‘We better figure out what’s going on’

March 3, 2006

You know, maybe Al Gore is on to something.

The Antarctic ice sheet is losing as much as 36 cubic miles of ice a year in a trend that scientists link to global warming, according to a new paper that provides the first evidence that the sheet’s total mass is shrinking significantly.

The new findings, which are being published today in the journal Science, suggest that global sea level could rise substantially over the next several centuries.

It is one of a slew of scientific papers in recent weeks that have sought to gauge the impact of climate change on the world’s oceans and lakes. Just last month two researchers reported that Greenland’s glaciers are melting into the sea twice as fast as previously believed, and a separate paper in Science today predicts that by the end of this century lakes and streams on one-fourth of the African continent could be drying up because of higher temperatures.

Kudos to the Washington Post for running this on its front page.

The information is more than a little alarming. The amount of water pouring annually from the ice sheet into the ocean — equivalent to the amount of water the United States uses in three months — is causing global sea level to rise by 0.4 millimeters a year. The Post added that the disappearance of one of the Antarctic’s smaller ice sheets could raise worldwide sea levels by an estimated 20 feet.

The Post also quoted Richard Alley, a Pennsylvania State University glaciologist, who didn’t seem completely convinced of the warming trend — Alley said, “One person’s trend is another person’s fluctuation” — but he nevertheless sounded pretty concerned.

“It looks like the ice sheets are ahead of schedule” in terms of melting, Alley said. “That’s a wake-up call. We better figure out what’s going on.”

That sounds like a good idea.

I have lived near Lake Michigan for nearly 30 years and have observed some major climatic changes on the lake. There is now very little ice cover in the winter and this leads to increased evaporation during winter months. The lake is at or near an all-time low level now and I read somewhere that this represents a loss of trillions of gallons of fresh water. When you factor in that something like 8 of the past 10 years have been the warmest since such readings have been available the trend for the lake is ominous.

  • People only call for drastic solutions, only when faced with drastic problems, the main stream public will always be concrened about this, but will never act until its too late. Look at the obesecity problem in America, its not until somebody is 200 lbs. overweight, and having health issues do they decide to do something about their diet. We are only a reationary society, I will be shocked if anything is done about this before its too late.

  • Mr. McGuire: I want to say one word to you. Just one word.

    Benjamin: Yes, sir.

    Mr. McGuire: Are you listening?

    Benjamin: Yes, I am.

    Mr. McGuire: Kayaks!

  • I think that must be a misprint. 0.4 mm/year is equal to 4 cm/century. I’m a geologist and I generally pay attention to such stuff. If you ask me, that’s not very ominous. I think that other estimates that I’ve heard have been higher. perhaps on the order of 40 cm. I haven’t got time to check it right now.

  • Polls show some 85% of Americans are concerned
    about global warming. I don’t understand why the
    Dems aren’t jumping all over the president for ignoring
    it. At the very least, a blue ribbon panel of scientists
    should be commissioned to complete a thorough
    study with recommendations for action. How can
    something that is potentially so utterly devastating
    to this planet be ignored by this jackass of a
    president, and more shockingly, how can the rest
    of us not demand that he get the scientific facts
    as best as can be determined.

    It’s just mind boggling.

    All the evidence so far points in the same direction.
    Global warming is a fact, it is almost certain that
    at least a major part of it is due to human activity,
    and recent studies show that the effects, at least
    in the higher latitudes, are more pronounced than
    predicted. What the hell are we waiting for?

  • Trees being cut down by the millions of acres each year, human population went from 5 billion twenty years ago to 6 billion now. Trees take in carbon dioxide that humans exhale, and convert to oxygen that humans need to breath. Anyone else see a problem here?

  • Al Gore is one of the few politicians who seems willing and able to grasp the complexity of environmental/economic issues the world is facing. That ought to count for something: we are, after all, not immune to the laws of physics and there are physical consequences to the way we extract energy and raw materials from the planet, “process” them, and dump the waste.

    I’m pretty pessimistic about the chances that this country will ever have leadership with the foresight to address these problems now, while there is a chance to do so in a rational and compassionate way, rather than wait and react when we are in a crisis.

  • Human being are not perceputally wired to notice subtle long term changes. Global warming is a pass-fail cosmic intelligence survival test for our species……can humans see this oncoming slow motion train wreck?

    And so we elect George W. Bush for two terms.

    America deserves a national Darwin Award.

  • The one stumbling block is that our American Idol-obsessed society will collectively say “0.4mm??? What’s so bad about that?” Talk radio already makes fun of scientists for reporting how the planet has warmed by a few degrees over the past century. “Is that all?? Bunch of tree-hugging granolas who hate Bush and economic progress!” Then they point to Crichton’s NOVEL as a legitimate counter-argument against global warming.
    Maybe kali’s got something. Hope the bees do a better job in 2 million years.

  • I still can recall seeing Terry McAuliffe driving his big fat SUV in Georgetown. The license plate said “DNC.”

  • Hark (#6),

    I agree with you. The reason why the Dems aren’t jumping all over the president, I believe, is that they (the elected ones) are satisfied sucking on the hind tit of federal hog and don’t want to risk being cut off. A further factor is government treatment of scientists (see my comment (#10) under “Another Week In Bushville” (top of the page) — the Bush Crime Family’s contempt for “reality”.

  • Ed,

    Enough with the “Bush Crime Family”. You needn’t post it in every remark.
    It takes away from what you’re saying.

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