Bad news:

The BBC reports today the grim, slim reserve of  Arctic ice has shrunk to the "second smallest extent since satellite records began."

Not good. 

The smallest level was last year, which could be surpassed because melting has occurred much earlier in the year than in the past.

Are there still people who do not believe that global warming is the cause of all this?!

 The word from scientists at one time was that by about 2080, we would see ice-free Arctic summers. Then, those dates were bumped down to about 2030 to 2050. And now? Some researchers believe this could happen within five years. And with it, the possibility for that old chestnut hot-button: drilling, which we know can cause further climate damage as well as major disturbance to habitat.