---
title: "If anyone has a right to talk about the melting Arctic, he's the guy"
date: 2012-05-03T21:13:05Z
modified: 2012-05-03T21:13:05Z
permalink: "https://350.org/if-anyone-has-right-talk-about-melting-arctic-hes-guy/"
type: post
status: publish
excerpt: " Annapolis based sailor, Matt Rutherford recently made news by setting arecord for single-handedly circumnavigating the Americas in his sail boat.His route took him through the fabled Northwest passage - a feat which wasunthinkable before the record ice melt of recent years. In this picture, taken on board his sail boat in the Annapolis Harbor, he holds a \"climatedot\" reading \"Melting Arctic = Annapolis Floods\". In 2003 the AnnapolisHarbor and surrounding commercial area were inundated with by HurricaneIrene's storm surge. According to scientists that surge was a foot higherthan a similar storm's surge 70 years earlier thanks to sea level rise."
wpid: 29223
author: Bill McKibben
---

![](https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7130/7139490631_7ec28f2431_z.jpg)

Annapolis based sailor, Matt Rutherford recently made news by setting a
record for single-handedly circumnavigating the Americas in his sail boat.
His route took him through the fabled Northwest passage – a feat which was
unthinkable before the record ice melt of recent years. In this picture, 
taken on board his sail boat in the Annapolis Harbor, he holds a “climate
dot” reading “Melting Arctic = Annapolis Floods”. In 2003 the Annapolis
Harbor and surrounding commercial area were inundated with by Hurricane
Irene’s storm surge. According to scientists that surge was a foot higher
than a similar storm’s surge 70 years earlier thanks to sea level rise.