The well-being of our planet has dominated the discourse of middle class dinner parties for the best part of a decade now. There are of course those who believe in global warming ... and those who don’t. And then there are those who take some sort of bizarre pleasure in witnesing the destruction of our planet.

Eco-web site The Cryosphere Today has access to the archive of daily polar ice cap concentrations from 1979 to present day, and quicktime animations of this year’s sea ice retreat, should you care to witness their steady erosion. And while you’re on the move and fancy some cheering up? Well, why not download the site’s mobile web application for your iPhone or iPod Touch, and view side-by-side images of Northern Hemisphere sea ice extent for any two dates in the satellite record from ’79. Alright, it might not be very entertaining, but it might encourage you to take a minute to think about investing in more power-efficient kit for your data centres.