Polar bears resort to cannibalism as Arctic ice shrinks.

[Sweetwater Red]

Gotta do something to breathe life into this forum.


:devil: :devil: :devil:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/09/23/arctic.ice/index.html


(CNN) -- Summer is over in the northern hemisphere, but it's been another chilling season for researchers who study Arctic sea ice.


Disappearance of the Arctic ice cover may affect storm systems, storm tracks and crops, according to researchers.

1 of 2 "It's definitely a bad report. We did pick up little bit from last year, but this is over 30 percent below what used to be normal," said Walt Meier, a research scientist with the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado.

This past summer, the Arctic sea ice dwindled to its second lowest level. Arctic sea ice is usually one to three meters, or as much as 9 feet thick. It grows during autumn and winter and shrinks in the spring and summer.

Scientists have monitored sea ice conditions for about 50 years with the help of satellites. Changes in the past decade have been alarming to climate researchers and oceanographers.

"It is the second lowest on record ... If anything it is reinforcing the long-term trend. We are still losing the ice cover at a rate of 10 percent per decade now, and that is quite an increase from five years ago," said Meier. "We are still heading toward an ice cover that is going to melt completely in the summertime in the Arctic."

Arctic ice helps regulate and temper the climate in many other parts of the world. The less ice there is, the more dramatic the impact. Huge sheets of ice reflect solar radiation, keeping our planet cool. When that ice melts, huge expanses of darker, open ocean water absorb the heat instead, warming things up.

While few humans live in the Arctic, the disappearance of this ice cover can have impacts far beyond the few residents and the wildlife of this harsh region. Ice cover loss can influence winds and precipitation on other continents, possibly leading to less rain in the western United States and creating more in Europe.

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"That warming is going to spread to the lower latitudes, to the United States, and it's going to affect storm systems and storm tracks, the jet stream; that's going to affect crops and all sorts of things," Meier predicts.

So, just how much ice is disappearing?

Less than 30 years ago, there would still be 7 million square kilometers or 2.5 million square miles of ice left at the end of an Arctic summer. That's now dropped by almost 40 percent. See how much Arctic sea ice has disappeared »

"Seven million square kilometers roughly corresponds to an area of the lower 48 United States. So back in the early 1980s, the lower 48 states would be covered in sea ice in the summer," said Meier. "Now we've essentially lost sea ice east of the Mississippi River and even beyond. So that's a significant amount of area."

The best known consequence of disappearing sea ice in the Arctic is the loss of the polar bear habitat.

"The Arctic sea ice melt is a disaster for the polar bears," according to Kassie Siegel, staff attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity. "They are dependent on the Arctic sea ice for all of their essential behaviors, and as the ice melts and global warming transforms the Arctic, polar bears are starving, drowning, even resorting to cannibalism because they don't have access to their usual food sources."

Scientists have noticed increasing reports of starving Arctic polar bears attacking and feeding on one another in recent years. In one documented 2004 incident in northern Alaska, a male bear broke into a female's den and killed her.

In May, the U.S. Department of Interior listed the polar bear as a "threatened" species under the Endangered Species Act. In a news release, U.S. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne stated, "loss of sea ice threatens and will likely continue to threaten polar bear habitat. This loss of habitat puts polar bears at risk of becoming endangered in the foreseeable future, the standard established by the ESA for designating a threatened species."


What is the future for Arctic sea ice? Some scientists believe that in just five years the Arctic may be ice-free during the summer.

"The Arctic is kind of the early warning system of the climate," said Meier. "It is the canary in the coal mine, and the canary is definitely in trouble."

[Necks_Fan]

Originally posted by Necks_Fan
I hate tree hugging hill billy global warming liberal idiots.... NM.

[Keith7]

Global warming is real. People who are too stubborn to admit it make me sick. Seriously, just because you can't give up your V-10 extended cab, 4 wheel drive duly doesn't mean you have to live your life in denial. I know you probably live your life lonely and all you have is your precious pick up truck and your ignorant opinion. But why don't you listen to scientific fact? You are killing our planet. And you probably want to complain about gas prices too, jeez don't make get me started on that.

[Necks_Fan]

Originally posted by Keith7
Global warming is real. People who are too stubborn to admit it make me sick. Seriously, just because you can't give up your V-10 extended cab, 4 wheel drive duly doesn't mean you have to live your life in denial. I know you probably live your life lonely and all you have is your precious pick up truck and your ignorant opinion. But why don't you listen to scientific fact? You are killing our planet. And you probably want to complain about gas prices too, jeez don't make get me started on that. I have a hard time that I, me, am "killing" the planet.


I have seen all the stats and all that other crap, nothing to me proves that it's going up because of a few guys driving trucks.


Even if half the US went to hybrids, it would have little effect because India, Japan, HK, etc have so much polutants and they don't give a damn.


And yea, I'm not a huge fan of the gas prices, but that has what to do with "global warming"?

[Necks_Fan]

Originally posted by Keith7
Global warming is real. People who are too stubborn to admit it make me sick. Seriously, just because you can't give up your V-10 extended cab, 4 wheel drive duly doesn't mean you have to live your life in denial. I know you probably live your life lonely and all you have is your precious pick up truck and your ignorant opinion. But why don't you listen to scientific fact? You are killing our planet. And you probably want to complain about gas prices too, jeez don't make get me started on that. And also, why don't you pay for every person who drives a truck that you don't like to get a new one?


Maybe not every one can afford to go buy a hybrid or other "energy efficient" car.

[Keith7]

Originally posted by Necks_Fan


Even if half the US went to hybrids, it would have little effect because India, Japan, HK, etc have so much polutants and they don't give a damn.



Actually half of India rides bikes, Japan and China both have regulations where citizens can only use major highways every other day, and the UK citizen's drive cars half the size of most americans (ie the mini-cooper), my girlfriend spent a month in the UK over the summer and never saw once pick up truck.. So based on that I think they do give a damn.


Originally posted by Necks_Fan



And yea, I'm not a huge fan of the gas prices, but that has what to do with "global warming"?



I was talking about the oversized pick up trucks the hill billys in texas like to drive.. Perhaps you should take an economics class and learn the laws of supply and demand and maybe then you can figure it out.

[Keith7]

Originally posted by Necks_Fan
And also, why don't you pay for every person who drives a truck that you don't like to get a new one?


Maybe not every one can afford to go buy a hybrid or other "energy efficient" car.

I'm not saying you have to buy a hybrid car. but if you can afford a V10 extended cab truck, you can afford to buy a civic, or something like it..

[Necks_Fan]

Originally posted by Keith7
I'm not saying you have to buy a hybrid car. but if you can afford a V10 extended cab truck, you can afford to buy a civic, or something like it.. Who says i have a v-10 extended cab truck?


I ACTUALLY drive a v-6 single cab truck...

[BleedOrange]

Originally posted by Keith7
I'm not saying you have to buy a hybrid car. but if you can afford a V10 extended cab truck, you can afford to buy a civic, or something like it..

Global warming is bogus. It is cyclical and supported by science. Even if you could somehow make me believe the liberal propaganda I will still drive what I please which gets about 12 mpg.

[Necks_Fan]

Originally posted by BleedOrange
Global warming is bogus. It is cyclical. My thoughts exactly.

[BobcatBenny]

Originally posted by Keith7
Global warming is real. People who are too stubborn to admit it make me sick. Seriously, just because you can't give up your V-10 extended cab, 4 wheel drive duly doesn't mean you have to live your life in denial. I know you probably live your life lonely and all you have is your precious pick up truck and your ignorant opinion. But why don't you listen to scientific fact? You are killing our planet. And you probably want to complain about gas prices too, jeez don't make get me started on that.
Global warming is real. But you or I have absolutely no control over it. That power is reserved for someone else.

I know this world is toast. And you can think that you can stop it, but you can't. Thinking that you can is delusion.

I believe in truth. I place absolutely no faith in some knuckle heads that think they are the ultimate source of power and goodness because they are intellectually superior to us commoners.

Climb down off of your high horse. Enjoy life. Life is good. The earth is toast! :eek:

[BleedOrange]

Originally posted by BobcatBenny
Global warming is real. But you or I have absolutely no control over it. That power is reserved for someone else.

I know this world is toast. And you can think that you can stop it, but you can't. Thinking that you can is delusion.

I believe in truth. I place absolutely no faith in some knuckle heads that think they are the ultimate source of power and goodness because they are intellectually superior to us commoners.

Climb down off of your high horse. Enjoy life. Life is good. The earth is toast! :eek:

You must see the light Benny. If you don't agree with Keith7 you are ignorant. Global warming is real and we are causing it.

[BobcatBenny]

Originally posted by BleedOrange
You must see the light Benny. If you don't agree with Keith7 you are ignorant. Global warming is real and we are causing it.
Yep. In Celina, we believe!

[BleedOrange]

Originally posted by BobcatBenny
Yep. In Celina, we believe!

Always!!

[Trashman]

Trees need carbon dioxide to live. If the trees die so will we. Trees turn carbon into oxygen. Bottom line, more carbon out put equal more trees, equals more oxygen for us to breath. More trees equal cooler temperatures. Anybody with a third grade education knows this.

The weather models that are used to predict global warming can not acurately predict the weather next Tuesday much less the weather in 5, 10 or 50 years from now.

Does the above mean that we it is okay to trash the planet. No.......we need to take care of her because we have no where else to go. Clean up after yourself and do not worry about things that you have no control over. Worry has killed more people than global warming.:D

[charlesrixey]

Originally posted by Keith7
Global warming is real. People who are too stubborn to admit it make me sick. Seriously, just because you can't give up your V-10 extended cab, 4 wheel drive duly doesn't mean you have to live your life in denial. I know you probably live your life lonely and all you have is your precious pick up truck and your ignorant opinion. But why don't you listen to scientific fact? You are killing our planet. And you probably want to complain about gas prices too, jeez don't make get me started on that.

global warming is happening, but it has nothing to do with human interference

trashman is right-----humans can destroy their environment, no question

but they can't change the entire climate of the earth--if we could, why is NASA saying that the earth will now be cooling for the next 50 years?

[Trashman]

Oh, No! Now that the sun spots are gone we are all going to freeze to death............Hey; do you think the federal government will give me a 25 or 30 year grant to study this new theory?


Cha...Ching $$$$$$$$$$:D

[BleedOrange]

Originally posted by charlesrixey
global warming is happening, but it has nothing to do with human interference

trashman is right-----humans can destroy their environment, no question

but they can't change the entire climate of the earth--if we could, why is NASA saying that the earth will now be cooling for the next 50 years?

Acting responsibly but not radically will work. The planet is in a cooling cycle and ten to twenty years from now man made global warming will seem ridiculous.

[charlesrixey]

Originally posted by BleedOrange
Acting responsibly but not radically will work. The planet is in a cooling cycle and ten to twenty years from now man made global warming will seem ridiculous. :clap:

[Balcones fault]

Originally posted by Trashman
Trees need carbon dioxide to live. If the trees die so will we. Trees turn carbon into oxygen. Bottom line, more carbon out put equal more trees, equals more oxygen for us to breath. More trees equal cooler temperatures. Anybody with a third grade education knows this.

The weather models that are used to predict global warming can not acurately predict the weather next Tuesday much less the weather in 5, 10 or 50 years from now.

Does the above mean that we it is okay to trash the planet. No.......we need to take care of her because we have no where else to go. Clean up after yourself and do not worry about things that you have no control over. Worry has killed more people than global warming.:D

Slight correction, if I may: Trees turn carbon dioxide and water into cellulose. Carbon removal only lasts as long as the tree lives, then it turns into CO2 again with the decompostion of the dead tree. Vegetation as a carbon sink is only as efficient as the life cycle of the vegetation.

There are huge amounts of data supporting anthropomorphic (human) causation of climate change. Combustion of fossil fuel, including coal, oil, gas, etc creates emissions of CO2 in the billions of tons per year. That is significant. The answer, IMO, lies in improving efficiency of that combustion, and the consumption of electricity, NOT in adding controls to already operating vehicles and power plants. That and viable alternatives are the only things that make economic sense on a large scale. Vast improvements in efficiency and creation of alternative energy sources also helps to solve that pesky imported oil problem along with having to be the world's policeman. By solving the energy problem you solve the climate change problem as a nice byproduct.

There you go. Sorry for the lecture. Some of us were better at science than at football. Heh.

[Trashman]

Originally posted by BleedOrange
Acting responsibly but not radically will work. The planet is in a cooling cycle and ten to twenty years from now man made global warming will seem ridiculous.

Man made global warming is already ridiculous.:D

[Trashman]

Originally posted by Balcones fault
Slight correction, if I may: Trees turn carbon dioxide and water into cellulose. Carbon removal only lasts as long as the tree lives, then it turns into CO2 again with the decompostion of the dead tree. Vegetation as a carbon sink is only as efficient as the life cycle of the vegetation.

There are huge amounts of data supporting anthropomorphic (human) causation of climate change. Combustion of fossil fuel, including coal, oil, gas, etc creates emissions of CO2 in the billions of tons per year. That is significant. The answer, IMO, lies in improving efficiency of that combustion, and the consumption of electricity, NOT in adding controls to already operating vehicles and power plants. That and viable alternatives are the only things that make economic sense on a large scale. Vast improvements in efficiency and creation of alternative energy sources also helps to solve that pesky imported oil problem along with having to be the world's policeman. By solving the energy problem you solve the climate change problem as a nice byproduct.

There you go. Sorry for the lecture. Some of us were better at science than at football. Heh.

The amount of carbon given off by dead and decaying plant life far exceeds what man produces. Even if we stopped all man made carbon, it would not be enough to off set "global warming". Man made global warming is a lie.:D

[espn1]

Originally posted by Trashman
The amount of carbon given off by dead and decaying plant life far exceeds what man produces. Even if we stopped all man made carbon, it would not be enough to off set "global warming". Man made global warming is a lie.:D Man made global warming is mostly bogus, but I'm all for cleaning up the world! I'm totally worried about our water supply!

[Old Dog]

Yes, many guys drive big diesel duallys and the largest thing they haul around is a rat terrier (they must have more money than anything else). But don't put everyone on the same BBQ pit to roast. It would be danged hard to pull livestock to an auction or haul construction materials with a cute little Cooper. I've ridden in a friends Cooper and I felt safer on a go-cart. The big dirt haulers and cross country trucker rigs are getting bigger and bigger. Riding along in one of those little sardine cans is damned scary. I know many disagree on this, but I would promote a compromise instead. Most of us have selfish reasons for some of the things we do..........for some it's just ego fullfilllment. It's going to take a while for some these things to iron out.

I must agree with ESPN1, water (especially here in Texas) is a greater worry. I grew up during the major drought of the 50's and saw the problems..........and there was only 1/3 the population we now have.