Antarctic glaciers’ tipping points could be looming closer.
A new study from a team of British scientists collaborating from Oxford and Cambridge Universities has found that global warming related changes to aspects of Antarctic glaciers known as grounding lines are speeding ice sheet disintegration, which in is forecast to bring significant global sea level rise.

Noting that in 2004, Antarctica’s Pine Island Glacier was already melting 25% faster than 30 years previously, the researchers state that this glacier likely passed a tipping point in 1996. If the same happens to neighboring Thwaite’s Glacier, the world could easily be facing increased sea levels of 52 centimeters.

Lead author Dr. Richard Katz of Oxford University's Department of Earth Sciences cautioned of a further disintegration, that of the entire Western Antarctic shelf, as he stated, “The volume of ice locked up in the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is equivalent to a sea level rise of around 3.3 meters.

Our model shows how instability in the grounding line, caused by gradual climatic changes, has the potential to reach a 'tipping point' where disintegration of the ice sheet could occur.

He concluded by saying, “We should be concerned about tipping points in West Antarctica and we should do a lot more work to investigate.”

Dr. Katz and all collaborating scientists at Oxford and Cambridge Universities, we appreciate your insights into the impact of global warming on the ice sheets of the Antarctic. May humanity realize now the growing urgency of our situation and adopt lifestyles that save our planet. Concerned for the welfare of all beings,
Supreme Master Ching Hai once again spoke of the the crisis of our warming Earth as well as the way to avert it during an August 2008 videoconference with our Association members in Canada.


http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100116103350.htm
http://news.mongabay.com/2010/0114-hance_antglacier.html
 
New plant species found in 2009.
According to the United Kingdom’s Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, the more than 300 different species include palms and rainforest trees, rare orchids, fungi, wild coffees and others, and were discovered in locations that ranged from Africa to South America, the Middle East, southern Asia and western Australia.

However, it is believed that a third of these recent finds are already endangered. For example, one South African aquatic plant, belonging to an ancient family of ferns dating back more than 150 million years, is at risk of disappearing due to global warming-related drying of its native lands. We thank Royal Botanic Gardens for sharing these newly found natural wonders.

With Heaven’s grace, may such irreplaceable beauty continue to flourish through our thoughtful respect for the environment.
http://www.globalgoodnews.com/science-news-a.html?art=126400147110214345  
http://www.kew.org/science/new-discoveries/

Extra News
Governor David Paterson of New York, USA announces a plan to install photovoltaic systems across the state, with a goal of 45% sustainable energy by 2015.

The Mekong Delta Development Research Institute reports that regional rice mills in Âu Lạc (Vietnam) could supply an estimated 4 million tons of otherwise discarded rice husk to be used as fuel for thermoelectric plants.
http://english.vietnamnet.vn/tech/201001/Rice-husks-may-fuel-Mekong-Delta-892427/

Bahrain joins a Regional Water Governance Program for Arab States, sponsored by the United Nations Development Program to provide support and improved management of the country’s scarce water resources.
http://english.bna.bh/?ID=84915

A collaborative study from nine universities in Europe finds that chemical fertilizers and pesticides cause widespread destruction to biodiversity, including disturbance of natural biological control, while organic farming nurtures these qualities, allowing wildlife to thrive.
http://www.physorg.com/news183883746.html