Even in winter, Arctic ice melting

I noticed this article yesterday morning on the way to work:

The vast expanses of ice floating in the Arctic Sea are melting in winter as well as in the summer, likely because of global warming, NASA scientists said Wednesday.

And if the ice continued to melt at the current rate, Comiso said, it could have profound effects on all life in the Arctic and other consequences around the world. Particularly hard hit would be the polar bears, which live on the ice, he said. Sea ice also provides oxygen-rich cold water needed for the growth of phytoplankton. A decline in the number of the tiny plants could have a cascading effect on the food supply of fish and crustaceans, seals and the other marine mammals.

The size of this summer's Arctic ice won't be known for a few weeks because it usually reaches its smallest size the third week of September. Last year, scientists found that polar ice twice the size of Texas had melted since NASA started compiling satellite data 27 years ago. Scientists said there could be no ice left in the Arctic in the summer by the end of the century.

I figured that this story would be really big news, featured prominently on Google News and various blogs. Nope. Looks like folks don't care much about Artic ice. I bet they will, though, when it's gone.

Link: EVEN IN WINTER, ARCTIC ICE MELTING / Alarmed scientists warn that polar thawing threatens wildlife and is 'strongest evidence yet of global warming' in region.