http://www.boston.com/news/nation/w...09/scientists_warn_arctic_is_warming_quickly/ Not only are polar ecologies more fragile than in the rest of the world, the ripple effects are potentially huge. The more polar ice melts the more likely each of the world's ocean-side cities is to turn into another Venice.
Warming of polar regions threatens oil piplines. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000082&sid=aQbAVglPS9cg&refer=canada Well, not the pipelines so much as what's left of the arctic ecosystems after they rupture and are patched up again. And again, and again... But that's okay. The Bush Administration is on the job. Oh, never mind then. Go on about your business. Have a little faith.
What are China and India doing about global warming? Continuing to operate dirty coal-burning power and steam plants while pleading "we're poor third world countries"?
A possibly valid point, but the US has a lot more room for improvement, since we produce far more green house gases per capita than those countries do.
They are though. You seem to forget, America, along with Western Europe has had over 100 years to develop, these countries are just starting. Would it not be highly hypocritcal to order them to conform to the Kyoto Treaty when your own President is too stupid ( and/or greedy) to even admit there is a problem?
I don't have the figures to hand but dosen't the US produce about 25% of the World's 'man-made' greenhouse gas emissions? If every country produced as much, we'd be in deep ********!
Yet any country that signed Kyoto won't make the goals within the 10-year target. The only way is to take decisions on energy that won't sit well with the public at large.
So should national leaders just avoid unpopular decisions? Should the rest of us just sit back and watch the water rise?
I think we need to develop a benchmark to watch in order to set a standard of when to act! Perhaps when we start seeing Kentucky with beachfront property for sale that would be a small benchmark indication....
Wait, you are from Virginia. So you are willing to wait until Virginia is under the Ocean before you'd be willing to act? Good riddance to you, sir.
Don't they teach you in kindergarden that two wrongs don't make a right? Bushco. Playing down to the competition.
You people need to look at the positives ... like new opportunities for Arctic shipping. Ah, commerce. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...&u=/nm/20041110/sc_nm/environment_shipping_dc Is it too late to buy the Yukon and the NW territory from Canada?
China announced last month the implementation of a gas mileage rule (starting in the next couple of years?) that will be much more stringent than that proposed by the Bush administration.
Kyoto is a complete waste of time and resources. If it was fully implemented it would only delay the projected effects of global warming in 100 years for 6 years. Global warming should not be fought but adapted to. And something always makes me laugh, the connection between the melting of the artic ice and the sea level. Do you know what would happen if the whole arctic ice cap melted tomorrow? Nothing! The sea level wouldn’t change for a millimeter. The are real environmental problems but global warming isn’t the biggest one. Thousands of African women die every year from house poisoning. Why? They use dried animal shiit for fire. That’s a real problem
I see, we should be pre-emptive when it comes to paying trillions in fines (redistributing wealth to countires that are less productive than the USA) over Kyoto-type treaties, but we should NOT be pre-emptive in the fight on terror. I just thought Liberals were too stupid to understand pre-emption, but obviously you can follow the logic if it has something to do with your political causes.
Your think of the ice in the Arctic Ocean, which is not part of the ice cap as generally defined. The Greenland ice cap and the glacial ice in northern Canada would certainly change the sea level if they melted over night. A more disastrous short term effect doesn't even require the sea level to change. If enough melting takes place in the Arctic, a significant flow of less saline water would develop running south between Greenland and Canada. This water flow would disrupt the northern end of the Gulf Stream, bringing much colder winters to the northeastern US and northwestern Europe. The EPL would have to switch to a summer schedule and much of Scandinavia would have nearly permanant winter weather.