The news continues to grow worse over global warming. The Peru meeting revealed new research showing that time is running out for humanity to act on climate change. Now to new reports indicate that we may have underestimate the rate of loss on the huge ice sheet of West Antarctica — new calculations under global warming could mean a rise in global sea levels of as much as 23 feet. That would create massive changes in the coasts of the world.
The research indicates that prior computer modeling efforts did not capture the full dynamics of what is happening with these ice sheets during global warming. The difference is immense when one considers that the Greenland ice sheet is 656,000 square miles long with an average thickness of over a mile. If that ice melts at a faster rate, it would result in costly global changes, including the loss of cities and islands.
The more complex models shows that the dimensions of the topography and melting factors should result in a much faster meltdown.
The first new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by scientists at the University at Buffalo and several other institutions, used laser altimetry to measure almost 100,000 elevation points atop the Greenland ice sheet. The result is confirmation of a much higher melting process of about .68 millimeters of annual sea level rise rather than the previously estimated .29 millimeters per year.
A second student in Nature Climate Change by Amber Leeson from the University of Leeds looked at “supraglacial lakes,” which form atop the Greenland ice sheet. These lakes suddenly vanish through “moulins,” or crevasses, that plunge to depths far below the ice sheet. The study indicates that these lakes (which hold greater heat) will become more extensive with global warming and, through draining, accelerate melting.
There of course remain those who refuse to accept the vast majority of scientific researcher and experts on the fact of climate change. However, the concern is that we are passing a redline that divides an unpleasant world from an uninhabitable one.)
The result from Lima is being heralded as an improvement in securing agreement but the details show a substantial lack of consensus, including a refusal of countries to agree on a uniform way of accounting for emissions cuts. That is a critical issue since goals are meaningless if there is not uniform measuring of cuts. It was still more productive than past meetings but scientists warn that time is of the essence as the world continues to debate the most basic elements of a system of reduction of emissions.
Source: Washington Post
Sandi, The hypocrisy is astounding, as we see w/ most religions.
It’s about power, control, and MONEY! That’s elitists who are the church hierarchy. The parishioners are zealots to just batshit crazy.
Paul, I drive a 4 cylinder car. I always try and walk instead of drive, more for health reasons, but also to conserve. I recycle. I’m just not an Evangelical like the nuts. it is their religion, plain and simple. And, they’re not Episcopalians, they are Southern Baptists speaking in tongues!
Must be the reason Al Gore converted from Southern Baptist to Baptist. Ha.
Not in a real crisis mode. With the cheap price of gasoline, all my so called climate change friends are burning fuel in their huge SUVs like it is the end of time. Meanwhile, I, not all the way convinced of climate change,continue to drive my small fuel efficient Honda and save energy everyday possible. Oh those hypocrites! And the biggest of them all – Al Gore.
Sandi, With the price of oil plummeting and new deposits being accessed. the Chicken Little people are in crisis mode. The free market will decide energy policy, not junk science. But, we must remain vigilant. The elite Chicken Little folks have a lotta money invested in wind, solar, etc. They are rich and powerful. But, I have faith in the free market.
Thank you, Nick! So, they want more wind farms and solar? Fine, give folks a tax credit. But once you have solar you are helping the planet every year after and should get a tax credit every year it operates. Same for building wind farms.
Use the same logic as for mortgage interest. You buy a house one year, but you get the mortgage tax credit for years after.
There is some conference in Sweden (?) and 1,700 or 17,000, can’t remember, anyway 1,700 is bad. Private jets on the Tarmac for a climate conference! These people can’t even carpool! This is a classic example of we the elite want the serfs to keep us in the air.
I don’t remember what companies did this when I was working. A lot of large companies with private aircraft had communication with people in charge of getting patients to hospitals for special treatment. The plane managers sent the schedules of corporate planes to this organization. If there was a match everyone worked to make this happen.
I was involved in one of these once is how I know it. Our plane was in a private hangar. The patient, a family member, and nurse were put on the plane first. They were in a room reserved for CEO or other execs. None of those that day, but I think they would have been OK. When they were settled the employees and customers making that trip got on and the plane taxied to a runway. You can’t be a part of that and not get teary, especially children.
The plane was met by another employee at the destination and after everyone else got off the patient group were met by ambulance and transported to a hospital.
Probably can’t do that today because of insurance issues. My message is, we are a people willing to help. But tired of being screwed.
All corporations are not evil. Remember people work there. People with families they love. They don’t walk in the door and suddenly become hateful!
Al Gore and ex-president of Mexico, Calderon?, have come up with a 9 Trillion plan. NINE TRILLION! To use making large cities more compact with good transportation and no cars. A lot of European towns were this way and some have done that kind of thing. But changing large cities? Certainly forward thinking. Whose 9 Trillion?
So, Professor, tell me what you want me to do. Thanks”
And what is a carbon credit? Why do I have to buy carbon credits? I’m suspicious when you talk taking money. Professor, if you said you would spend the rest of your life making sure this was done properly, we’d be with you. But liars and cheaters have taken our money and can’t figure out what they did with it!
I haven’t read all responses, so forgive me if this has already been asked. In Obama’s speech he talked about climate change, lecturing us all. I know Professor Turley is passionate about this.
What do you want us to do? No one lays that out. I think most Americans want to keep our beautiful country as it is, but how?
If it’s give our money to other countries or the UN, absolutely not!
I really would like an answer.
Sigh.
Arctic ice is above the 2007 minimum and not melting away at increasingly rapid rates.
Antarctic ice is at record levels! The West Antarctic highly localised melt is from Volcanic activity.
this is basic common sense and thermodynamics, heat distributes, particularly with respect to GHG warming which rapidly mixes creating an even heating. GHGs cannot cause localised melting while ice around the region increases. As the W antarctic area is situated above a volcanic plate intersection region it’s the only viable answer.
This is also assuming CO2 has a large effect which it does not according to the data. Temperatures have plateaued for 17 years, the Mediaeval Warm PEriod was globally hotter with much less CO2, there is no mid tropospheric hotspot showing the positive feedback hypothesis and thus the models to be wrong etc
I believe our planets climate does change. I also believe that some people plan on making gigantic fortunes on this happening. Forcing people and businesses to purchase carbon credits. On the buying and selling of carbon credits, commissions will be paid to the brokers that will handle these transactions. This will forced on the people to pay these commissions. There will be billions of transactions. Oil barons would envy Al Gore.
Anybody remember the 2000 Terror? Lots of people made lots of money for no reason. I bet you can’t find one person who will admit to spending money preparing. This will get worse when we get within ten years. I won’t be here. But, hopefully, will be having a wonderful laugh from somewhere else!
Ed, the computer was given no information that would lead to the weather we actually had, nor the weather we would have had if the input was correct. If the system isn’t given all possibibilities the whole process is a complete waste of time and money.
Why do people continue to do this and get bad results? That’s very near the definition of insanity (doing the same thing over and over and hoping for different results).
For those of us paying attention, the crisis was going to be new glaciers covering Washington and Oregon in the mid-70’s. If they can’t get the ice, we’ll go to heat. And somehow the elite believe we can change things on earth and inhibit the whole thing.
If the sun was damaged, by nature or people, many changes made to the sun would be ours to deal with on Planet Earth. So we all watch for something to happen. Scientists are nosey and will constantly be testing what is happening. So we will have updates every day, until you throw the TV over the cliff!