An interesting piece on some vanishing glaciers

There is a 4 minute video linked to this story that has some stunning imagery.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-15216875

"Between 2007 and 2010, David Breashears retraced the steps of early photographic pioneers such as Major E O Wheeler, George Mallory and Vittorio Sella - to try to re-take their views of breathtaking glacial vistas."

 

The glaciers in Alberta are retreating at an amazing rate. We've seen ones along the highway from Banff to Jasper that are neatly marked showing how far they extended in past years vs where they are now. Not pretty.

 

Yep, the evidence has been around for a couple decades now, but nay-sayers have an agenda that doesn't allow for this kind of truth. That's why I mentioned it here... it annoys them.

 

It's not realy happening you know

 

Yeah, it's the goats, they keep licking the glaciers... that's why they are shrinking

 

I did wonder what was causing it, thanks for clearing that one up for me

 

Your welcome... I don't mind it when they head-butt fools who walk into their space (see the members of "Jackass"), but glaciers? really?

Seriously though, I've noticed few "World Events" threads are created on this site and wanted to do something to remedy that. The news I read in papers and see on TV ignores most events, but the BBC has a great portal for info, so I intend to post things I may not necessarily see elsewhere that I find interesting or relevant to our "discussions" (I'm being generous calling it that lol) here.

This particular thread relates to our discussions about Global Warming/Climate Change, but is seperate enough from the discussions to merit a seperate thread in World Events. Ok, maybe I just want more World Event threads... LOL

 

Well one can not argue that the worlds climate is changing, I would also hazard a opinion that some of it is our fault and that some of it is simply a natural occurence

 

Yep, the natural cycle is also at work, but it's the rate that's the issue. Scientists argue we are speeding up the process of the warming considerably.

 

All I know for sure is what I see with my own eye's and they tell me the weather patterns are a changing

 

Thanks for sharing this video. I have heard of Native American tribes in Alaska dealing with the impending flooding of their villages as the waters appear to be rising as the glaciers are receeding. And I am well aware that those in India and Pakistan are dealing with the threat of water scarcity due to the receeding glaciers...

As far as the cause of this... Some people on Coast to Coast, a late night radio show here in the States, speak of pole shifts, arrivals of a large planet, massive changes in the cosmos perhaps due to the sun's changes as many planets in our solar system seem to be having similar environmental changes, the lull before a coming ice age, the result of too much focusing on global warming, and of course, global warming due to increased carbon emissions. Most scientists believe in the later explanation and it seems to make sense and, in a way, is much more comforting than the other possibilities as at least with this cause we could, if we get off our duff and do it, have some ability to act to reduce the problem instead of believing ourselves to be sitting ducks with more glacier destruction and accompanying flooding of low lying areas, water shortages in some areas and increased snowfall in other areas, and more dramatic and deadly earth changes. There are obviously weather changes and obviously these are causing the Earth changes we are seeing. If the public believes that they can have a positive impact and some power and control over the situation by using that "reduce, reuse and recycle" formula and by encouraging their leaders and corporations to become more "Green", they will feel better than they would if they thought that there was nothing left for them to do except to wait for the worst.

 

Your welcome. From what I understand, even if we halted CO2 emissions altogether global warming would continue... it's past the point of being able to reverse it ..unless we were able to "scrub" massive amounts of it out of the atmosphere and oceans (which we can't). It's gained too much momentum now. Republicans might see that as a reason to deregulate the industries lol

 

Why does everything have to be framed in a Republicans vs. Democrats perspective? If we *can't* scrub massive amounts of CO2 from the atmosphere and oceans (and who's to say we're supposed to do so?) then isn't it more or less a "people who want to spend massive amounts of money in a futile effort" vs. a "people who don't want to spend massive amounts of money in a futile effort" perspective? It's not politics (entirely) that moves an individual to do something; rather, it could be viewed more as a "this won't work and we need to look into other options" kind of thing. Operating from that perspective doesn't rely on party line.

 

If they want to do something about global warming, climate change, then they need to make sure the oceans are clean for plant life to blossem and forests are safe as well as growing. But with Africa and Asia and the middle east booming birth rates any money you spend is wasted and most likely will just make the rich richer and rich politicans like Gore richer. If you want to help earth, population control is needed. With that said, the Sun and its solar activity has more to do with our planet's climate then anything else. Then comes the polar fields, magnitic, which have been drifting.

 

Only the last sentence was, writer's prerogitive

Politics is a major player in the debate right now. I was half-heartedly joking that, in general, the Republican leadership would use the idea that "nothing we do will matter" as a rallying point for the gullible masses in their party to support deregulation... and less restrictive environmental laws. IMO, deregulation is a bad idea, especially considering the impact on our health.

 

I tend to agree that complete deregulation would be a bad thing. However, if "nothing we do will matter," then what is the point of ineffectual action? If we must have action, then it needs to be effective. And one last question: what does the Democratic leadership use as rallying points for their gullible masses?

 

"Tax the Rich"

 

I agree. The population is a factor, as well as all the other contributers. I'd also agree that the sun is the ultimate dictator in what our climate is like. From what I understand there are many cycles the sun (and Earth) go through that influences our climate. When several of those cycles occur in a specific year the results are ususally more noticeable. We are currently in a generally warming cycle that can last for thousands, sometimes hundreds of thousands, of years.

The debate that the Earth is warming has been over for a long time. The real debate is on what role humankind has played in the current trend. IMO, and that of a significant amount of scientists, is that humans are increasing the rate of the warming. In what would normally take 10,000 years for the average temperature of the Earth to rise to a certain point, we've accelerated it to maybe 100 years.

 

That's the issue really, do we do nothing or go all-out? Usually the answer is somewhere in the middle. Yes, it may be futile, but to do nothing can't be right either. I'd be for most things that help limit the amount of air, land, and water pollution... as long as the price isn't unreasonable... and there's yer problem, what's reasonable to me is almost certainly going to be unreasonable to someone else (and vice versa).

What do Democrats use to rally their gullible masses? I've always been partial to pizza myself, but they have yet to send me any.

 

I'm all for going all-out, provided we're not just spinning our wheels going all-out with futile efforts. We already have some limits on the forms of pollution you mentioned, so I'm in favor of leaving many of those things in place. The EPA is losing its focus, it seems, so it would be a good thing to determine what programs are in place for good reason and what are merely political darlings. I still do not understand the point behind the new light bulbs. They are more hazardous to the environment than incandescent bulbs and are simply not as good--but we were told they were "green" and had to be used due to "global warming." It confuses me, but there you are.

Pizza, hmmmm . . . ? I can be bribed with pizza. Sometimes. Extra large, double cheese, bacon, fresh tomatoes, onions, and mushrooms. Deliver it at midnight using the passwords "Beau, VCD1, March." Leave your cell phone number and we'll discuss it. (The pizza has to be from Papa John's or all bets are off . . .)