. I don’t care about the greenwashing a lot of corporations do. I would rather they go “extinct” than any single bird on this list, but that would make me a misanthrope.

Or does it?

No, I’m not a misanthrope at all. I love enlightened humans. I love the men, women, children, and all those on a gender spectrum that work tirelessly to save this precious earth. I love the humans that build native plant gardens and supplement their food with homegrown vegetables. I love the children that raise donations for their local food bank.

I love any human that carpools or works virtually. I love the humans riding bicycles to get groceries from stores. I love the humans that harvest rainwater and fight urban sprawl. I love the men that lift up and fight for women’s rights. I love the women that refuse to bring children into a dying world, or at least till we have our population under control.

I love any human that fights for this world, no matter how small the contribution. I love any human that treats our Earth with respect and honors the precious resource that she gives to us, life.