The Artic is Melting--Fast!

The Trump Gang--after the latest developments in the Russia Connection investigation, it can be truthfully called nothing else--have an innate sense of poor timing*.  His pathetically weakened EPA announced its pro-coal industry substitute for Obama's Clean Energy Plan when the UK's Guardian contemporaneously reports that the Arctic's strongest, oldest ice cap north of Greenland has broken up for the first time in recorded memory.  Scientists say this radical new development is "scary"; the event indicates the incredibly fast rate at which the entire Arctic region is disastrously warming.  In fact, melting has occurred twice this year, driven by a record heat wave in the northern hemisphere.  This Arctic region was presumed to be the last area of ice to go as the planet gets hotter.   The Gulf Stream, responsible for weather patters in most of the northern hemisphere is at its weakest point in 1600 years. Predictions of global environmental collapse into a "hothouse" state do not appear to be very far-fetched if the current heating trend continues.

Ice in Greenland's north is usually compacted by the Transpolar Drift Stream, one of two major weather patterns that push ice from Siberia across the Arctic to the coastline, where it lodges against land.  This past winter prevailing winds pushed the ice away from the coast into the warming sea where it melts more easily.  Ice coverage in the Svalbard region is 40% lower than average according to the Norwegian Ice Service.

While all this melting and catastrophic climate alteration is going on,  "King Kong" claims he is 'saving jobs'--the usual justification for conservative's de-regulation--by proposing administrative rules that will dramatically increase air pollution, including climate destroying CO₂.  His proposal by its own admission projects 470-1400 premature deaths because of increased levels of microscopic particulate matter that cause lung and heart disease.  Compare this profit-obsessed plan to the Clean Power Plan that projected avoiding 1500-3600 premature deaths by 2030.  A glimmer of hope is offered by conservation organizations like NRDC who vowed the Trump dirty power scheme will be defeated in court because it "mangles the facts, the law, and science" says the Center for Biological Diversity.

*In case you have been locked in a closet without your smart phone, CNN reports the shattering developments as:
1. Paul Manafort, the man who spent five critical months leading Trump's campaign in 2016, was found guilty of eight financial felony crimes. On the 10 other charges brought against Manafort, the jury couldn't reach a unanimous conclusion and the presiding judge declared a mistrial on those counts.

2. Longtime Trump personal attorney and fixer Michael Cohen agreed to a plea deal in the Southern District of New York.  He admitted guilt on eight charges and acknowledged that he had discussed or made hush payments to two women alleging affairs with Trump in order to keep damaging information from becoming public, at the direction of and in coordination with a candidate for federal office. That candidate, although Cohen didn't name him, is obviously Donald Trump.  These payments are potential campaign finance law violations.  
Cohen is cooperating with federal investigators.  Lanny Davis, Cohen's attorney told CNN that he believes Cohen has more information of interest to Mueller's investigators. It seems Mr, Yuge is melting too!