More evidence

Is the jury still out on global warming?

Whales, walruses, seabirds and fish are struggling to survive the changing climate of the Bering Sea, their northern feeding grounds perhaps permanently disrupted by higher temperatures and melting ice, scientists reported Thursday in the journal Science.

By pulling together a broad range of observations and surveys, an international research team concluded that they are witnessing the transformation of an entire ecosystem in a region home to almost half of all U.S. commercial fish production.

All in all, the researchers said, the Arctic climate of the northern Bering Sea is in full retreat, yielding to the sub-Arctic system of the south.

The changes are "profound" and perhaps irreversible, even if cold weather eventually returns, the researchers said.

Wildlife experts long have worried about the response of single species to the region's fickle weather patterns, which can fluctuate dramatically from one decade to the next. From season to season, they have cataloged puzzling but apparently unrelated die-offs of seabirds, rare algal blooms and odd migration patterns.

[...]

Overall, the Arctic is warming at twice the global average rate.

I do hope that jury George Bush talked about hurries back. You know, before the Nevada desert becomes a beach.