The changing Global climate>

[Hallarian]

Well! It’s been years since I served any disasters near home but I guess that’s where I’ll be next. To bad there’s no way to bring Cody South. Too hot and he’d be in the way. Could have used him as a guard dog overseas.
It’s time the people of the world decided to do something if they are going too about global warning. All of Alaska’s glaciers are melting and so is the Arctic Ocean. Animals who depend on sea ice for hunting to survive are dying of starvation and the fish are changing too.
I’ve just learned the Antarctic Ice cap is thinning rapidly. So we are going to see more Hurricanes and Typhoons. Rice needs cooler temperatures at night to set grain and so those crops are yielding less. A huge part of the world depends on rice for their basic diet.
Time to consider what each of is contributing to the atmosphere to add to global warming and maybe change unless we are to selfish.

 

[Jules]

Remember in "On Deadly Ground" how Mr. Seagal pushed for business to clean the air and keep the soil from getting polluted and such. I do not think the plants have improved. The auto companies have tried to improve the cars emissions to help.
One thing I will say Girl!
It still gets dog gone cold in NY in the winter.

 

[Amos Stevens]

People say it ain't too cold in Arizona during winter..even though speaking for a resident-IT IS!

 

[Serena]

People say it ain't too cold in Arizona during winter..even though speaking for a resident-IT IS!

You desert people! I remember my first trip to Las Vegas. It was January, 65 degrees in the morning, and the locals outside had scarves and gloves and jackets on.

 

[kickingbird]

It is so true the global climate is changing and very rapidly. One only has to scan the information from environmental organizations to realize just how serious it is. Global warming is happening and what Hallarian said is all true; and what can happen is massive climate change which can affect the ocean currents which cool and warm various parts of the world which in turn can affect food production. Our very survival is at stake here. Education is one key - read the reports - they are available. Check out environmental groups like Sierra Club, Greenpeace, Nature Conservancy, Wilderness Society, Audabon, etc. The words Steven used in On Deadly Ground are directly from a Greenpeace presentation - I've seen many - and they are true. Big business and big government do not want us to know about it but we do know, and more and more of us are finding out just how serious the damage to the environment truly is. The rain forests are going away - that means less rain and less oxygen in the air and more carbon dioxide (greenhouse gases). Volcanic eruptions spew all kinds of gases into the atmosphere which are being trapped. Adding to it all is pollution which CAN be controlled by humans. One of the effects of greenhouse warming is cloud cover which prevents the sun's radiation from reaching the surface of the planet - this could lead to colder climate changes - mini ice age or very short growing seasons which means starvation for millions of people. It isn't just the weather folks, its the entire planet's survival ... and ours.
"We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children."

 

[Hallarian]

The car companies push heavy cars with high oil use and trucks with minimal pollution control It's the culture of waste that pushes the atmospheric cloudiness and warming. Some areas will get warmer, others will a great deal colder and enter a new ice age. Alaska may change in a lot of ways. Univ of Alaska isn't sure but they think the Pacifia and Arctic coasts will warm, the tree line is moving North, but intercontinetal areas may get cooler. I'm not sure how this effects the Great Lakes.

 

[pantera]

You know i've seen the movie the day after tomorrow. Has someone seen this one. It's about a scientific asking to change our habit because it's gonna afect our planet sooner that what expected. Nobody wanna listen 'cos' the changing is not before 100 years. It's too far. But unluckily for the politicians, all the climat changes in couple of weeks and all the North hemisphere is under the snow. Billions of people die from the cold.
Well it's just movie but it shows how much the nature can make us pay for what we did to it. The bill will be high. That's for sure!

 

[KATHYPURDOM]

All of you are so right.
We are put on this earth and look what we do to it. By we I am talking about people in general. We are losing. Some people don't think of what can happen to the world and they don't think about what our kids and grandkids will have to live with. Global warming is a major problem and if we don't stop polluting the air what will happen to the next 3, 4 or more generations. Some politicians just don't seem to care. This oil drilling in Alaska and Canada has to stop. Cars need to be made more efficient.
Pantera I have seen that movie and yes it is just a movie, but if you think about it, it could happen. Not in my life time but what will my great grandkids have to live with in the world.

 

[kickingbird]

Actually I have not seen the movie; however, I have read many things about the subject, including last month's National Geographic. Stuff is happening right now and there's no amount of spinning that will negate it. Glacier National Park is melting fast, as are most other glaciers, even in South America - in Columbia to be exact (THIS month's issue of NG talks about the indiginous natives and the high mountains they live in where the snow is disappearing). The penguins in Antartica are having a tough time too - changing ice flows. Polar bears up north rely on ice flow to catch fish from and the ice is going away. This isn't a movie.

 

[Serena]

Came across this article online today and thought some of you might find it interesting.

Global Warming Exposes Arctic to Oil, Gas Drilling
Science - Reuters
By Tom Doggett
November 8, 2004

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Rising global temperatures will melt areas of the Arctic this century, making them more accessible for oil and natural gas drilling, a report prepared by the United States and seven other nations said on Monday.

It predicts that over the next 100 years, global warming could increase Arctic annual average temperatures 5 to 9 degrees Fahrenheit over land and by up to 13 degrees over water. Warmer temperatures could raise global sea levels by as much as 3 feet.

Such a change would threaten coastal cities, change growing patterns for vegetation and destroy habitats for some wildlife, but an energy-starved world would have new areas for oil and gas exploration, according to the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment report.

The Arctic region, particularly offshore, has huge oil and gas reserves, mostly in Russia, Canada, Alaska, Greenland and Norway.

Warmer temperatures would make it easier to drill and ship oil from the Arctic, the report said. It did not attempt to quantify the costs of drilling and shipping Arctic oil and gas, or estimate how high energy prices would have to be to justify drilling in the region.

"Offshore oil exploration and production are likely to benefit from less extensive and thinner sea ice, although equipment will have to be designed to withstand increased wave forces and ice movement," the report said.

However, land access to energy reserves would likely be restricted due to a shorter season during which the ground is frozen hard enough to support heavy drilling equipment.

"The thawing of permafrost, on which buildings, pipelines, airfields and coastal installations supporting oil and gas development are located, is very likely to adversely affect these structures and increase the cost of maintaining them," the report said.

Energy companies would find it easier to transport oil and gas because the warmer temperatures would open sea routes.

"By the end of this century, the length of the navigation season...along the Northern Sea route is projected to increase to about 120 days from the current 20-30 days," the report said.

However, a longer shipping season will increase the risk of oil spills, the report warned.

The report was commissioned by the United States, Canada, Russia, Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, Norway and Finland. It concluded that global warming is heating the Arctic almost twice as quickly as the rest of the planet in a thaw that threatens millions of livelihoods.

 

[kickingbird]

Global warming not only includes warming temps, but will also cause a cool-down for parts of the globe. If the ocean conveyers are slowed or stopped, parts of north America and Europe could experience extreme cold = no growing seasons which means the food production will fall drastically. One of the side-effects of the warming will be extreme cold. Ironic but true. The less vegetation, the more CO2 which in turn fuels more warming/cooling. Man-made CO2 isn't helping the problem.

 

[Hallarian]

The accereration of global warming!

Actually will geometrically increase because as the frozen tundra melts it releases stored CO2 adding to the atmosphere. Of course Canada, Russia, and Northern European farmers can raise crops like wheat and possibly corn further north. But the ripening of rice crops will be retarded causing more famines. Some areas will suffer extreme drought while low lying cities and lands will flood. No one knows how the monsoons will shift. This last year the altered monsoons have caused great flooding in some areas and terrible drought in others tripling the amount of famine.

We are going to see some terrific cjanges and the poorest people will suffer the most. I hope some one cares.