The decline of cold regions called periglacial zones is now inevitable due to climate change, researchers say. Periglacial zones, where there is often a layer of frozen ground known as permafrost, make up about a quarter of Earth's land surface and are mostly found in the far north and south, and at high altitudes. [Put more plainly, we are on "the fast track" to becoming another Venus. I applaud scientists for being remarkably objective as a general rule--those without big strings to $$$ sources--but I also fault them for not going "balls out" and saying what they really think.]