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See the original image at telegraph.co.uk

First Time in History: Arctic Becomes an Island as Ice Melts

telegraph.co.uk — The North Pole has become an island for the first time in human history as climate change has made it possible to circumnavigate the Arctic ice cap. The historic development was revealed by satellite images taken last week showing that both the north-west and north-east passages have been opened by melting ice.

Who dugg this? Made popular Aug 31, 2008

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  • bananasluggy, on 08/31/2008, -13/+193Err, that should be, "First time in recorded human history."

    ;)
  • WHOOMP, on 08/31/2008, -11/+85MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
  • Flummoxer, on 08/31/2008, -10/+57Oh no.
  • lulzitsadigg, on 08/31/2008, -9/+47I hope those ***** polar bears learn their lesson.
  • Rapter09, on 08/31/2008, -6/+38The Battle for the North Pole begins.
  • chrisinsocalif, on 08/31/2008, -23/+54Global warming isnt the debate, the earth goes on natural warming and cooling trends. The Debate is if global warming is man made which so far there is no conclusive proof we have anything to do about it.
  • DoctorFaust, on 08/31/2008, -5/+36So... do we call it Arctica, now?
  • coldfire201, on 08/31/2008, -7/+35This probably not the first time this has happened.
  • TigerStar337, on 08/31/2008, -6/+31What will Santa Claus do?
  • N0vember, on 08/31/2008, -11/+34One of the first meanings of "History" is precisely "the written record of the human race".
    So the Headline is actually quite correct : it is the first time in our History. It's really a matter of which way you want to understand it.
  • freehunter, on 08/31/2008, -3/+25Move to Neptune and set up a factory there.
  • inactive, on 08/31/2008, -3/+24That's why Canada is building military bases up there, and patrolling the arctic now. Suddenly our cold, inaccessible north, is turning into a modern northwest passage, and the thing about this northwest passage is, it's very real.
  • inactive, on 08/31/2008, -24/+45First time in history? Maybe in man's recorded history - which for that region only goes back 350 years. It's happened before, and it will happen again.

    The sky is not falling folks.
  • dball48, on 08/31/2008, -2/+21giggidy?
  • whiteguysamurai, on 08/31/2008, -27/+44*****!
    Do people need more proof that global warming is happening?
  • Qxzkjp, on 09/01/2008, -0/+16No, *****.

    "History" is the study of recorded events. You are thinking of "Prehistory", the study of events occurring before the advent of written records. Did you never wonder why these things are called "prehistoric"?
  • TaylorHelferty, on 08/31/2008, -15/+31The Arctic is on this "death spiral" and what's the first thing they do? Exploit it. Same with the Antarctic, as ships are already heading down to look for oil and natural gas. Our ice caps our melting, threatening the oxygen, weather, and life on this planet . . . SO LET'S GO EXPLOIT IT MORE!!! This is beyond ignorance. It's just unreal and ridiculous. If the Arctic (and especially Antarctic) go down, so do we. Simple as that.
  • MacBandit, on 08/31/2008, -6/+20Not human history. RECORDED human history which for the Arctic is only a couple hundred years.
  • PabloMac, on 08/31/2008, -9/+23You were buried by at least one person who evidently has conclusive proof. I wish they would speak up and share their knowledge with the rest of us.
  • clevershrew, on 08/31/2008, -23/+35Seriously scary stuff...
  • CobaltBlue, on 08/31/2008, -3/+15You shouldn't call people stupid in the same comment where you say that humans have been on earth millions or billions of years. Humans have only been on the earth about 200,000 years.
  • inactive, on 08/31/2008, -3/+15I think we need more pictures of sad polar bears, or perhaps an artistic photo of an imprint of where a polar bear once stood.

    Something that really APPEALS to emotion, ya know?
  • FadieZ, on 08/31/2008, -1/+12I hope Harper doesn't charge a big toll for ships or we're gonna get our asses invaded one day.
  • umbrellainabin, on 08/31/2008, -0/+11....its always been known as......actually..........***** it
  • ExRe, on 08/31/2008, -3/+13I don't think you understand why people refute it if you are asking that. Most argue that mankind isn't the cause for it.

    It is entirely possible that the same thing would have happened around this time had fossil fuels never been discovered, and it actually would certainly have happened at some point in the near future (within a few thousand years).

    The climate is always changing, humans just do not live long enough to notice it (usually).
  • PabloMac, on 08/31/2008, -6/+16Yes, this is 100% human-caused. We all hate ourselves now. Are you happy?
  • MasterGrief, on 09/01/2008, -5/+15If humanity is such a burden, why don't you remove yourself first to help alleviate the strain?
  • cuevas4711, on 08/31/2008, -13/+22Buried as inaccurate. Earth has not looked the same forever and there have been many periods of different climates, maybe this should be "recorded history".
  • Dipster, on 09/01/2008, -0/+8Do his deer sleep mid-air??
  • BobTheTaco, on 08/31/2008, -0/+8He has f*cking flying deer! Santa doesn't need land.
  • Iztikeit, on 08/31/2008, -2/+10That is a bad sign. More military bases is never a good thing.... Earth can no longer keep humanity off of certain parts of her.
  • dusanmal, on 09/01/2008, -5/+11Not even true for recorded history. There is a clear scientific evidence that in the medieval times northern Europe have been way warmer than today (and mind you, not due to the human global warming). Ex. Scotland produced fine wine and Greenland was deserving its name supporting large population growing crops and cattle... NP was at least island than, if not open sea. And guess what, despite of centuries of such weather Polar Bears didn't go extinct...
  • inactive, on 08/31/2008, -29/+35Good job humans!!

    Now watch all the environmental side effects, political conflicts and overall cluster ***** known as human civilization as we pollute and rape our way to our own downfall
  • RandomGorilla, on 08/31/2008, -2/+8DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNNNNNN!!
  • iDiggIt42, on 08/31/2008, -3/+9Plus it's recorded human history. Before a few hundred years ago we didn't even know we had Ice Caps.
  • inactive, on 08/31/2008, -2/+8And suddenly, as new transportation options open up, the price of toys drops drastically.
  • cowsgonemadd3, on 08/31/2008, -1/+7I am going to go hide in my closet.
  • inactive, on 08/31/2008, -1/+7People have been trying to sail through the arctic since the 16th century. Ever hear of the northwest passage? The route from eastern Canada to western was completely blocked off, and many died attempting to search for any possible route, that just wasn't there. It wasn't until the early 20th century that there were successful attempts through the Arctic, but these were often done with heavily fortified ice breakers, or just sheer luck. But these days the passage is so clear in the Summer that luck and fortified ships aren't always necessary. We don't know if this is the first time in HUMAN HISTORY, I'll admit, but it's been blocked off well before we got satellite images.
  • inactive, on 09/01/2008, -0/+6So far, is only appealing to capitalist interest.

    "The Beluga Group in Germany says it will send the first ship through the north-east passage, around Russia, next year, cutting 4,000 miles off the voyage from Germany to Japan."
  • Iztikeit, on 08/31/2008, -2/+8Get ready for lots of shuffling and scrambling by the bigger nations.

    I am not expecting anything positive from this global change. More access to natural resources = more environmental abuse on our part.

    I am not sure another ice age would stop humanity from spoiling the Earth at this point, though.
  • inactive, on 08/31/2008, -4/+10I'm sorry CATSCEO2, but you can't stop this REVOLUTION. This PROFIT-MACHINE will be chugging along as you're working at Lowe's paying off your STUDENT LOANS for that LIBERAL ARTS DEGREE.

    Irregardless of capitalization, you're shooting yourself in the foot.

    Think about it, if someone came up to you RIGHT NOW, and forced ONE MILLION DOLLARS into your pocket, would you stop him? That's what i'm trying to do RIGHT NOW. Don't believe me? Watch the property prices soar --and trust me when I say soar, I used to be a navy airplane pilot-- leaving you down and out!

    Smugly and highly apathetically,
    Johan Marcus Guy
  • DforSpiD, on 09/01/2008, -0/+5I've never played ass halo...
  • sonofblacula, on 09/01/2008, -0/+5Don't worry Mr. Guy, I get it. Dugg up.
  • dhughes, on 09/01/2008, -0/+5 Well then tell the US, UK, Russia and Denmark (Greenland) to stop trying to claim the area as their own and we wouldn't have to build more bases there. Alert has been there for years but more of them are inevitable if everyone thinks they can ignore Canada sovereignty.
  • PabloMac, on 09/01/2008, -2/+7"Come upstairs, Damian. Supper's ready! You're doing dishes tonight!"
  • Kumah, on 08/31/2008, -4/+9Understatement of the year.
  • KidVicious, on 08/31/2008, -2/+7Aren't islands made out of land, not ice?
  • Ribbys, on 08/31/2008, -2/+7But some presence is needed there to stop shippers from dumping waste on route, making the problems up there worse.
  • inactive, on 09/01/2008, -1/+6He's writing well written satirical comments, and lifting the bar on Digg commenters and satirists. CATSCEO2, if you don't get him, then go ahead and block him, because you'll probably never get him. Some people just can't read and understand satire. I'm personally reading every single comment he makes, because some are just hilarious.

    Of course based on your comments page, CATSCEO2, you're not exactly a good example of even a decent commenter, let alone a satirist. Are you 15 or something? You probably don't even know what a satire is.
  • DforSpiD, on 09/01/2008, -0/+5History = Recorded history
    Prehistory = before history
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