In the last 30 years, we’ve lost as much as three-quarters of the floating sea ice cover at the top of the world. The volume of that sea ice measured by satellites in the summer, when it reaches its smallest, has shrunk so fast that scientists say it’s now in a ‘death spiral’.

For over 800,000 years, ice has been a permanent feature of the Arctic ocean. It’s melting because of our use of dirty fossil fuel energy, and in the near future it could be ice free for the first time since humans walked the Earth. This would be not only devastating for the people, polar bears, narwhals, walruses and other species that live there - but for the rest of us too.

The ice at the top of the world reflects much of the sun’s heat back into space and keeps our whole planet cool, stabilizing the weather systems that we depend on to grow our food. Protecting the ice means protecting us all.

To save the Arctic, we have to act today. Time is running out, the ice that keeps our planet cool is melting fast. The polar bears who need that ice to live could disappear within the next 50 years. If you sign up now to protect the Arctic, your name will be microscopically etched onto tiny crystal discs and placed inside an indestructible glass sphere. When Greenpeace travels to the North Pole in April they will lower the pod through the ice to plant on the seabed, and mark the spot with a flag for the future designed by the youth of the world. Your name will remain at the pole for your lifetime, as a statement of your commitment to protect the Arctic.

Preparations for the expedition soon, so you must add your name by February 11.

Sign now to declare a global sanctuary in the Arctic so when future generations read your name, they’ll know you were among the first to join the defining environmental battle of our time.

[Via Greenpeace/SavetheArctic]