Antinuclear

Yes, Antarctic Ice Is Melting, But There’s a Bright Side.

By Eric Holthaus

The latest research from Antarctica presents humanity with a glowing opportunity.

If you follow the news on climate change, you’ve probably noticed a shift toward apocalyptic headlines over the last year or so, especially when the topic is Antarctica. But lost in all the hype is an important message: It’s not too late to save a really, really huge proportion of the ice the frozen continent contains—and thus, virtually every coastal city on Earth.
Covering Antarctica is tricky for science journalists: The quantities of ice, and therefore, the potential impact on the global climate system is beyond human comprehension—but often, so are the timescales. In my own coverage of worst-case climate scenarios, I’ve tried to focus on the human timescale: What’s the worst that we might reasonably expect to transpire while we (or our children) are still…