To a sun bunny like me, global warming sounds quite appealing, but in fact it would be a tragedy. We need ice, snow and low temperatures to maintain the balance of life on this precious planet.

We only have a finite amount of water, we cannot create any more. Ice and snow are storage tanks for our fresh water. Permanent snow and ice cover about 12% (21 million square km’s) of the Earth’s land surface. 80% of the world’s fresh water is locked up as ice or snow. Scientists have estimated that over a period of decades melting ice would increase sea levels by at least 70 meters, (225 feet). Many coastal cities would be wiped out.

Another problem would be the lack of polar ice caps reflecting sunlight back into space, this would increase the global temperature even more, as would the increase in the ocean’s surface area (water holds heat longer than rock). Not only that – but increased evaporation of water would add more water vapor to the atmosphere. So, if the earth were warm enough to melt the ice caps it would actually cause the earth to become even warmer.

Along many hundreds of miles the Alaskan oil pipe line relies on frozen ground for support. It will buckle and break if the ground thaws. Many towns up north rely on frozen lakes and ice roads during the winter. In summer the only way in to some areas is by float plane.

Glaciers cover the ground and keeps it frozen, thus preventing the land from emitting methane gas. The break-up of the Larsen ice shelves,Antarctica, opened up a pristine area of sea floor the size of Jamaica – a habitat that has been sealed off from above for several thousand years. Researchers spent 10 weeks scouring the 10,000 square kilometer (3,860 sq mile) sea floor and have discovered unknown animal life.

The further you get from the equator the longer the winter season. People, plants and animals have a variety of methods for dealing with the low temperatures.

Native people in the north have a diet that consists of mainly meat and fish, but they do not contract scurvy.

They get their vitamin C from the meat they eat. Things have changed and they can now buy fresh fruit and vegetables at the local supermarket.

On the northern tundra, temperatures can plunge to minus 55°C. Some animals hibernate others have adaptations to allow them to cope with the cold. The musk ox has two layers of protective fur. The willow ptarmigan has two layers of feathers, plus built in snow shoes, as it grows a layer of feathers on the underside of its feet.

Out of 20,000 species of bee, only two live in the artic. They shiver their flight muscles to generate heat and trap the warmth in their velvety fur. They can increase their body temperature as much at 15 °C. Neat trick.

The woolly bear caterpillar spends most of its 14 year life frozen by producing special chemicals that prevent ice from forming inside its cells.

The wood frog’s metabolism slows to a crawl, and its body temperature drops to between 21° and 30° Fahrenheit (-6° and -1° Celsius). The amphibian’s heart and brain cease to function two thirds of the body water freezes and the animal becomes, to the eye and touch, a frog- shaped ice cube Weird but useful.

We need low temperatures to destroy insect lava and eggs to prevent spring infestations.

Thank goodness ice floats.

Because ice floats, even large bodies of water that freeze, like some oceans, only form ice on the surface. Most lakes never freeze to the bottom. Even the coldest oceans, only freeze on the top, leaving liquid circulating below. Because of this the Earth’s oceans are able to redistribute heat and the climate of the earth has less extremes of heat and cold than it would otherwise.

If ice were to sink instead of float, the oceans would fill up with ice from the bottom and would remain solid as only some of the top would thaw. A solid ocean would not circulate heat, but because ice floats on the surface the water beneath can continue to circulate and the ice on the surface stays exposed and readily melts when the temperature rises.

Here in British Columbia and other parts of the world we rely on spring snow melt from the mountains to provide running water.

Surprisingly, an open tray of hot water can freeze faster than the same amount of cold water! This happens because enough of the hot water can evaporate before cooling, reducing the amount of water to be frozen.