Antarctica Is Melting

Climate Change Media Review: from the NY Times: Rising From the Antarctic, a Climate Alarm
By Henry Fountain and Jeremy White 

The gist of this article is that there’s a water current that circles the Antarctic, and that current impacts global water temperature and carbon dioxide levels. As the earth warms, those effects of that current will be magnified, contributing more to climate change, and that as a result we humans will need reduce our emissions even more to account for this.

The thing that stood out to me here is the concept of power. This Antarctic Circumpolar Current has power over the future the article says, something we cannot control. And I think that is why climate change is so daunting, because in the face of the power of the world’s largest current, we feel insignificant. Or at least I did while reading this article. This is out of my control. This current that brings up water from the deep is releasing carbon dioxide, and as the weather warms and the winds get stronger and the current moves faster, more carbon dioxide will be released, maybe even more than the ocean is currently absorbing. And as the current moves faster, the relatively warm water that it brings up is contributing to ice melting and thus sea level rise. According to the article, if the effect of the current is strong enough and causes the West Antarctic ice sheet to flow into the ocean, seas could rise as much as 12 feet over a matter of centuries. 

This is out of my control. It’s awesome, in the traditional sense of it. Left unchecked, my thought that “this is out of my control” leaves me feeling powerless. And worried. And alarmed. Just like the researchers who the authors state are also alarmed and worried.

But I’m not powerless. And while yes, how fast the Antarctic Circumpolar current moves is not something I can change, there are many things that are within my control that I can change. But I’m not going to change anything if I’m feeling alarmed and worried. Usually, when I’m worried, I ruminate and play out all of the worst-case scenarios without giving any airtime to the best case scenarios.

Despite the fact that I might be anxiously and obsessively thinking about what has me worried, I don’t actually do anything that might help solve the problem. That’s because the way I’m thinking about things is not helpful. When I think “this is out of my control” and I feel powerless, I am not going to take advantage of what is in my power to address the problem.

So I’m going to take a step back. And recognize that along with the alarm and the worry that me and the researchers are feeling, I can also feel hope. Hope that the new technology will help researchers better understand the Antarctic Circumpolar Current so that we can have better estimates of its impact on carbon dioxide, water temperatures, and sea level rise to use in predicting climate change impacts. 

I can also feel confident. Confident that armed with better information, policy makers will take the necessary action to protect our coasts in the face of sea level rise and enact rules that result in lower greenhouse gas emissions.

And I can choose to feel powerful, even though the speed of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current is so very much so out of my puny little human control.  But as that classic spiderman quote goes, with power comes responsibility. I think that’s another reason why we default to feeling out of control and powerless in the face of climate change, because it absolves us of our own personal and political responsibility. But I am responsible. And I am powerful. I can take actions that align with my integrity, and my belief that my actions matter. And thinking this makes me feel so much better. 

I’d recommend taking a look at the article about the Antarctic circumpolar current, it’s got some interesting visuals and history about our relationship with exploring that area of the world. But as you read this article, remember that you have influence over what you want to think, feel, and do in your life. That you can be part of the solution to the problem of global warming and climate change. That collectively, we can take action that will lead to less greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere.