Building a Nation of Know-Nothings - NYTimes.com

[Rush Limbaugh's] word is Biblical among Republicans.
...
Climate-change denial is a special category all its own. Once on the fringe, dismissal of scientific consensus is now an article of faith among leading Republicans, again taking their cue from Limbaugh and Fox.

It would be nice to dismiss the stupid things that Americans believe as harmless, the price of having such a large, messy democracy...

Bermuda-sized chunk breaks off Arctic ice shelf

The ancient slab of ice, measuring about 50 square kilometres in area and almost 400 metres thick, broke away from the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf on Ellesmere Island's northern coast last week, the Canadian Ice Service said Wednesday.

"The whole northeast quarter seems to have gone," said Trudy Wohlleben, a senior ice forecaster at the service, who first noticed cracks developing on the shelf in early August. Satellite images over the last week have confirmed the huge chunk of ancient ice shelf has broken away, she says.
...
There are still several weeks to go before the Arctic ice pack reaches its minimum for this year. At this stage Wohlleben says it doesn't look as if this will break the record ice retreat seen in 2007.

"But it will be close," she said.

[Check out this insane 1.5-minute video (featuring the voice of John Cleese) from the Monterey Bay Aquarium--will CO2 force walruses to develop wings?]

Given enough time, sea life could adapt to climate change. Sadly animals evolve far too slowly. But we can change as quickly as we choose to. Small actions can make a real difference. What will you do to help ocean life and our future? Take our poll.