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NBC News Correspondent Kerry Sanders recently returned from Antarctica, where he chronicled the dramatic changes in the world's last wilderness. Below is his main report; you also can click on the map above for more dispatches from across the breathtaking seventh continent.
By Kerry Sanders, Correspondent, NBC News
ANTARCTIC PENINSULA — There are serious changes taking place here at the bottom of the world.
Increasingly, experts say, the ice is disappearing at a disturbing rate in the Antarctic Peninsula and that in turn impacts the future -- and perhaps the very existence — of at least half of the world’s 18 penguin species, who depend on ice and frigid waters that support krill, the penguin diet mainstay.
"When cheetahs or lions get hunted, or elephants decline, there’s a big uproar. And I think, because you see penguins in large numbers [in some places] people are ignoring the larger rate of their decline," said Oxford University penguinologist Tom Hart. "The general public doesn't realize the penguins are declining so fast."
But it’s not just the penguins we have to worry about, Hart says, it’s the health of the planet itself.
"The last wilderness on Earth is impacted by us now," he said, describing the region’s decline as a "grave indicator" of what’s to come.
Marine biologist Fabrice Genevois speaks with NBC's Kerry Sanders about Gentoo penguins and their extraordinary way of swimming which at times can appear as if they are "flying."
Life’s cycle disrupted for Antarctica’s penguins
It’s the end of the breeding cycle for most penguins here as summer comes to a close. The Gentoos, Adelies and Chinstraps are nudging their newborns from the rocks of Antarctica’s peninsula toward the waters of the Southern Ocean.
Experts say about 50 percent of the eggs will produce a penguin chick that makes it to sea. And about half of those will survive the hungry predators below, as they plunge into the frigid waters for their first swim. Leopard seals are lurking -- and for the newborns, avoiding their mortal enemy is not easy. Many will die. Those that do survive are subject to climate change that is threatening their food supply.
Hart has spent nearly a decade studying the creatures that have captured the world’s imagination for centuries. Each year, for three to four months, he positions himself along the Antarctic coast to observe, measure and chart penguin colonies. Some colonies have been followed since polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton and his men headed here some 100 years ago.
Modern-day expeditions to Antarctica are a more pampered escape than the harrowing ordeals they once were, but a couple men remember the heroes of previous expeditions a little better than most. NBC's Kerry Sanders reports.
"When you look at all penguins they are largely in trouble," said Hart. "We're so concerned because we're seeing massive changes to their populations. They’re probably not going to go extinct anytime soon, but the environment is changing very fast.
Chinstraps populations seem to have declined up to 50 percent in the last 30 years," he added.
Hart, like most experts, is cautious to speak in absolutes because the harsh environment here makes it difficult to get a clear picture of what’s happening. Experts use time-lapse cameras and sit at computers, laboriously counting penguins one by one to compare colony sizes from year to year.
To keep track of the penguin population in the extreme conditions of Antarctica, scientists turn to time-lapse photography as an important tool for research. This video shows years of the animals' migration patterns.
Krill decline quickly as sea ice disappears
Ice is the source of all life in Antarctica. It may seem at odds to think that ice gives life, but when you connect the dots, it’s a straight line to a penguin’s belly.
Algae live on top of the ice and underneath it too, providing a grazing ground for the krill that amass beneath -- the way a raccoon chooses to hide in a garbage can.
Krill mostly stay put under the frozen Southern Ocean. But as the ice sheet disappears due to climate change, that habitat shrinks and moves further south.
"The West Antarctic Peninsula has increased three degrees since 1951,” Hart said. "We’ve seen a large reduction in sea ice over the same period."
Although the climate has always undergone oscillations in temperature, Hart says the recent changes are happening much faster than normal.
NBC's Kerry Sanders takes a look at some of the unusual and fascinating wildlife that inhabits Earth's coldest continent.
Logically, less ice has resulted in less krill, say marine biologists. And since krill is the main diet for penguins, seals and whales, less food has in turn meant fewer births. That theory is widely accepted by scientists like French marine biologist Fabrice Genevois.
He says it’s mostly Americans, who have confused politics with science by questioning global climate change.
"We have all the information now, that's clear enough,” said Genevois. "There's no argument any more. You have to be either a liar or be crazy not to understand what we are doing to change the climate. We are responsible, that's for sure."
Add to that equation: Fishing. Less ice has opened areas to more fishing boats that in turn have targeted krill as a profitable catch.
There’s a 620,000 ton catch limit for krill in Antarctica, which is only about 1 percent of the total estimated mass in the region.
NBC's Kerry Sanders pays a visit to Antarctica, one of the world's last wilderness areas, to see the penguins that are being threatened by the increasingly rapid melting of the ice that dominates the landscape.
But it’s the location of the krill fisheries — all aggregated in the Antarctic Peninsula near the South Shetland Islands — that is the main cause of concern.
The boats increasingly drop their nets in the same waters where penguins search for food. The nets are not catching penguins indiscriminately but they are competing for the krill that the wildlife eats to survive.
Where do those captured krill end up? In part, they’re used as fish food at salmon farms, desirable because krill help color salmon “pink” which increases sales at the supermarket.
Click here and here for more on managing the krill catch.
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See photos from NBC's Kerry Sanders' voyage to Antarctica.
Canary in a coal mine
The entire population of Emperor penguins, Chinstraps and Adelies live in Antarctica — if the ice continues to retreat those species are at risk. Meanwhile, the potential for disease outbreaks increases.
"As regions of Antarctica warm it has much more potential as a petri dish," said Hart, citing disease from the north, in particular avian disease, as being a main concern.
The penguins, marine biologists say, are giving us a warning.
"We don't need to necessarily fear change," said marine biologist Maria Clauss, who works with tour company Quark Expeditions. But the penguin’s decline "will change the world as we know it," she said. "And we should not kid ourselves."
Day 1: Greeted by dirt, not ice
Day 2: Climate change decimates food supply for penguins
Day 3: Watching Mother Nature in action
Day 4: How to sleep outdoors in Antarctica
Finale: Trips to the seventh continent are not just for scientists
Leave a Comment:
It is really sad that some people actually believe that this is somehow not happening/is not a problem.
Cowardly, ignorant people use denial because they are unable to cope with reality.
its coming, the problem is people think money is more important than our earth
The Antarctic sea ice was quite extensive throughout the austral summer period. Monthly average sea ice extent for February 2013 was 3.83 million square kilometers (1.48 million square miles) and minimum daily sea ice extent for the Antarctic region was 3.68 million square kilometers (1.42 million square miles) on February 20. Sea Ice extent was also well above average for the Ross Sea region relative to the entire 1979 to 2013 satellite record...
See reference - //nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/
It is REALLY sad when people do not know how to research the FACTS and know when the "Media's Headlines' are BS...
The lie is as if you or I care. Seriously. If Dipocrats or Repukes actually solved problems, this wouldn't be something that would happen and idiots wouldn't be arguing about why it happens.
When the kids fry, then you and I all will suddenly give a crap. Until then, keep arguing reasons instead of solving problems until it is too late.
Humans are proving to be a pretty worthless species. I don't really want it to be that way, but you can tell from everyone posting here that nobody wants to solve problems.
Global cooling always was the more plausible, scientifically sound threat...
The solar energy variations present a significant drop in planetary temperature. But global cooling wasn’t politically useful – it was too difficult to pin on human activity, and too hard to hype with voodoo fearmongering about wild weather patterns.
The people could not easily be convinced that their machines were making the world colder...
And Kyoto was so successful in driving people/industries away from CFCs that were very economical to produce and efficent to use. Replacing them with higher cost, less efficent and shorter service life units...
BTY - Do not blame the CFCs on the Arctic Ozone Hole, current Scientist admit, it was cause by the extreme cold temperature and weather patterns...
A continuing high-altitude freeze over the Arctic may have already reduced ozone to half its normal concentrations—and "an end is not in sight," said research leader Markus Rex, a physicist for the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in Bremerhaven, Germany.
First of all, it's not man made so their is nothing we can do about it. The earths climate is constantly changing....... It's called weather. We are still in the warming pattern that ended the last ice age. Can people stop drinking the liberal coolaid and start thinking for themselves?
more media left wing tree hugger nonsense...
ok which scientific fact do you agree with lefty... scientists say that there has been at least 7 ice ages...so the earth has heated and cooled many times and will do it again according to statistics... oh but never this warm you will say...ok...scientist say that the earth was originally covered in water...going back to normal! you cant have it both ways lefty...
Montana, serious question: do you honestly believe that human activity has ZERO effects on climate? Do you believe that years of nuclear testing, to hundreds of years of burning fossil fuels has had ABSOLUTELY ZERO impact on earth's climate whatsoever?
No one is denying that climate change isn't happening. What the debate is about is if man is the cause. The greatest argument against man being the cause of the climate changing is the realization that 6,000 years ago, the Sahara Desert, a land mass greater than all of North America, was once a Savannah complete with lush jungles and rain forests. What caused it to turn to sand - Climate Change - and the machinations of mankind had nothing to do with it unless you consider the CO2 from a campfire in a cave somewhere as capable of wreaking such havok. Surely, you must be more intelligent than that (fingers crossed).
Just a point I'd like to add. Liberals seemed to be more concerned about the fake science of Global Warming while Iran is getting ready to really heat the planet and kill millions of people and animals and none of you guys really seem to give a crap. Instead, you let self interested liars like Al Bore exploit your naivete for his own personal gain. But what else can we expect, you guys also thought murderers like Stalin, Mao, and Che were nice guys too.
Im more surprised people on here think that with all of our pollution that we aren't possibly CONTRIBUTING in ways we shouldn't. Thats like saying well everyones gonna die anyways you might as well murder whoever you don't like.
Mandy: I would also like to know who thought stalin and mao were great guys... I'm a liberal. Che wasn't a nice guy either but he was fighting to cease americas global impact on his land, his home...Isn't it you conservatives that love to Stand your ground per se and have the right to shoot someone that poses a threat to you on your property?Yet Che and Castro needed to bend over for corporate interests in their own country? So we have the right as america to rule and dictate whoever we want in the world?hmmm
Look on the bright side:
There are huge oil reserves under Antarctica. Those oil reserves could meet the world's energy demands for hundreds of years. Also, as the ice melts and dry land is exposed, high-value real estate could open up new vistas of development for both residential and commercial purposes. Yes, global warming could be a blessing in disguise. We need to start thinking outside the box here, folks.
Mandy,
I would like to respectfully diagree with your assertion that humans did not affect climate change 6000 yeats ago. The slash and burn agricultural techniques did in fact impact the climate as early as 7000 years ago contributing greatly to CO2 in the atmosphere. Another ancient example: Between 2 and 3 thous years ago open air smelting pits also caused global warming by realeasing co2 and toxins into the atmosphere.
Most sientists agree that both man and nature are the reason for the fluctuations., But modern man has exelerated things to a dangerous level.
To pgsbox24, I realize to you real science is a bunch of lefty rubbish(your words, not mine) and you are intitled to your opinions, but you can not just make up facts. Your post however made my day, I needed a good laugh. Actually I hear the current warming tend is a plot by Obama to raise taxes ands spread the rumor the earth is not flat!!
We are witnessing the death of our planet, and we are not doing anything about it. We will die with the earth, because we are part of it, and we BELONG to it, earth does not belong to us.
No, You are WRONG. Iran is NOT getting ready to nuke anybody. We are looking at things that are REAL, not the hot propaganda of the GOP, and GUN MANUFACTURERS to accelerate the destruction of the planet.
What? I am sure your solution is to NUKE THEM FIRST! Given the depth of your comment.
We are 7 BILLION humans on this earth, and you think that humans do not have anything to do with it?
You can help by not having children that may think the way you do.
DUH......Antarctic Volcanoes spew hot lava and they don't think it melts ice and blame it on global warming?
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/antarctica.html
amazing that even NASA shows an INCREASE in ice in Antarctic. To bad so many of you can not check what is reported yourself.
I think the best solution is that the world stops burning gasoline tomorrow - lets make it happen!
In all seriousness, its dangerous to play with terraforming. Is our climate changing, sure! Who ever said the Earth was static? We have had ice ages before, we will again (and likely not-ice ages in between). We also live next to a nuclear fire a few billion times the size of our planet, and it has no thermal regulator on it!
We should figure out how to live with this change, or possibly and carefully, terraform against it. Its not realistic to ask the world to give up electricity. And even if (as if it matters) humans are contributing to climate change and because of that change species are dying, then (in the words of the late Mr. Carlin) "We didn't kill them ALL" and we really didn't! species die out even without climate change! or without humans! (anyone hear of the dinosaurs?).
Its sad that the penguins here are dying out, because that will make it harder to trap them in cages and rip them from their families to put on display at zoo's so my little baby daughter can go "oooh pretty" its a real darn shame...
We need like... 1,000 alternate dimension earths to serve as big cages for animals so we can preserve them all and go stare at them.
I have an idea...start killing off the predators! Save the Penguins!
Kudos to MSNBC for clearly stating the obvious. Not that it will matter much. The standard denier talking points are well-represented in comments above.
Has anyone been watching events in the Arctic this spring? Fracture lines up to 100 miles long are already appearing 51 days ahead of schedule. The melting process (ice breakup) is beginning before the sun even returns to northern latitudes. Mechanical energy from wave action is actually destroying the ice - because it's so thin that waves alone can do that now.
Extreme weather in the U.S. is closely linked to Arctic ice. We may see summer ice disappear in just the next few years - far ahead of the estimated date of 2100.
It's too late to save the Arctic now. This will get very interesting, very quickly.
If Dipocrats or Repukes actually solved problems, this wouldn't be something that would happen and idiots wouldn't be arguing about why it happens.
Derek actually thinks the US Congress can do something about this "global" problem! And I didn't realize that the ice breaks up on a schedule. Apparently the waves are breaking it up, since the weather patterns have been active and progressive. The waves are produced by winds which are only indirectly related to the temps. Nothing extreme going on, except in the minds of certain climate change theorists.
So what are the real world solutions to this problem Physicist-retired? Do you really think humans can somehow magically change the climate?
Animals tend to overcome weather changes an adapt to new environment, don't worry they will survive. There are penguins in Africa, did you know?
Polar bears are not in danger , actually warm weather help to grow the population and provide more pasture for other animals.
Physic retired.
This is nothing more than agenda to put more nonsense regulations that won't do anything to stop melting ice. Ice is melting since the last Ice Age there is no denial, it covers most part of the earth.
I find it very strange that this article does not say a word about overfishing of the Southern Ocean as a major reason for penguin decline.
Are you going to put childrens in gas chambers to save the earth , or select what race should have child's, or have massive sterilization by the government, or use the liberal solution, tax families in base of the number of children's.
I don't 'think' that, Max - I know it. And I know it because we've already been doing it for more than 150 years.
Where do you think all the carbon emissions from burning coal, oil, and natural gas go? How can we dump 30+ Gigatonnes of CO2 (a known greenhouse gas) into the air, year after year, and 'magically' hope that it won't act like a greenhouse gas.
The temperature max point of this current glacial/interglacial age ended 5,000 years ago. Ever since then, we've been slowly cooling as we headed towards the next ice age.
Until the Industrial Revolution, that is. Only (some) Americans are confused about this point. Of course we can change the climate. We're already doing that.
Look, it's very simple. Humans are causing this mess, and only humans can fix it. And if we don't act quickly now (~11 years to turn this whole thing around, and begin drastically reducing our carbon output), melting permafrost and other feedback loops will make the decision for us.
We won't be able to stop that.
AC, you are, as usual, cherry picking isolated pieces of information and mis-interpreting them in your lame attempts to protect the oil industry from legislation to combat global warming. The FACT is that Antarctica is melting at a rate that adds about 1 mm per year to sea level rise. The dynamics of offshore ice in one location is not the most relevant factor.
First off, Mandy, please shut up. If you cant comment on a story about penguins and not use the word liberal, don't comment at all. Freedom of speech, absolutely. Speech pollution, who needs it!?
I naively thought I may just catch a discussion, ABOUT PENGUINS, that hadn't regressed into the typical political hatred yet but, no such luck. Can someone write a piece on penguins and rapidly melting sea ice and not have it turn into a mud-slinging political pissing match? Why not?
It's just plain sad to know that 1000's of penguins are dieing simply because they cant find enough food because the ice is gone. To make matters worse, the food that is there is being scooped up, MILLIONS OF POUNDS A YEAR, to make farm grown salmon LOOK better.
Gods help us. IMO
French. LOL. Frenchmen are a funny people. They make love with their faces and fight with their feet. Seriously folks. What we see here, and what is evidenced by the Radical Leftist Liberal/Progressives posting on this vine, is the development of a religion based on a very questionable science. You have posters claiming that since we have 7 billion people on the planet, and that's a really big number, we must be having an effect. Is 7 billion really a lot? The amount of emotion and passion with which these individuals expound in their beliefs reminds me of the displays of self flagellation of Shi'ites in some annual ritual. If you don't think it has become a religion you are only fooling yourself.
Mandy, do you think those people care about facts. They call us deniers because we believe weather change is part of the nature of the earth, they call us deniers because we don't believe their science will reverse the global warming, they call us deniers because we don't believe human is the main cause of global warming , they call us deniers because we don't worship Al Gore.
How do we come to the conclusion that the ice is melting faster than normal? This is only compared against recorded measurements which are a tiny tiny blip in history. It may be a serious problem but the sky may not be falling--just changing.
Just send me $26,000,000.00 and I'll fix it so the Ice age will stop receding and the penguins will be safe, the polar bears and arctic Foxes as well even the krill that is so important.
We can't stop nature but you liberals can stop polluting the oceans with your damn water bottles and all those plastic products you are all so addicted to, that you can change. we never had to deal with that crap when I was young and we had returnable bottles and products made from forestry that were all biodegradable, if you are not the solution to the problem then you are the problem. species come and go its always been that way, there were woolly mammoths wandering all over the globe just a few thousand years ago, s#it happens, there gone now but there are ten thousand new species of animals, reptiles, birds, and insects every year, go figure. You cant stop the receding of the Ice age, but you can stop polluting the oceans so put your attention where it will do some good and clean up your mess the earth is going to change no matter what you do. making people like Al Gore rich wont help a thing or do you think he is going to let you fly in his plane and live on his boat or stay in one of those mansions you bought him with our money, I guess these people deserve it since they are saving the world, and don't worry about the Ice I hear its about to come back, with a vengeance! come all the way down to the Tropics. its happened before you know. man kind will find the fix for nature when we find the cure for stupidity. that Ice used to go south beyond the great lakes and north to Brazil, someone should have stopped it from receding a long time ago then there would be lots of it for animals to live on. I guess these people were just borne to late huh. do you know what fuels the environment money quest its the UN finding a way to tax people and get your money so they can control you. NWO follow the money trail it all a con.
Our ice records aren't limited to a tiny blip in history, max. There are many, many ways to determine ice extent (and even volume) in the past.
We know now that both the duration and magnitude of the current decline in Arctic sea ice are unprecedented for at least the past 1,450 years. We know that ice sheets in Antarctica and Greenland are melting 3 times faster than they did just 20 years ago - at a time when the planet should be cooling.
And so on.
Why are you so resistant to scientific facts? The ice doesn't lie. It has no political agenda. It just melts.
And you think 1500yrs is not a blip in earths history? I have no agenda a......
mmmmm Penguin steaks.
I thought Obama fixed the rising sea levels, it was one of his campaign promises! He didn't, he lied, OMG!
We'd be better off spending the money wasted on this project for something we have control over. Something of tangible value that would benefit the majority without enriching the few.
Whoa D Buck!
Whats wrong with plastic? its very low carbon footprint! you make the bottle, and it will stay together for like a billion years! its the perfect recyclable, you only need to burn all that coal once for the major refinement steps.
Plus, at least in Seattle we have recycling programs, so we can use all the plastic we want because it goes right back into the industry! and is not wasted / decays like compostable stuff.
Penquins are adorable. I hope they are able to adapt to the changing climate.
Our planet is 4.5 Billion years old - and scientists are using a data set that is roughly 200 year old. Please. Come to me when you have something other than junk science.
At one time Antarctica...wait for it...HAD NO ICE!
Galapagos for hundreds of thousands of years was a pure environment. Eco tours started heavy over 10 years ago and last year they posted an extinction of one of the turtle species. Rich folks are now fascinated with eco tours of Antarctica and elsewhere. Article says melting ice is a threat to the critters. So the rich folks decide to increase the burning of fuel to get there in increasing numbers as if it's a race to see them before they die off from the fuel burned to go see 'em. But of course, it's named an "eco-tour" and they make you bring your protein bar wrapper back with you so of course it couldn't possibly be bad for the critters. So load up. Git on down there. Fill the sky with carbon. It's OK, It's an eco tour !
Ya know HairMetal, the real issue is not that people don't think it is not occurring; the real issue is that a ton of people, including me, believe change is taking place but are not sold, by a long shot, on the idea that we are to blame for the change, and are simply tired of getting it shoved down our throat. The earth has been around how many years, and we've trashed it in a little over a hundred? Get real! And hal-A-lew-YA - The all-knowing Physicist has come out of retirement and has pronounced (based on what, a peer-reviewed study or your own humble opinion?) the Arctic to be beyond repair! There you have it folks, turn out the lights.
California is now having earthquakes due to fracking! Ohhhhh the humanity!!!!
bluthunder posted:
amazing that even NASA shows an INCREASE in ice in Antarctic. To bad so many of you can not check what is reported yourself.
Well, I actually READ the article. Not just the headline.
Bottom line is that the glacial ice on the continent is decreasing. And as for the sea ice: "The total Antarctic sea ice cover is increasing slowly, but individual regions are actually experiencing much larger gains and losses that are almost offsetting each other overall."
And they mention that the Arctic has still been experiencing dramatic ice loss over the past few decades.
Please, when you accuse others of not checking what is reported...you might want to check it yourself first. But thanks for the amusement.
So which man made global warming model stated this was going to happen Bosco?
and you left out this part of the quote.
"Since 1992, this ice drift has changed," he said. "In some areas, the export of ice away from Antarctica has doubled, while in others it has decreased significantly."
Some of you folks watch way too much TV and waaay too many global disaster movies.
I think that the quote from the article that you posted:
"Since 1992, this ice drift has changed," he said. "In some areas, the export of ice away from Antarctica has doubled, while in others it has decreased significantly."
is pretty similar to the quote that I posted:
"The total Antarctic sea ice cover is increasing slowly, but individual regions are actually experiencing much larger gains and losses that are almost offsetting each other overall."
Both comments say exactly the same thing. Some areas are increasing and some are decreasing, with a net increase of sea ice.
I'm not sure what Tom-Plymouths point is?
Also, I wasn't advocating one side or the other. I was simply pointing out that a headline is not always the best way to prove a point.
Personally, I think that the Earth is a big enough system that we can't do much about it in an overall sense. BUT, I also believe that humans have had a significant effect on the Earth. And if the choices are:
1 - Don't do anything and hope we're wrong. And if we're wrong, we're screwed.
or
2 - Try to do something. If we aren't the problem then at least we tried. And at the very least we have a cleaner environment
I vote for try.
Now I understand that both sides have something to gain from advocating their position. There's a lot of money to be made on either side. But I look at it this way.
The people saying that we are causing climate change are trying to get money to move away from coal and oil and would like to build cleaner energies. This would involve research, new construction, etc. Or what I like to call JOBS. And potentially a better future for the world. The only cause that is more noble is true love.
Meanwhile, those against climate change are the oil companies and the politicians (Dem & Rep) that get a lot of money from them. Not quite as noble a cause.
But that's just my two cents. Sorry if it was a little too well thought out and not nasty enough for the comments.
Obama is Hitler! Bush was stupid!
My two points were.
No global warming model that I have heard of predicted this to happen.
Second point was that you left out that this ice drift has changed only since 1992. But no reason was given for the change.
For most, the plight of the "Arctic Animals" is a mere blip on their radar, if that. Those select few must be thinking', all arctic animals will evolve and or just get used to the warmer climate. For those evolutionist's that think that, just remember how long it's taken MAN to evolve and become hairless, stand upright and walk; discover fire, etcetera, etcetera, Who cares so long as it doesn't affect you personally, right?
"Global Warming" or "Climate Change" or "Earth's Natural Cycle" -- whatever way you choose to call it or think of it as, clearly man's constant bombardment with pollution, HAARP's genius in altered states of atmospheric experimentation, and greed all contribute to the acceleration of ultraviolet penetration here on earth. Lucky us.
"Global Warming" or "Climate Change" or "Earth's Natural Cycle" -- whatever way you choose to call it or think of it as, clearly man's constant bombardment with pollution, HAARP's genius in altered states of atmospheric experimentation, and greed all contribute to the acceleration of ultraviolet penetration here on earth. Lucky us." You forgot one more item,the space/universe all around "us",especially the sun. Otherwise I like what you said, and it's true. Your right JMagnum,lucky us.
As an OAE (Old Antarctic Explorer), I've been enjoying this coverage. I only have two bones to pick: 1) this is not a "journey to the bottom of the earth." That's the South Pole, 90 degrees south. 2) when used as an adjective, "antarctic" is not capitalized. Only the noun form: Antarctica. Thanks.
Oy. *facepalm*
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/nov/11/poles-scientists-antarctic-sea-ice
Well gee, I guess AC, Plymouth Tom & whoever else doesn't really have a leg to stand on. I'm just... so... surprised. Maybe these people who make their living studying climate actually know more on their subject than random newsvine posters.
Tom,
If you're still on this thread, you may find this to be interesting. From the NSIDC (National Snow And Ice Data Center):
Is wintertime Antarctic sea ice increasing or decreasing?
In summary, decreasing ozone over the South Pole creates stronger winds, which 'spread' Antarctic winter sea ice kind of like a knife 'spreads' butter. This was indeed predicted by climate models.
Having said that, I concede that existing models are inadequate to describe sea ice conditions - especially in the Arctic, where sea ice is disappearing at a rate that isn't captured by any existing model. The disappearance of Arctic sea ice is now happening so quickly that I doubt the models will ever catch up.
There's a fair bit of discussion about this in scientific circles - should models try to understand relevant parameters to replicate what we're seeing (years of work), or just move on to modeling climate in a world where Arctic ice doesn't exist in the summer anymore (probably just a few years away now)?
Arctic sea ice underwent a phase shift in 2007. You can see that very clearly on the third graph here. We're in new territory.
And it's the Arctic ice that matters.
Stop the pumping of waste water into the oceans.
Sewage treatment plants are more the cause of global warming than one might think.
It goes on 24-7 and not only raises water temperature but the chemicals used kill our reefs.
Are you talking about those in Boston, NYC, Philly, etc???
According to EPA, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has 1,662 combined sewer outfalls (CSO) that release raw sewage into the Commonwealth’s waters. Discharging 9 billion gallons of raw untreated sewage each year...
There are approximately 772 cities in the U.S. that have combined sewer systems. CSO events resulted in the discharge of 850 billion gallons of raw untreated sewage each year...
Or Chicago - Who reversed the flow of a river so they could dump their sewage into the Mississippi River...
Just gotta say the vids and photos on this subject out here are breath taking ...thanks for the visuals
If the penguins die, we all die.
No, I won't to live. To LIIIIIIIIIIVVVVE! Can I send my lunch money anywhere? Does Al Gore have a paypal account on his million dollar estate that will take my pocket change? I'm sure I can now bicycle to work along the freeway and wave to all those nasty people who are trying to make a living. It cannot be only the libtards, I mean republicrats ... I mean, those baddies that want to kill off those lovely little birdies ... I mean, how will they ever make Happy Feet 3 - the return of the Ice Age? Can we get those two movie production companies - Disney and Pixar talking again? That will save some celluloid at least in the grand scheme of things ...
geez watterwild is penguin the only thing you eat?
Extremely sloppy thinking leads to extremely poor writing. The change in the size of the penguin population is almost certainly related to the large krill fishing occurring. Without it, the krill might move further south, but they would not disappear.
Global warming is a simple and attractive answer for a great many problems -- but it is not the correct answer to this one. And if it is the correct answer, then we have the means to cool the planet whenever we wish -- by the same method that nature has used in the past through volcanic eruptions. The idea that we can change human behavior and thus modify the climate of the planet is beyond ridiculous. Not, of course, that True Believers are likely to be persuaded by common sense. Reversing the temperature increases that go back 20,000 years would require something far more dramatic than tinkering with fossil fuel use.
Ice core temperature data indicates the Earths temperature averages have DECREASED during the last 12k-years...
1. Oct. 2, 1998 — An analysis of Antarctic ice core data indicates an abrupt climate warming occurred there about 12,500 years ago, it was 4 degrees Celsius (7 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than today. This data also corresponds with the ice data from the Arctic & Greenland... see ref - .sciencedaily.com/releases/1998/10/981002082033.htm & das.uwyo.edu/geerts/cwx/notes/chap01/iccore.html & en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Vostok_Petit_data.svg
2. The warmest period was during the last interglacial period, which is an interval of warmer global average temperature that separates ice ages. At that time, around 130,000 years ago, it was a balmy 4.5 degrees Celsius (8.1 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than today... see ref - news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/07/070705-antarctica-ice.html
3. In today's online journal Science, the team showed that the coldest period occurred around 20,000 years ago, during the last glacial maximum, when the ice sheets were at their peak. It was about 10 degrees Celsius (18 degrees Fahrenheit) colder than today... see ref - news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/07/070705-antarctica-ice.ht
But to support your beliefs:
Can mankind influence their LOCAL environment??? YES - Just ask anyone living in a concrete city or down wind/stream of a large dam...
The Earth's surface is currently 29.2% land and the remainder WATER. Of this 29.2% man has Urbanized less than 1.5% of the TOTAL earths surface...
If you take ALL the electricity produced by mankind compaired to the energy supplied by the SUN in one day it is about 1/12,000...
When the earthquake hit Japan 2+years ago, it MOVED Japan 8+feet closer to the USA and shortened Earths day...
Not let them tell you about how powerful mankind is...
Don't confuse us with facts, AC. We prefer to get NBC weasel words like: "Chinstraps populations SEEM to have declined." We also like to cherry-pick our facts like: “The West Antarctic Peninsula has increased three degrees since 1951.” Don't inform us that Antarctic temperatures overall have cooled and that the total Antarctic ice extent has actually grown over recent years. We don't want to hear those things because it's not conducive to the "cause." You know we'll just have to invent another crisis to exploit if people stop believing in global warming. So you're just wasting your time trying to inform us.
Nice piece of info AC to bad the stupid ones will never find it acceptable, at one point in time 130,000 years ago the world was 8.1 degrees warmer then it is today, these people can't comprehend change, they can only believe what they are told, and they know that the people telling them all the scary stories about global warming would never try to fool them into supporting a cause, they don't have a clue as to what sun shading is or what pollution is they just know what someone that is making a good living off of this is telling them they want the funding to do the studies that prevent them from having to get a real job, or they are doing very well off the fund raising its all BS but what the hell it works they are getting rich and enjoying life while doing it. with or without the man made pollution the planet would be in about the same predicament in fact the pollution may be causing temperatures to stay a degree cooler then what they would be otherwise sun shading blocks heat, there is more to what is going on then these people tell you. you might say that these researchers are the Druid priest of the day, people will believe what they say no matter what they say. I know they preach about the Co2 levels why don't they comment on the sun shading ( that cools the air) caused by the particulates in the air, caused by the same pollution and then explain where all the Co2 really comes from and that it can not be stopped or even slowed downand this is a process that repeats its self regularly. lefties were these people really borne without the capacity to reason or is it some viral disease they get from socializing with each other, can it really be a social disease? I guess the trick is to not argue with a fool. the truth is we are pumped full of lies from every direction all day every day because someone wants to manipulate every one and its almost working you people have to start thinking for yourselves.
http://www.desmogblog.com/2012/11/15/why-climate-deniers-have-no-credibility-science-one-pie-chart
13,000+ peer reviewed articles and only 24 disagree that climate change is cause by human beings. For those of you on the side of the 24, you look like wacko lunatics.
Peridot-1693859,
When did a BLOG have any scientific merit???
That post is written by Dr. James Powell, AC. Powell has a Ph.D. in Geochemistry from MIT, and served as Acting President of Oberlin, President of Franklin and Marshall College, President of Reed College, President of the Franklin Institute Science Museum in Philadelphia, and President and Director of the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History.
Powell is now Executive Director of the National Physical Science Consortium.
On a side note, both Reagan and H. W. Bush appointed Powell to the National Science Board, where he served for 12 years.
Some blogs are written by scientists. Hence, those blogs have 'scientific merit'.
Thiers no question that this earth have been on the pass of global warming before we arrived in America polluting our air and land. Glaziers through out America existed, that are no longer. I have no doubt with a joint effort of mankind, we can slow it up a little. To stop it completely will not happen. That's being said by the experts. America have always been smart on inventing things but we're stupid on end results. Years ago we built underground tunnels in Nevada for Nuclear Waste. It took to when it was almost completed, that someone told them that they built it on a earthquake fault. To this day, we're stupid on knowing what to do with this Nuclear Waste. Many of our innocent species will be lost to Global Warming and us humans will adapt and live on. Us humans cannot adapt from Nuclear Waste in our rivers,oceans and on our soil. Yes, this world haves some major problems a head of us.
> someone told them that they built it on a earthquake fault
That.. or politicians like Harry Reid shut it down.
wikipedia.org/wiki/Yucca_Mountain_nuclear_waste_repository#Earthquakes
I hate it when facts just get in the way..
Emporer penguins are slated to go extinct by the end of the century. Well, not extinct. There will be those bred in captivity that should linger for some time.
Just like the Arctic Polar Bear, which is still INCREASING in numbers...
BTY - This is mainly due to the International Agreement on banning the hunting of Polar Bears...
The areas that are DECREASING, are due to the encroachment of the Polar Bears on human population areas...
Research the effects of the Eco-Tours on the Emporer penguin during their breeding & incubation periods. Only 19% of the chicks survive their first year of life and helicopter tours/intervening humans are a KNOWN hazard...
Some people, not to mention names, AC, live in a world of comfortable illusion.
One of the most frequent myths we hear about polar bears is that their numbers are increasing and have, in fact, more than doubled over the past thirty years. Tales about how many polar bears there used to be (with claims as low as 5,000 in the 1960s) are undocumented, but cited over and over again. Yet no one I know can come up with a legitimate source for these numbers.
Dr. Steven C. Amstrup, chief scientist with Polar Bears International and USGS polar bear project leader for 30 years. http://www.polarbearsinternational.org/about-polar-bears/what-scientists-say/are-polar-bear-populations-booming
AC is a veritable treasure trove of denier talking points, Space Captain. Every comment he's made on this thread comes right from Heartland or Watts Up With That.
Simple fact: the planet is losing ice (a lot of ice), at a time when it should be cooling. Explain that, AC. Don't write some foolishness about sea ice in Antarctica (we both know why that's happening).
Why is the planet losing ice during what should be a cooling phase?
Can you provide some scientific evidence?
Rex, if you can't Google 'planet is losing ice', then you have no standing to argue a scientific issue.
It's just that simple.
Physicist,
You'll never get a straight answer out of AC. I suspect he's a lobbyist for the oil industry. He takes positions on energy related articles that always support the oil industry. He's against nuclear, he's against gas, he's against coal, he's fanatically against alternative/sustainable energy. He supports petroleum period. He is indeed a treasure trove of denier arguments.
"AC" Let's talk about Artic Ice. By the way ALL my MANMADE global warming facts are from Skeptical Science: Getting skeptical about global warming skepticism". A site that pretty well takes each and every manmade global warming argument and destroys it with facts and scientific evidence.
"Skeptic arguments that Antarctica is gaining ice frequently hinge on an error of omission, namely ignoring the difference between land ice and sea ice. In glaciology and particularly with respect to Antarctic ice, not all things are created equal. Let us consider the following differences. Antarctic land ice is the ice which has accumulated over thousands of years on the Antarctica landmass itself through snowfall. This land ice therefore is actually stored ocean water that once fell as precipitation. Sea ice in Antarctica is quite different as it is generally considered to be ice which forms in salt water primarily during the winter months. In Antarctica, sea ice grows quite extensively during winter but nearly completely melts away during the summer (Figure 1). That is where the important difference between antarctic and arctic sea ice exists. Arctic sea ice lasts all the year round, there are increases during the winter months and decreases during the summer months but an ice cover does in fact remain in the North which includes quite a bit of ice from previous years (Figure 1). Essentially Arctic sea ice is more important for the earth's energy balance because when it melts, more sunlight is absorbed by the oceans whereas Antarctic sea ice normally melts each summer leaving the earth's energy balance largely unchanged."
There is much more at the above site. But bottom line, "AC" your facts on manmade global warming (not just arctic ice but all of them) are a classic example of how the right wing propaganda machine functions. Take a couple facts which are true, while not including all the facts for COMPLETE CONTEXT. Then claim the extremely limited context is actually the truth.
Skeptical Science - The site run by that great scientist john cook, oh no wait, he's not a scientist, he is a cartoonist. A loony left wing liberal nut cartoonist. What a goofball. That site is known for building strawman arguments and censoring any comments they do not like. There is no science at SkS!
joe mota-7760501,
Go to my newsvine site, you will see the articles I have written with the references supplied...
Watts up with that, skeptical science, Heartland, etc references are not among them. But there are references to actual science studies preformed by NASA, NOAA, nsidc.org, Rutgers University Global Snow Lab, and articles from National Geographic...
read Viable Energy Sources if you want my stance on ENERGY...
The energy references include; US Energy Information Administration, Huffington Post, American Gas Association, East Carolina University, plus an informative article in Huffington Post, concerning the EIA & methane hydrates...
BTY - I do have a daughter (Chem Engr) in the chemical industry (not petroleum), a daughter-in-law (Chem & Law degrees) in the petroleum/patents business, my father had degrees in Nuclear & electronics. My degrees are in Archeology, Architecture and tech mechanical/electronics, plus I have worked and traveled around the World. As a research Diver I have SCUBA-ed across the USA & Asia and was diving with mixed gases in 1980...
BTY - I did work in the petroleum industry, as a service station owner/operator, 1969 to 1976... Ha! Ha!
ProgressiveforAmerica,
If you want REAL Science about the ice levels in the Arctic go to - nsidc.org or Rutgers University Global Snow Lab. NSIDC (National Snow and Ice Data) supports research into our world's frozen realms: the snow, ice, glacier, frozen ground, and climate interactions that make up Earth's cryosphere. They are the clearing house for NASA, NOAA and other ice data sources...
AC you are disinformation agent. If you aren't getting paid for your misleading posts there is definitely something wrong with you
AC, people use the same type of mental gymnastics that you apply to the global warming debate to argue against evolution, or to argue in favor of trickle down economics You're trying to sell something, so you work diligently building what you consider an arsenal of debating points to try to sell your belief. The fact that you can't tell the difference between your mental processes and investigative science is, I think, common among people who are committed to a belief system. Science is more than an assemblage of debating points.
joe mota-7760501,
I'll stand by my sources and their published findings...
You can stand by your snow drift, telling the World how AGW causes MORE Snow & Ice... Ha! Ha!
I give my source data & references. You'al provide Media Headlines and NO references to scientific studies...
How is that ICE FREE - Arctic & Himalayan Mountains, working out for you???
What will life be without Penguins? Sigh The rivalry between the Pens and Rangers was awesome..
Actually the disappearance of the penguins is no mystery. They have been joining the hordes of illegal immigrants so they can vote Democratic, their ownly hope of survival it seems. See any little fat dudes in tuxedos waddling up to the voting booth you might want to ask them for proof of citizenship.
It's going to have a negative effect on the Orca population. They prey on seals and seals eat penguins. All of your trolling nonamusing remarks notwithstanding, this is a dreadful problem for the food web.
The food web collapse begins here.
The common sense web collapse began here quite awhile ago and we are still rolling merrily along.
Antarctic ice this year is greater than average, welcome to MSDNC, all propaganda, all the time.
P111, There is less Antarctic ice this year than last year. It's thinner and it's breaking up weeks, almost months earlier. Did you read the article? Why would MSNBC post inaccurate information? What's in it for them?
Your post is a lie. The planet is warmer, the ocean is warmer. The sole place your 'fact' is true is inside your head.
All that "more ice" talk is meaningless because the ice being spoken about melts every summer anyway. And yes, Peridot, I agree it's a tragedy to an already strained food chain. In my best trolling manners I was trying to hint that maybe the best we can personally do about it is to vote people in who have an ecological consciensce, that apparently being for the most part, Democrats. The Republicans will deny any of this is happening until way past the last penguin's breath.
Space Captain,
How is that 'Corn Ethanol' that was conceved and supported by the DEMOCRATS, working out for you...
Research:
1. Atrazine polluted aquifers and the hazards associated...
2. Energy efficiency of this process, including the vehicles that use it...
3. The US TAX dollars that the blenders are receiving, for using it...
4. The resulting HIGHER maintenance cost to store & use this fuel...
If it uses more ENERGY to preform the same task and results in MORE POLLUTION - It is NOT Environmentally friendly...
Want to talk about the batteries in the EVs, another Green Energy supported by DEMOCRATS and how Environmentally friendly, they are not???
Or the Billions of USD wasted by Obama supporting Green Energy projects that have FAILED...
Research the Blythe, CA solar power facility that was going to DESTROY the American Indian Gyrogliphics...
Opps that is - The Blythe Intaglios, Indian hieroglyphics are a group of gigantic earth figures found on the ground near Blythe, CA...
This was supported by Obama until they went Bankrupt and they went back to Germany with the US Tax dollars...
tax the whole world the angle, aim, and goal.
"Expert" penguin bean counters must get paid and grants, don't forget the grants.
Al Gore wants his carbon credit
industryenslavement, head tax, fealty, sworn allegiance to world leader #1Not to worry, mtsr1: once everything remotely profitable is privatized, and government funding dries up, lots of stuff won't happen. Since there's not a buck in it, penguins won't get counted,sea ice won't get monitored, and only ExxonMobil talking points will comprise the "climate issue". Won't that be wonderful?
lol the penquin counting experts would be funded for 10,000 years if 2012's election bucks were allocated to msnbc's oh so darling romantic swashbuckling researchers from Oxford!
government funding drying up? lol unless this www.usdebtclock.org defaults it won't ever dry up.
meanwhile U.S. states send school districts IOU's. negligence intentional negligence, malfeasance.
Times change, nothing stays the same.. Just hope all this don't get rid of mankind ..
Hey, we've had a good run... live fast, die young, and leave a pretty fossil!
Now is the time to purchase land in Antartica before the price goes up because when the ice melts and the lush forest return it will be to late when the continent returns to normal it will be a desierable vacation spot to escape the heat. and it will also be some of the richest farmland on the planet.
When Antarctica had forests it was at the equator. It was part of the Supercontinent, Pangea. How ignorant are you, D Buck? However, I have heard rumours that the Bush family have purchases land in South America over a large aquifer. They know what's coming and that clean water will be liquid gold. In spite of their seeming stupidity they are preparing for the coming scarcity of the irreplaceable water resource. They plan to be rich in the future.
Those rumors came from "climate change deniers" so you can disregard them.
How about those "rumors" of Al Gore covering the globe in his private jet eh?
Peridot -1693859 - Good point about Pangea! I don't know about Bush family and South America. I Have become more aware of all the mining, oil and Nat Gas drilling etc all over the earth, as well as over utilization for agriculture and human consumption. That huge aquifer may go the way of other huge aquifers if they don't protect it. I'm not saying that drilling in and of itself is bad, it depends on the geographical conditions present in the area, and the precautions taken. I'm just not sure the human race is grown up enough to do it right. We as a species need to rethink how we utilize our resources. (water conservation, fuel conservation, etc.) Those of us that prepare now by changing how we do things will be better off than those who don't. All in all, we humans are between a rock and a hard place.
Maybe we should ask old Sol to ramp it down down a bit in solar flares and heating up our atmosphere causing climate change.....Just saying.
First of all, it's not man made so their is nothing we can do about it. The earths climate is constantly changing....... It's called weather. We are still in the warming pattern that ended the last ice age. Can people stop drinking the liberal coolaid and start thinking for themselves?
If you were really as open-minded as you're pretending to be, you'd at least say it's very possible that we're causing it.
I call B.S. on you, pal.
No. The Holocene Thermal Optimum ended 5,000 years ago, Montana. We should be cooling now, and we were - right up until the Industrial Revolution.
I really can't understand how someone who lives in Montana can be blind to this rapid change. How are the pines doing in your mountains? The snowpack? The date of spring onset? The glaciers?
Because it ain't happening.
You people are saying you would prefer the Ice Age? well it will get here soon enough and with a vengeance and speed that will catch you with your pants down and some 150,000 years from now that is how they will find you, you will be a future botanist dream.
Pollution and climate change are real. Fossil fuels pollute, but most of us would't even consider driving our zoom-zooms every single place we go.
Who cares. Too many people on earth and until we get the population down to about 2 billion nothing can be done. I plan on using as much fossil fuel as possible and saying tough luck to future generations. I don't have kids, but planned on having 50, so I am using their resources only.
You sound like a selfish taker. Hows the skibase? For the sake all those kids that you talk about robbing of their future I think you should be first in line for your 2 billion sweep.
we have better start a massive wall building program nationwide, and protect our coastal cities. we should also switch all cars to electric a s a p .
Why??????
Where do you expect the power for your electric car to come from? If you guessed fossil fuels, mostly coal, you'd be correct. All that electricity has to be generated somehow. Better think about upgrading the power grid too before we're all driving electric cars. The current grid could never support it.
IF, and this is a huge IF--we could do atomic energy safely--that would be the least polluting alternative. I think that scientifically, we could do it safely. But will we?? I see too much willingness to cut safety corners today, and not only in the USA, but the world over. In fact, as bad as we are here in the USA (think BP oil spill, New England Compounding Pharmaceutical, Massey Energy, all the municipalities that dump raw sewage into waterways, etc. etc. etc.), we are not nearly as bad as some others such as China, India, etc. I like alternative energy, but just remember that many alternatives require rare earth elements, which have to be mined. We humans really are between a rock and a hard place.
Both the article, and some people here have brought up a valid point about penguin food source being fished by humans. The article said that only 1 % of krill are being fished. But how many are being taken illegally? I think that is also a good question to ask. And overarching all of this, is the fact that the planet is still loosing way too much ice.
To think that 7,000,000,000
I had to finish my post in a second reply--my computer was doing weird things so I posted what I had and finish now.
Anyway, to think that 7 billion people would NOT affect our planet's climate AND ecology is in and of itself quite an assumption. At least not the ways we 7 billion are currently looking to get our needs and wants met. I think we 7 billion could get our needs met, and some of our wants, and still keep our ecology intact and healthy. But we need to rethink HOW we can accomplish that.
as for the penguins and polar bears, we need to rescue them and build solar powered refrigerators to keep them cool. like under a hugh dome that is climate controlled.. think of all the job opportunities for the un employed...
I agree,as food for the penguins and polar bears...
Oh my gosh I can't believe people are still kicking this dead horse! The biggest bunch of bs ever. I pity those who lack the humility and appreciating for the sheer vastness and complexity of our creation. To think that we have any control or any impact on this earth is just human folly. And despite the mountain of proof that this is a manufactured lie, well, the gullible will be gullible won't they. Don't be indoctrinated by this insanity.
Another one who sounds just a little overconfident. Yup, just a tad.
@Vjayjay
So humans don't have any impact on this earth? I would say all the species that HUMANS have driven to extinction beg to differ. I would say the MILES and MILES of trash in our oceans, the gallons of sewage and toxic run off from factories that have warmed and polluted miles of coastlines, the sludge that we have turned ponds and lakes into and our poisoned water supply, beg to differ.
I know that you are baiting people for a response or are just THAT ignorant on the state of our environment that I shouldn't of bothered responding.
So, put that paper bag back over your head and rest now. I know your brain is tired.
Shh...sleep baby, sleep...That's all I'm going to bother to say to you.
Naw I plan on living maybe 10 -30 years and then dying. I couldn't care less about this issue and no lefty will give up their cars or heating their homes so people like you don't care either, yet you lie and say you do.
The ones lacking in humility and gratitude for this beautiful and vast complexity of our creation are the ones who think they can pollute and there not be any natural consequences for it. God does not suspend the laws of physics so that we can do what ever we want. If you think He does, then whats to stop you from using your kitchen sink as a toilet?
What do you care then, Vjay? What difference does it make what we've decided?
I dare you to read this pie chart:
http://www.desmogblog.com/2012/11/15/why-climate-deniers-have-no-credibility-science-one-pie-chart
The drain pipe hole is too small Lisa you twit!
Hahahaha, golliegeewillikers22 - ya got me laughing!!
we need global leadership and constructive solutions.... to this i pray
Someday, when all of the endless deadlock and fighting between all the political parties ends they might get to the little problem of helping the environment. But until then this whole country is @!$%#ed.
Penguins dying, polar bears starving, wolves getting torn apart by every yahoo with dogs or a gun, coyotes being poisoned along with birds, foxes, dolphins and whales getting eradicated by the Japanese, elephants, rhinos, cheetahs and lions driven to extinction, the list is so vast! Those were just the beginning!
Then our Ocean. To @!$%# with our ocean is to mess with the whole planet in general, since that is what everything is tied to.
It boggles the mind, the rate of decline and the impact that humans have had on the planet since our modernization.
Can anything be done that would be enough? I don't know. It sucks. Most people only care about what is happening to them directly. Unless you have been on the front lines protesting or trying to make a difference, everyone is part of the problem.
If you can do nothing else, at least be AWARE that it is happening. The thought that some people still deny this is laughable.
When the oceans die, that will be the end for life for all on planet Earth.
Already happening. Last week there was a methane release from the LA Harbour.
Nothing will change and complete ecological collapse of the world's ecosystems is imminent. Thank the psychopaths that run the world who put their lust for power and greed above all else.
One eruption from a super volcano and its all over anyways, the odds are on the side of destruction more of when then how. you want to look at something look at the core samples and the Co2, then look at the dead zones in the ocean every thing is pointing to a new Ice age, we are a coin balancing on its edge, and then take notice how the wealthy are investing within the tropics why do you think that is, why did the Bush family buy all that land in Bolivia, the rich shifted their investments to areas between the tropic zones and you are being misled to do the opposite face it you are being made a fool of. there conning the Latinos to move north while they plan to move south, folks will die in mass because they cant escape the cold and those that know its coming have no intention of telling you because there isn't enough room for everyone, so they make you believe the opposite so instead of running from the problem you will all run right into it its better that way its faster and less messy.
@ BooCoo power money and in Clintons case sex power and money. has anyone bought them a house yet? sombody should do that, they are getting old and will need a house of their own. somewhere in the tropics.
One major asteroid strike and none of this or anything else will matter any longer. An opportunity to start over from scratch and do it all over again if we're that lucky.
I have sometrimes wondered whether we are overlooking the fact that the planet has undergone massive changes in the past, long before man was present to do anything to initiate and perpetuate the evolutionary changes. what if our "God-like" assumptions that we are bringing the change about is simple failure to acknowledge what is ordinary evolutionary change?
Regardless, I do believe we should pay attention to air quality and earth quality issues to keep the earth environment safe for human consumption!
'
Thank goodness for people like Oxford University's penguinologist Tom Hart who spent years studying penguins and their mating rituals in their natural habitats so they could update those interested in the changes in our environment that not only affect penguins, but all wildlife calling Antarctica home. It is sad that the ice formations of our polar regions are disappearing so rapidly. The polar caps not only reflect heat away from the planet, they maintain our water reserves, provide home for a variety of wildlife, help maintain steady temperatures, and provide natural beauty to the area. With all the changes and growth taking place in the developing world, the by-products they produce, the deforestation they cause, and the waste they depose of in the oceans affect weather patterns, jet streams, ecological systems, health and well being of ocean creatures, ocean temperatures, all which contribute to the melting of the polar caps. The forward movement of human development and the demand for more land to build on and food to eat will not stop. Some of the consequences of such progress will be the destruction of natural habitats, exhaustion of natural resources and water supplies, and more violent weather patterns. Perhaps humans in all their wisdom will develop synthetic products to substitute for natural losses and be self-sufficient enough to survive without the beauty of nature and all its natural resources.
What about the "Climate Change" on Mars? Think man had something to do with that too?
You look up in the sky and see the real reason for weather changes but you ignore it.
So you are suggest that there is one reason for "Climate Change," and that that reason is not humankind? Has it ever occurred to you that there are more than one reason for it, and that humanity is one of them-- and a major one, at that?
Some forest fires are caused by the sun. Does that mean that human beings never cause forest fires? Does the fact that the sun causes some forest fires mean that human beings do not need to do anything to make sure that they do not cause any themselves? Apply that same line of reasoning to "Climate Change" and see what you come up with.
Human beings do cause "Climate Change." We are not the only cause, but to suggest that we need not do anything about our contribution to it, is dangerously irresponsible.
deb-3232690
Thiers no question that this earth have been on the pass of global warming before we arrived in America polluting our air and land. Glaziers through out America existed, that are no longer. I have no doubt with a joint effort of mankind, we can slow it up a little. To stop it completely will not happen. That's being said by the experts. America have always been smart on inventing things but we're stupid on end results. Years ago we built underground tunnels in Nevada for Nuclear Waste. It took to when it was almost completed, that someone told them that they built it on a earthquake fault. To this day, we're stupid on knowing what to do with this Nuclear Waste. Many of our innocent species will be lost to Global Warming and us humans will adapt and live on. Us humans cannot adapt from Nuclear Waste in our rivers,oceans and on our soil. Yes, this world haves some major problems a head of us.
Talking about Nuclear waste...have you heard what is happening at the Handford Nuclear Reservation, near Richland Washington? I had a chance to take a job there, but I heard about the nuclear site years ago and boy am I glad I didn't go.
They say 1000 gallons a year is leaking out of hundreds of tanks. By the way, those tanks hold 56 million gallons of toxic sludge. So tell me, when are these morons going to learn not to produce this @!$%# on OUR planet. Didn't they learn the first f---ing time with Chenobyl, or the second time with Three Mile Island, or the third time with Fukushima? Get a clue and stop messing the planet up! That goes for the oil drillers in the Gulf too. Don't think I forgot about that one. Oh, and while Im thinking about it...Monsanto needs to get out as well. OH, actually all these major corporations need to leave so our economy can get better.
Good luck with all that.