Published online
by the journal Nature
Geoscience, a study of
more than 300 glaciers
over a 40-year period
by geophysicists at
the University of Alaska
in the USA has led
to their forecast that
mountain glaciers will
shrink on average up to
27% by century's end.
Some glacial regions
such as in New Zealand
could lose up to 79%
of their volume, while
the European Alps
could be diminished
by an alarming 90%.
The loss of these and
other glacial areas across
the globe would be
devastating to
the hundreds of millions,
even billions of people,
who depend on them
for fresh water.
In a second study,
the same researchers
showed through simulation
that even if all carbon
dioxide emissions
were halted,
the warming effect of
atmospheric CO2 would
continue for centuries,
raising global
temperatures beyond
an already-dangerous
3.4 degrees Celsius increase.
The resulting warming
of seas such as
the Southern Ocean could
also trigger widespread
collapse of the West
Antarctic Ice Sheet,
which in turn would
raise sea levels by
an estimated 5 to 7 meters,
with obviously
devastating effects.
Our appreciation
University of Alaska
scientists for these
findings that remind us of
our precarious situation
due to global warming.
Let us work to cool
the atmosphere and
preserve the Earth's vital
ice caps for the survival
of all lives on the planet.
Supreme Master Ching Hai
has often spoken
about the troubled state
of the glaciers and
the key to stopping
their disappearance as
during a November 2009
videoconference in
Washington, DC, USA.
Supreme Master Ching Hai: Glaciers across the globe
are shrinking
more quickly than
researchers ever expected,
leaving rivers and lakes
gone, disappearing
or drying, with no water
for crops and billions
who face food shortages
due to water shortages,
as well.
In the state of Montana,
the famous glaciers
of Glacier National Park
are now expected to
disappear within a decade.
You may ask, what is
the main cause of this
damage and destruction
to the environment?
It's methane,
which is produced
primarily
by the livestock industry.
NASA announced that
methane actually
contributes much more
to global warming than
previously understood
and it traps 100 times
the atmospheric heat
over 20 years.
And the largest source
of methane is?
You know - livestock.
So, to solve this, we
do need to move quickly,
and of course we know
what to do, right? Yes?
Be vegan.
http://www.france24.com/en/20110109-warming-devastate-glaciers-antarctic-icesheet-studies
http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/world/8618018/warming-to-devastate-glaciers-antarctic/http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090205142132.htm