Old news, and not bicycle-related

In September 2007, the European Space Agency (ESA) released an image of the polar ice cap. The ice covers the smallest area since it was first measured in 1978. The ice-covered area has dropped to about 3 million square kilometers (1.16 million square miles), a million less than a previous low in 2006 - a dramatic change. Take a look at the 2005, 2006, and 2007 images in sequence. Troubling, right? Well, here's what they had to say last month:

The thickness of sea ice in large parts of the Arctic declined by as much as 19% last winter compared to the previous five winters, according to data from ESA’s Envisat satellite.

Bummer.