Katie Couric's Notebook: Polar Melting
At the North Pole, new satellite photos show Arctic ice is melting so fast, many scientists now predict it will be gone within 30 years. Some researchers think it could disappear in just six.
At the South Pole, an ice shelf the size of Connecticut is in danger of melting because the ice bridge that held it in place has shattered. It's one of ten ice shelves that have shrunk or collapsed in the past 50 years. Some were 10,000 years old.
Polar ice works as the earth's air conditioner. Without it, there could be a snowball effect with temperatures rising even faster.
Governments all around the world have to take the lead in solving this crisis, but each of us has to do our part to reduce greenhouse gasses. If we don't all take bold action -- and take it soon -- we will all find ourselves on very thin ice. If we're lucky.
That's a page from my notebook.