David Appell, Yale Climate Connections, is asking the question - Will the Arctic Be Ice-Free Within the Next Two Decades?

When white sea ice melts, the ocean loses its reflective surface and the darker water absorbs more heat from the sun.

Kristina Pistone of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Ames Research Center says, "melting Arctic sea ice is not only a symptom of global warming, it’s also an important contributor because of the albedo effect.”

So - when Arctic sea ice melts, the underlying ocean water absorbs more of the sun’s heat and warms up.

Than, that, melts more sea ice, producing the dreaded “positive feedback” effect that’s only “positive” in that it generates more heat.

Since 1979, over 600,000 square miles of winter sea ice have disappeared—an area larger than twice the size of Texas.

Pistone said that rate of loss could lead to ice-free summers in the Arctic within the next two decades.

This will be disastrous for local ecosystems, accelerate global warming and affect weather patterns worldwide.

-Thom

(What do you think? Tell us here.)

Tonight on The Big Picture on RT TV at 7pm and 10pm... What To Do In A World Crisis... (check your local listings for stations or stream at RT or Free Speech TV, and catch past shows on Youtube)

Community Square

"Donald Trump: Progressive champion?"

Wednesday's Daily Stack

Article: "71% of Americans believe economy is 'rigged'" by Heather Long.

Case: "Buckley v. Valeo", 1976.

Site: Salem International

Article: "Top 10 Signs the US is the Most Corrupt Country in the World" by Juan Cole.

Article: "Financial crisis of 2007–08" by Wikipedia.

Bible: "Matthew 25".

Article: "Trump University" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Judge delays Trump University trial" by Josh Gerstein.

Article: "Dutch prisons are closing because the country is so safe" by Chris Weller.

Article: "When You Dial 911 and Wall Street Answers" by Danielle Ivory, Ben Protess and Kitty Bennett.

Article: "Ferguson unrest" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Deadly West Virginia Flooding Leaves Thousands Homeless (PHOTOS)".

Quote: "The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the anti-war left and black people. We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting people to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, break up their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did." - John Ehrlichman.

Article: "Major Wall Street Donors Threaten to Pull Support for Clinton if Warren Is Named VP" by Elizabeth Preza.

Book: Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging by Sebastian Junger.

Book: "Screwed: The Undeclared War Against The Middle Class" by Thom Hartmann. Get "Screwed" by Thom Hartmann!

Article: "Free Trade Costs American Jobs" by Robert E. Scott.

Article: "It wasn't the EU that privatised YOUR British Gas..." by Graham James.

Book: "The Crash of 2016: The Plot to Destroy America--and What We Can Do to Stop It" by Thom Hartmann.

Law: "Tea Act", 1773 (GB).

Article: "Sherman Antitrust Act", 1890.

Article: "Revolt of the Masses" by David Brooks.

Article: "Democrats Need to Wake Up" by Bernie Sanders.

Article: "Supreme Court overturns McDonnell conviction" by Gary Gately.

Law: "Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act", 1970 (RICO).

Article: "Civil forfeiture in the United States" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Sonia Sotomayor’s Epic Dissent Explains What’s at Stake When the Police Don’t Follow the Law" by John Nichols.

Case: "Utah v. Strieff".

Book: The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander.

Site: Move to Amend

Site: Progressive Democrats of America

Site: Democracy for America

Site: MoveOn.org

Article: "The Pitchforks Are Coming… For Us Plutocrats" by Nick Hanauer.

Video: Nick Hanauer: Beware, fellow plutocrats, the pitchforks are coming.

Talk Media News Segment:
- Ellen Ratner, Bureau Chief

Article: "Senators Urged to Revisit Funding Zika Fight" by Tim Ryan.

Article: "Zika Prevention" by CDC.

Article: "Clinton and Trump in virtual tie: Poll" by Justin Duckham.

Article: "Bernie Sanders Seeks Money From Donors To Fund Delegates' Trip" by AFP.

Article: "Clinton and Obama reschedule campaign debut" by Justin Duckham.

Article: "Secret Spending in the States" by Chisun Lee, Katherine Valde, Benjamin T. Brickner, Douglas Keith.

Article: "President Obama holds press conference with Canadian, Mexican leaders" by AP.

Site: "Goats for the old Goat".

Site: Governor Free Don Siegelman

Article: "Quick Morning News - SCOTUS Strikes Texas Abortion Restrictions - June 28, 2016" by Victoria Jones.

Hour Three: How the Berniecrats Can Take Back Our Congress!
- Zephyr Teachout, Candidate for Congress (D-NY, 19th District)

Article: "Progressive Icon Zephyr Teachout Wins Democratic Primary In New York" by Zach Carter.

Article: "Zephyr Teachout" by Wikipedia.

Article: "FACT CHECK: Trump's Speech On The Economy, Annotated" by NPR.

Book: "Rebooting the American Dream: 11 Ways to Rebuild Our Country" by Thom Hartmann (read online).

Book: "Rebooting the American Dream: 11 Ways to Rebuild Our Country" by Thom Hartmann.

Article: "Joseph Smith" by Wikipedia.

Article: "A background guide to “Brexit” from the European Union" by The Economist.

Article: "Frexit, Nexit or Oexit? Who will be next to leave the EU" by Kate Lyons and Gordon Darroch.

Article: "Forget Brexit, the turmoil in Spanish politics is sending new shockwaves through Europe" by Andrew Hammond.

Article: "Brexit: Referendum results met with stunned surprise in Greece" by Omaira Gill.

Article: "European far right hails Brexit vote" by Angelique Chrisafis.

Book: "On Human Nature" by Edward O. Wilson.

Article: "United States Current Account to GDP 1980-2016" by Trading Economics.

Article: "Dennis Weaver" by Wikipedia.

Book: American Amnesia: How the War on Government Led Us to Forget What Made America Prosper by Jacob S. Hacker and Paul Pierson.

Tweet: "It's a shame to see @TheDemocrats betray their values and vote against policies that help Americans. #DemPlatform" by RoseAnn DeMoro.

Article: "The Clinton Campaign Is Obstructing Change to the Democratic Platform" by Bill McKibben.

Article: "Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement" (TPP) by EFF.

Event: Orlando, FL, July 8-9, 2016: "full Democratic Platform Committee will meet to approve the final draft of the platform.

Event: Philadelphia, PA, July 25–28, 2016: "2016 Democratic National Convention".

Thursday on The Thom Hartmann Program, 12-3pm ET

We'll have the latest news and information...everything you need to know to win the water cooler wars...

And, the best of the rest of the news along with your calls right here on...

The Thom Hartmann Program, Occupying The Media 3 hours a day 5 days a week" for "we the people"

And don't forget...Democracy is NOT a spectator sport...it begins with you...

Does BREXIT Signify the End of Globalization?

Vote here!

Crazy Alert! The Secret of the Bermuda Triangle Discovered

Lying About Science for Politics is Evil

Is It the End of the Atomic Era?

Politics Panel - The End of the Global Neoliberal Order?

Politics Panel - The GOP Owes Us An Apology on Benghazi

Michael Mann - Can Humanity Survive Climate Change?

Full Show 6/28/16: DNC Platform Ignores TPP & Fracking

Tonight’s Politics Panel talks the end of the $7 million Benghazi investigation, the Supreme Court’s recent abortion decision, and how Senate Republicans are playing politics with funding for the Zika virus. Thom discusses how climate change is fueling heat related weather events with climatologist Michael Mann, author of “Dire Predictions: Understanding Climate Change,” and in tonight’s Daily Take Thom details the climate justice case against Exxon and how the U.S. needs to lead the world in combating climate change.

The Democratic Party Platform.... It's A Start.

Why Does Chris Christie Want To Screw New Jersey Schools?

What Can Dogs Teach Us About Fighting Austerity?

European Banksters Want To Push Their Globalization On All of Us!

SCOTUS Short Version: If You Don't Want To Sell Pills, Don't Be A Pharmacist!

TTP / TTIP / TISA... Trading Up or Selling Out??? (w/Guest: Celeste Drake)

How Do We Define Neoliberalism To Make Americans Understand? (w/Guest: Ari Rabin-Havt)

Neoliberalism Is An Economic & Political Cancer!

Benghazi... There Ain't No "There" There! (w/Guest: Ari Rabin-Havt)