STATEMENT BY DR. PAUL ZEITZ: Rapid Melting of Frozen Methane in Arctic Ocean Could Trigger Human Extinction

WASHINGTON, Jan. 31, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- In October 2019, scientists detected alarming increases in amounts of methane gas bubbling from the frozen permafrost in the shallow parts of the Arctic Ocean coastal seas---decades before such melting had been anticipated.

Experts believe that rapid Arctic warming is increasing risks so rapidly, that a human extinction event could happen as soon as the next 2-15 years.

Warmer waters at deep levels due to the rapid melting of Arctic ice is enabling the frozen and pressurized seabed methane to be released through faults in the seabed permafrost and rise to the ocean's surface.  This unexpected rapid melting is a clear danger sign, and climate scientists fear that our current conditions are similar to a previous planetary extinction event that occurred 55 million years ago.

Over the past nine months, I have consulted with top climate experts studying the risks that humanity could face from the abrupt release of methane gas from the Arctic Ocean. They are calling for a "Arctic Methane Emergency Program" to develop state-of-the-art climate modeling and deployment roadmaps for the safe and targeted use of climate and ice restoration technologies. These include: restoration of dwindling Arctic ice, removal of methane from the frozen seabed, and  removal of excess methane and CO₂ from the atmosphere. 

A combination of solutions would likely be needed should a sudden and large increase of atmospheric methane be identified, so that humanity could take bold action to prevent our own extinction.

Why risk our own human extinction because we failed to urgently mobilize bold climate restoration programs?

Climate Restoration is the global endeavor to return the Earth's climate systems to the proven safe and healthy state in which humanity and our natural world evolved. This requires returning atmospheric CO2 to proven safe levels of less than 300 parts per million (PPM) and restoring sufficient Arctic ice to prevent permafrost melt and the resulting disastrous methane emissions.

Build A Movement 2020 proudly serves as a founding member of the recently launched Global Climate Restoration Task Force, a cross-partisan political movement committed to solving existential threats facing humanity. Build a Movement 2020 co-founder Dr. Paul Zeitz is a physician and epidemiologist who has dedicated his career to catalyzing large-scale global movements for health and justice. To learn more: www.drpaulzeitz.org and www.BAM2020.world

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