Word: longings
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This suggests that the analysis of satellite observations might be due for updating. "The algorithms we use to monitor ice extent were developed a long time ago," says Stroeve, "based on what 'typical' ice looked like at that time. We know there are errors with the measurements." The weakness in multiyear ice also suggests that if the unfavorable winds and currents that caused the 2007 meltback should recur, the Arctic Ocean could undergo another especially dramatic summer melt. Not just the first-year ice might go, but also some of the "rotten" multiyear ice that Barber encountered...
Exactly when a catastrophic melt might occur, however, is unpredictable. The long-term rise in global temperature as a result of greenhouse-gas emissions is overlaid with natural, year-to-year variability in all sorts of interconnected oceanic and atmospheric cycles that slow down warming down or speed it up temporarily. But because these variations tend to be cyclical, the "perfect storm" of conditions that caused the record 2007 melting - a situation Stroeve calls "unusual, but not unprecedented" - will probably return at some point. If they do, the Arctic could be primed for major, even irreversible, changes...
...insist that there can be talks only when Western armies agree to leave Afghanistan. And, of course, the Taliban leaders believe they have the wind at their backs, while the U.S. is reaching for an exit strategy. U.S. officials insist the insurgents won't be interested in compromise as long as they believe they can win on the battlefield...
...book, Why He Is a Saint, also contains a revelation that puts John Paul in a decidedly more modern light and has much deeper implications for the church's future. Oder confirms lingering rumors that the long ailing Pope had approved plans that would have allowed for his resignation from the papacy for health reasons, effectively ending centuries of papal commitment to lead the church until death...
...signed a document clearing the way for him to step down if necessary. Five years later, suffering from a growing number of ailments, including the lingering effects of a 1981 assassination attempt, the Pope updated details of the procedure "in the case of infirmity which is presumed incurable, long-lasting and which impedes me from sufficiently carrying out the functions of my apostolic ministry." He also charged his then doctrinal chief, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger - now known as Pope Benedict XVI - to investigate the implications for the church of having a living "Pope Emeritus" while his successor tried to establish...