Target: Inger Andersen, Executive Director of United Nations Environment Programme
Goal: Prevent massive release of greenhouse gases and toxins from thawing permafrost.
Permafrost is the faithful prison guard for some of the planet’s most detrimental substances. Yet as the planet heats up, the permafrost that is supposed to be immune from melting is rapidly thawing. And the aforementioned substances are laying in wait to make their grand – and destructive – escape.
Permafrost covers roughly one-quarter of the earth’s northern hemisphere. The freezing can extend far into the ground and, in the process, essentially trap global warming emissions like carbon and methane. It’s estimated that the amount of carbon currently entombed in permafrost is more than double the amount in the atmosphere. Permafrost also captures and neutralizes directly harmful toxins such as mercury. Again, it’s believed that mercury levels in permafrost far surpass levels found anywhere else on earth.
Scientists worry that a continued decline of permafrost could not only swamp the planet with overwhelming levels of carbon, but it could also detonate a “mercury bomb” that would spell catastrophe for ecosystems, food chains, and economies. Sign the petition below to urge more investment into understanding and combating this ticking environmental bomb.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Executive Director Andersen,
Human beings face more exposure to toxic mercury from food than from any other source. The idea of a “mercury bomb” poisoning large swaths of the food supply sounds like a science fiction nightmare scenario, but an increasing number of researchers believe the scenario could become a waking nightmare. Thawing permafrost could release untold amounts of this toxin, as well as a gargantuan influx of planet-heating carbon and methane.
It is imperative that the world better understand and prepare for this potential environmental, economic, and public health catastrophe. Please bring together the best scientific minds to evaluate this crisis and invest in informed plans of action to save the planet from looming disaster.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Steve Jurvetson
