17/02/2006 - Greenland — Greenland's glaciers are melting
even faster than previously thought and contributing more
and more to sea level rise caused by global warming. If
you live near the sea and think global warming isn't a problem
for you, it's probably time to think again.
The latest reports on increased levels of glacial discharge,
in the journal Science, reports the amount of ice being
dumped into the ocean from the Greenland Ice Sheet has doubled
in the last 5 years. Scientists had thought that global
warming did not yet significantly threaten the ice sheet
and it would take over a thousand years to break down. A
full breakdown would result in a catastrophic global sea
level rise of 7 meters. That's bye-bye most of Bangladesh,
Netherlands, Florida and would make London the new Atlantis.
The new evidence indicates the sheet is disintegrating
quicker than expected, and backs up our discovery of a disturbingly
fast retreat of the Kangerdlugssuaq glacier from our expedition
there in 2005.
Sea level rise, caused by melting ice from Greenland and
other glaciers across the world, is already threatening
some of the most vulnerable communities in the world - small
island states in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, in Bangladesh
as well as the hundreds of millions living in low-lying
coastal areas around the world.
Already, the first global warming refugees are preparing
to leave their homes. In November of last year the Papua
New Guinea government decided to start moving ten families
at a time from the horseshoe-shaped Carteret atolls in the
Pacific to Bougainville, a larger island some 60 miles away.
The Carterets are only 1.5 metres high and are projected
to be completely uninhabitable by 2015.
Scientists are concerned -- but politicians are not taking
action. How much more evidence do we need before we begin
taking steps to avoid catastrophe? The US Administration
and Australian Government continue to block effective international
action, other world leaders talk a lot about global warming
but avoid action because it might cost too much. But is
the cost of New Orleans and half of Florida being under
water an acceptable price for America's oil addiction, President
Bush?
If our leaders won't jump, it's up to every one of us to
take positive action to avoid the worst consequences of
global warming. We can all take some, or, even better, all,
of our suggested 12 steps to help the climate. If possible,
buy your energy from a renewable energy supplier. If your
politician doesn't act on global warming - vote for someone
else who will.
Only when politicians feel the heat from voters will governments
shift their investments from dirty fossil fuel technologies
to clean, renewable energy sources that do not cause glaciers
to melt, seas to rise and more people to die from increased
extreme weather events. We cannot wait for an illusory 'silver
bullet' of future technology to 'solve' the problem. We
have the tools to start; what we are missing is the political
will.
Even in the US, inaction on global warming at the top is
being met by change from below: cities, churches, businesses,
trade unions, students and the general public are not waiting
for the White House to wake up - the US renewable energy
industry is booming, almost half of US states and 200 cities
have either adopted renewable energy targets or have pledged
to meet their own 'Kyoto' commitments through action taken
locally.
What's needed is an energy revolution -- one which overturns
the ancient fossil fuel regime and brings forth a new vision.
Revolutions don't come from the top. They come from the
people. The cost of inaction is, quite literally, the Earth.
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