East Antarctic Ice Sheet more sensitive to climate changes than previously thought.
Although the East Antarctic Ice Sheet contains enough ice to increase global sea levels ６0 meters if melted, possibilities that this would happen in the next few centuries had long been ruled out as surface temperatures across the region are well below freezing.

However, new findings show that parts of the ice sheet are being affected by climate change more rapidly than previously believed. A team of scientists from Australia's Macquarie University and the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization spent three summers in this remote region, where they used new technology to measure how previous climate warming and sea level rise ２0,000 years ago had affected the region.

They found boulders which had been deposited during a time when the ice cover was greater than today. Using a particle accelerator to measure long-lived radioactive isotopes, they implemented a new technique called cosmogenic surface exposure dating to identify the amount of time since the boulders were freed from the ice.

The researchers determined that ice thickness on the Lambert Glacier had decreased several thousand years earlier than previous estimates, and concluded that the East Antarctic ice sheets are much more sensitive to climate change than current models suggest.

Thank you, scientists, for your dedication in gathering this data from the Antarctic region to expand our understanding of the threats imposed by climate change. May we all be motivated to implement the most efficient measures to rapidly reduce emissions and preserve our beautiful planet.

Speaking as on many previous occasions with concern for humanity, Supreme Master Ching Hai emphasized during a March ２00９ videoconference in California, USA the critical nature of planetary warming, while offering a way to alleviate the situation.

http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-02-uncovering-climate-clues-antarcticas-icy.html

Extra News
Officials from Peru's Natural Resources and Environment department note that a glacier on the Huaytapallana Mountain has lost a full ５0% of its surface ice in just ２３ years due to global warming, raising grave concerns for future water supplies especially to coastal areas, where a majority of the population resides.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110224/sc_afp/climateperuenvironmentglacier

US Geological Survey scientists analyzing １５0 years of coastal changes state that ６８% of beaches in the New England and Mid-Atlantic regions of the USA are eroding on average by １.６ feet (0.４９ meters) annually, with the most extreme case receding more than ６0 feet (１８.３ meters) per year.
http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2011/02/23/US-East-Coast-beaches- suffering-erosion/UPI-20251298500912/#ixzz１EpqfwoWf

Marine scientists working on a project funded by the Philippine government note that coastal water temperatures over the past two years have been increasing, which they say is swiftly damaging the beauty, balance and natural protection provided by the region's coral ecosystems.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/topstories/topstories/view/20110205-318643/Climate-change-is-harming-PH-marine-life

University of London's Center for Toxicology in the UK reports that many agricultural pesticides, including several that leave residues on food, block testosterone and other hormones considered vital to healthy reproductive systems in males as they urgently call for systematic testing of pesticides currently in use.
http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/pesticides- testosterone？src=rss, http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm？id=pesticides-may-block- male-hormones