Glaciers
are in retreat across the northern portion of the Antarctic Peninsula,
which is experiencing some of the fastest climate melting across the
globe.
Because Antarctica contains 90% of the world’s ice and
70% of all fresh water reserves, the glacial melt is also expected to
have a significant effect on rising sea levels. Some of the ice masses,
such as Collins Glacier on King George Island in the Northern Peninsula,
are forecast to disappear within two decades.
In a telephone
interview with Supreme Master Television, leading South American
glaciologist Dr. Jefferson Simões at the Federal University of Rio
Grande do Sul in Brazil, explained that glaciers like those on King
George Island are extremely sensitive to slight temperature variations.
Dr. Jefferson Simões – Chief glaciologist – Institute of Geosciences, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (M):
Ice in King George Island is near the melting point. It's near zero at
the surface. Any energy that I give to it, is going to melt. So that's
why we think that the glaciers in that area of the world, are very good
as our early warning system about climatic change because they respond
very fast.
VOICE: Dr. Simões explained that severe global warming is speeding the melting process throughout the Antarctic Peninsula.
Dr. Jefferson Simões (M):
Just to give an example, in the northern part of the peninsula, some of
the stations have shown a 3-Celsius degrees increase of the mean annual
temperature in a period of 50 years.
Compare that with the warming that we had at a global level that was about 0.7, 0.8 degrees in 140 years.
VOICE:
Our appreciation, Dr. Simões, for helping us to understand the perilous
state of such ice masses as Collins Glacier and our planet.
May
your efforts help awaken us all and lead to rapid actions to return the
balance of our ecosphere. In her ongoing efforts to help humanity
realize the urgent need to reverse global warming, Supreme Master Ching
Hai addressed the issue of melting glaciers during an August 2009
videoconferencein Thailand.
Supreme Master Ching Hai :
Everything is heating up so quickly, as we can see from the scientists’
reports on such alarming upheaval, such as rising sea levels and
glaciers melting.
So we must work quickly to avoid such unwanted
outcomes. And the most effective way, as I have mentioned, is the
organic vegan diet, organic vegetable farming. This is also the fastest
way to reverse the increased warming climate to prevent further damage
and disaster.
The more people who understand and change, the more chance our world will be saved in time.
University
of the Philippines researchers report that Cagayan, Palawan and Iloilo
provinces are highly vulnerable to climate-induced sea level rise, while
Guimaras’ mango farmers have already begun to see diminished crop
returns from the island’s 200,000 trees.
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