Polar Icecaps are Melting Fast: Use A Pool Cover To Help Save the Planet

Well, it looks like we have even more evidence that the climate is changing rapidly. While many of us are probably noticing small changes in our own watersheds, the north and south poles are warming fast, as evidenced by a 19 square-mile chunk of sea ice—equivalent to the size of Manhattan—that broke free in early August and is now an island of ice floating around the Arctic Ocean.

For more information on the loss of sea ice, click here.

One of the main reasons that losses in arctic sea ice are so troubling is that the white ice reflects sunlight, while the dark water that replaces the melting ice absorbs sunlight and converts it to heat. This creates a perilous positive feedback loop wherein the melting ice creates more regions for heat to be absorbed, causing the ice to melt more rapidly, resulting in more heat being absorbed, ad infinitum.

Luckily, there are numerous ways that we can harness the heating potential of the sun to mitigate climate change and reduce our carbon footprints. One such way was recently mentioned in an article from Slate Magazine called, The Eco-Friendliest Product You Can Buy: How My New Pool Cover is Saving the Planet.

According to this article’s author, the rate of return on a new pool cover was only a few weeks and over the course of a summer it resulted in a savings of about $1,100 in heating costs, a reduction of over 7,500 pounds of carbon dioxide, and substantial water savings. The Association of Pool and Spa professionals claim that the number of in-ground pools rose 10% between 2002 and 2005.

Currently, 4.7 million homes have in-ground swimming pools. If each of these homes made the same investment with similar results, we’d save over $5 billion in energy costs, 17 million tons of carbon dioxide, and countless gallons of water.

Now, I know that many of you probably don’t have your own swimming pools but if you know anybody that does encourage them to make a cost-effective investment in a new pool cover. Or encourage the neighborhood pool and any other outdoor pools in your community to save water and lower their operating costs by looking into a solar pool cover.

Although the most eco-friendly thing to do would be to drain your swimming pool and visit your local rivers, lakes and other natural bodies of water (as the article’s author grudgingly admits), it is nonetheless worthwhile to recognize simple ways to save water and energy for those unwilling to consider changing their lifestyles.