It is qualified as dangerous in the sense that a complete melt of this ice could considerably elevate the earth sea levels by six to seven meters leaving under water not only a major number of animal species but it can also bring very serious inundations to more than half of each continent (UNEP, 2007,p.22). According to Watts (2012) "The ice at the top of the world reflects much of the sun's heat back into space and keeps our whole planet cool, stabilizing the weather systems that we depend on to grow our food" (Watts,2012, n.p). This is one of the multiple reasons that reinforce the fact that preserving this ice means protecting us from a catastrophe. .
However, in order to effectively protect this environment, it is crucial to be aware in the first place of the current state of this zone as well as of the factors that are causing it to melt. "Since the 1980s, agencies around the globe have deployed satellites to measure the extent of Ice in the Arctic Sea" (Plumber, 2012, n.p). Figure 1.1 from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency report (2013) reveals how over the last three decades, the summer Arctic sea ice extent has declined approximately 40 percent. In the same way the ice has lost significant volume and perhaps it will experience ups and downs (JAXA,2013, p.2). "According to Mark Serreze, director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC): it is on track to see an ice-free summer by 2030 and not in 2050 as The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) had estimate"(Plumber, 2012, n.p). .
A full knowledge of the current situation may help environmentalists understand how and why this issue has arisen. A new investigation published in August 2012 in The United Nations Environmental Programme magazine concludes that "between 70 and 95 percent of the Arctic melt since 1951 has been caused by human activity and other pollutants that humans have put into the atmosphere" (UNEP,2012, p.
