This Island Arctic.

For the first time in human history, the SolveClimate blog reports, it’s possible to circumnavigate the Arctic. Normally, this is a permanently frozen sea – a vast iceberg lodged eternally over the North Pole. But now it’s a shrinking island of ice:

New satellite images show that both the Northwest and Northeast passages are now ice free. Professor Mark Serreze, a sea ice specialist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) said the images suggested the Arctic may have entered a “death spiral” caused by global warming.

The suggestion of drowning polar bear boat tours is disturbing to me because it’s so easy to see becoming reality. Last chance, folks. Largest land predator in the flesh!