Antarctic melting may be speeding up - Reuters

[Eugene]

Antarctic melting may be speeding up

By Michael Byrnes

Fri Mar 23, 2:57 AM ET

HOBART (Reuters) - Rising sea levels and melting polar ice-sheets
are at upper limits of projections, leaving some human population
centers already unable to cope, top world scientists say as they
analyze latest satellite data.

A United Nations report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC) in February projected sea level gains of 18-59
centimeters (7-23 inches) this century from temperature rises of
1.8-4.0 Celsius (3.2-7.8 Farenheit).

"Observations are in the very upper edge of the projections,"
leading Australian marine scientist John Church told Reuters.

"I feel that we're getting uncomfortably close to threshold," said
Church, of Australia's CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research said.

Past this level, parts of the Antarctic and Greenland would approach
a virtually irreversible melting that would produce sea level rises
of meters, he said.

-snip-

Full article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070323/sc_nm/oceans_dc

[Delphinus]

1. This is the thing ...

all the speeding up. Does everyone else notice how many scientists and papers lately are using this (or a similar) phrase: speeding up. This guy said "close to the threashold". Others are "faster than we had imagined", etc. Yet the talk on global warming that I attended just the other night was very upbeat - yes, we have to be worried, but we can do it.

{Sigh} Maybe it's just me, or the rainy gray day, or hormones ... whatever it is, I don't feel hopeful in light of all that I read.

[tex-wyo-dem]

2. I understand your feelings about this...

It may very well be true that realistically it's too late to make a significant impact on what appears to be accelerating out of control.

But paraphrasing the words of Elizabeth Edwards, you can either choose to cower in the corner or stand up and face the challenge. I think Gore is spot on that it is a moral imperative that we have to address this most serious of problems with everything we have...the future is depending on us.

[Delphinus]

7. I know ...

I don't give up, just get down sometimes - I guess so that I can experience getting back up again. :)

[phantom power]

3. Yes, in fact "faster than expected" is the new E/E motto.

[redqueen]

4. I feel that way sometimes.

But then I think... what's the alternative to hope? Despair? Indulging in despair would surely be to our detriment.

The negative effects from the start of the trend are here and we have to face those consequences now... but with a lot of work we can start to reverse the trend... that's worth our staying hopeful I think.

[Shallah Kali]

6. I am tempted to dispair but force myself to hope that we can mitigate climate change

salvage enough for most to survive above subsistence level. Despair is one more luxury we can't afford.

[NMDemDist2]

5. grateful I live at 3100 ft elev

hope we get enough rain/snow to keep the water tables high enough to survive

good grief :cry: