■"No Escape: Thaw Gains Momentum," by Andrew C. Revkin, New York Times, 25 October 2005, p. F1.

The unfolding story (and it will unfold, inevitably, over the many years and decades ahead) of the melting of the Arctic ice cap will--as I've noted before--trigger a host of new rules among the states bordering this area, as well as open up a portion of the world to transportation and resource exploitation that's been, up to now, pretty much off limits.

What it does to the planet, of course, is even more profound. But again, this is all already a fait accompli. Nothing will stop this now, not even stopping all CO2 production. This train has left the station, and so we'll adjust, over the course of this century we'll end up seeing the emergence of a completely ice-free Arctic ocean in summertime.

But here's the kicker: visit Greenland now because by 5005, virtually all the ice will be gone there--just like that! Of course, 60% of it will still be there for another 600 years, so you've got a bit before it's all gone for good. Still, you say you're going do it and you promise you're going do it and all of a sudden, you're five-thousand years old and you just don't have that get-up-and-go anymore.

I tried to put a reminder in my Treo, but it only goes up to 2031 (try it and see).

As a futurist, that pretty much pissed me off . . ..