Big threat! Melting glaciers may add around 7 inches to the sea-level this century!

We had roughly that in the 20th century and nobody noticed. This is in any case a typical example of looking at one thing in isolation. That ocean warming should lead to increased evaporation and hence increased precipitation and that increased precipitation should lead to ice buildup in central Antarctica is not mentioned. Why? Because ice buildup in Antartica should take water OUT of the oceans! You would think that these scientists were simpletons unless you knew that what they are really doing is making a sacrifice to their AGW god

CONTRARY to common belief, melting glaciers due to global warming contribute more to the rising sea level than melting of the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets [That would not be hard since the Antarctic is not melting at all and Greenland probably is not either, depending on what estimates you use], researchers have said. Scientists found that the ebb and flow of glaciers where they meet the water causes them to speed up and deliver more ice into the world's oceans than previously estimated, said the study published in Science's latest issue.

Glaciers and ice caps account for 60 percent of the meltwater that flows into the oceans, which has been speeding up over the past 10 years from global warming, said the study's chief author, emeritus professor Mark Meier of University of Colorado's Boulder's Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research. Together, glaciers and ice caps drop into the oceans 417 cubic kilometres of ice each year, equal to the volume of Lake Erie, one of the five Great Lakes of the United States. And the volume of ice grows by 12.5 cubic kilometres each year.

By comparison, the study said, ice breaking off and melting from Greenland's ice sheet contributes 28 per cent of the world's ice to the oceans, and the Antarctic ice sheet another 12 per cent. The accelerating contribution of glaciers and ice caps is due in part to rapid changes in the flow of tidewater glaciers that discharge icebergs directly into the ocean, the researchers said. When the glacier with its "toe in the water'' thins, they said, a larger fraction of its weight is supported by water and it slides faster and sends more ice into the ocean.

Alaska's Columbia Glacier which drops three cubic kilometres into Prince William sound is a good example, said geologist and co-author of the study Robert Anderson. The glacier has thinned up to 400 metres in a few places, has shrunk about 14.5 kilometres since 1980 and is expected to shrink the same amount in the next two decades, he said. The melting of the ice sheets of Greenland and the Antarctic is not expected to catch up with that of glaciers and ice caps until the end of the century, the scientists said.

They estimated the accelerated melting of glaciers and ice caps will add from 10.2 to 24.1 centimetres [4" to 10"] to the sea level rise globally by 2100. The figures do not include the expansion of the oceans as they get warmer which could potentially double the levels, the researchers said. A 30-centimetre rise in the sea level causes a shoreline retreat of 30 metres or more, they said, adding that currently some 100 million people live within about one metre of sea level.

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Beef is bad for the planet!

PETA will love this nonsense!

A kilogram of beef causes more greenhouse gas and other pollution than driving for three hours while leaving all the lights on at home, a Japanese study has found. New Scientist reports that a team led by Akifumi Ogino, of the National Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science in Tsukuba, calculated the environmental cost of raising cattle through conventional farming, slaughtering the animal and distributing the meat.

The team discovered that producing a kilo of beef causes the equivalent of 36.4kg in carbon dioxide (CO2), the principal greenhouse gas, the study found. Most of these greenhouse gas emissions are methane, released from the cow's digestive system. That 1kg of beef also requires energy equivalent to lighting a 100-watt bulb for nearly 20 days to produce and transport the animals' feed.

The calculations, which are based on standard industrial methods of meat production in Japan, did not include the impact of managing farm infrastructure and transporting the meat, so the total environmental load is higher than the study suggests. The study appears in full in thespecialist publication Animal Science Journal.

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Greenies show their real colours -- Fascist black

HUMVEES are bricks on wheels -- huge military vehicles made famous during Operation Desert Storm in 1991. Civilian versions, called the Hummer, were sold a year later and they've been selling well ever since. But a new enemy has emerged on the streets of the US. Environmental activists, it seems, have it in for the Hummer.

Gareth Groves, a 32-year resident of northwest Washington DC, woke the other day to find his new $US45,000 ($51,000) Hummer wrecked. Witnesses reported two masked men attacking the car with a baseball bat, smashing every window before scratching on the side "For The Environ".

Mr Groves knew when he bought the car that his eco-friendly neighbours weren't too happy about it, but this? "The thought of somebody vandalising it never crossed my mind," he told The Washington Post. "I've kind of been in shock." Since Monday, he says, he's been getting stares that indicate smug satisfaction. "I'd say one in five people who come by have that 'you-got-what-you-deserve' look," says friend Andy Sexton, 27. "I'm worried about what I do now," Mr Groves said. "If I get it fixed, do I put it back in the same spot three weeks from now?"

Neighbours admit they don't care much for the car -- this is hybrid-car territory where people boast about getting 4.9 litres per 100km not the paltry 16.7 the guzzling Hummer gets. "The neighbourhood in general is very concerned with the environment," Lucille Liem said. "It's more liberal-leaning. It's ridiculous to be driving a Hummer." But, she added, she did not condone violence. Local police said vandalism to advertise a political message was new to the area and likely to be an isolated event. Well, maybe. Mr Groves, meanwhile, is looking for a lock-up shed.

Source




Global cooling spreading in Queensland

QUEENSLAND'S tourist strips have woken to record subzero temperatures on another cold morning in the state's south-east. The Bureau of Meteorology said temperatures fell below zero for the first time since records began at Coolangatta, on the Gold Coast, and at Maroochydore on the Sunshine Coast. While Coolangatta dipped just below zero, Maroochydore plunged to -1 degree celsius, a bureau spokesman said. ``It's so unusual getting temperatures near zero with the ocean being so close,'' he said.

Many Brisbane residents woke to ice on the windscreen this morning after another near freezing night in the south east. Although the overnight minimum was a touch higher than the previous night, at 4.7 degrees compared with 3.8, the apparent temperature was a teeth chattering 1C. Senior Forecaster Gordon Banks said Amberley shivered on -3.8C within a degree of its all time record low of -4.5C. The cold temperatures did not just grip the south-east corner though, with below zero temps recorded as far north as Samuel Hill, in Central Queensland where the mercury dipped to -1C. And Gympie posted a new record, plunging to -3.4C, almost half a degree colder than ever before.

Source




ANOTHER BAD GUESS BY CLIMATE SCIENTISTS

Their models are full of guesses and now we hear that one such lot of guesses was quite wrong. Journal abstract follows:

Boundary Layer Halogens in Coastal Antarctica

By Alfonso Saiz-Lopez et al.

Halogens influence the oxidizing capacity of Earth's troposphere, and iodine oxides form ultrafine aerosols, which may have an impact on climate. We report year-round measurements of boundary layer iodine oxide and bromine oxide at the near-coastal site of Halley Station, Antarctica. Surprisingly, both species are present throughout the sunlit period and exhibit similar seasonal cycles and concentrations. The springtime peak of iodine oxide (20 parts per trillion) is the highest concentration recorded anywhere in the atmosphere. These levels of halogens cause substantial ozone depletion, as well as the rapid oxidation of dimethyl sulfide and mercury in the Antarctic boundary layer.

Science 20 July 2007: Vol. 317. no. 5836, pp. 348 - 351

Another summary of the above paper:

Tropospheric halogens affect the concentration of ozone, the oxidizing capacity of the atmosphere, and aerosol formation, all of which are linked to climate. The halogen chemistry of the frozen high latitudes has proven to be particularly interesting, not least because of the role of these regions as harbingers of global climate change, but a better understanding of that chemistry has been hampered by lack of data. Saiz-Lopez et al. (p. 348) present measurements of BrO and IO in the Antarctic boundary layer from January 2004 to February 2005. They observed high concentrations and persistence of these halogens throughout the sunlit period, contrary to expectations and unlike the situation in the Arctic, where IO has not been detected. The springtime IO levels they found are the highest reported anywhere in the atmosphere, and an apparent synergy between IO and BrO suggests an unknown halogen-activation mechanism. These levels of halogens also cause the rapid oxidation of dimethyl sulfide and mercury in the Antarctic boundary layer.

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Many people would like to be kind to others so Leftists exploit that with their nonsense about equality. Most people want a clean, green environment so Greenies exploit that by inventing all sorts of far-fetched threats to the environment. But for both, the real motive is generally to promote themselves as wiser and better than everyone else, truth regardless.

Global warming has taken the place of Communism as an absurdity that "liberals" will defend to the death regardless of the evidence showing its folly. Evidence never has mattered to real Leftists

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