No ice in 2070

Global warming is causing the Arctic icecap to melt at such a rate that by 2070 it may have no ice at all.

According to the most comprehensive study done of the region, the cap has shrunk by 15 to 20 per cent in 30 years and the trend is set to accelerate, with the Arctic warming almost twice as fast as the rest of the planet.

The changes are likely to harm native communities, wildlife and economic activity. The findings support the broad consensus that global warming is caused mainly by greenhouse gases.

The WWF environmental group has criticised the eight nations with Arctic territories, including the US, which sponsored the report, saying they accounted for 30 per cent of greenhouse emissions.

It accused them of hypocrisy for not taking action.

- Guardian

damn it, no ice...everywhere floods!

I actually thought that there was a better chance of the world freezing over

Hopefully we'll just run out of oil before something like that happens. Yes, that would be ideal, but unlikely.

Y'know all this stuff about flooding is complete bullshit.
You see, when water freezes, not only does it become ice, it also expands. Therefore, when it is melted down again, it decreases in surface area.

Home Experiment of the Day:

- Put some ice cubes in a glass
- Fill the glass with water, right to the top
- Wait for the ice to melt
- Notice how no water as been spilt

That's because of the cohesive nature of water, maz. There is enough ice in the Polar Ice caps to flood the Northern Hemisphere. Not gigantic flooding, like in the Day After Tomorrow, the sea level will rise, and port towns will be flooded.

Sadly our current administration does not take the effect of greenhouse gases seriously. Good ol' George W. doesn't even believe that global warming could possibly be linked to any of the clouds of smoke billowing out of countless factories in the US. His "Clear Skies" bill actually lessened the restrictions on companies that pollute our sky.

despite all this warning and stuff, there are always a majority of ignorant ppl, so things like that is inevitable. Sad.

hmm... i wonder if i will be around then? Frankly with the way the enviroment is going i hope i live to be only 85 because i don't want to live in a world filled with pollution and no water or gas, etc.

But no Ice? well...it seems we'll just have to kill off water too.

I dont understand why anybody is surprised by any of this. It is a perfectly natural event. Sure humans have accelerated it by several thousand years, but that doesnt change the facts. If humans stopped using all fossil fules tomorrow it wouldnt matter one bit. Global warming would still happen. The ice caps would still melt. A new ice age would still ensue. They only difference is that the air would be clean while we all drown or freeze. Global warming/global freezing is a NATURAL cycle.

First of all, I don't trust anyone who is named 'Guardian' and is unable to spell 'percent'. Although he, literary, has a point, he shouldn't be making it in an article about Global Warming.

Second, I have always been fascinated by the arrogance of Mankind. Many believe we are the only intelligent species on Earth, others think we are the most superior species on Earth. Most believe that we can affect nature. It is true that Flora and Fauna, both are incredibly delicate. However, they are also keen at survival. Every species on Earth, literally, exists because it can survive. Darwin told me so. Personally.

The notion that we could actually exterminate all life on Earth, through Nuclear Warheads, or whatever, is not only arrogant, but also ludicrous. We are, indeed, powerless against Mother Earth. We are a small boy hitting Grizzly. Sure, he is going to feel it, but who do you feel will win in the long run?

Indeed, TheDon, it is a very complex cycle, but also very natural. First the stuff heats up, and it is than followed by an ice-age. Although undoubtedly many will die, man will survive, much like most other species.

Now, this should not mean that we should continue drilling for oil. I would feel a lot more comfortable if we used Cold fusion as a power source, instead of fossil fuels, but that will take some time. And time we have plenty of :).

Sidenote: Isn't it intriguing how even scientists have conjured up an image of the 'ending of the world'? Is it inherent to human nature to create stories about the ending of all?

Mr U

Yeah, its all pretty trivial. The human race does not have the power to destroy the planet, or to save it. But if we work a little harder and get a little lucky we just might be able to save ourselves.

Cold Fusion...the long time pipe dream of the masses. There has been progress made in this field, as well as a few other sources, but I am still shocked at how far there is still to go. Given the amount of time, money and resources put into these project there is surprisingly little to show.

Cold Fusion is one of the most forgotten about projects that is available just because the technology is still very primitive. Does anyone know exactly how it works? I would really like to know

The ice age is still going to happen, but it won't last as long as the last one.

Please look here (http://www.junkscience.com/) for more information about ice caps. There is also a bit of discussion about it in the State Of the Union thread I believe.

i think that we should take our freezers up to the ice caps plug them in and just make more ice....thatll help...yea right

but hey if its gonna happen wat can we do about it except change our whole lifestyle and that wont happen

we will adapt, for hundreds of years, humans have learnt to adapt to thier surroundings, whether it be war, or changes to weather/atmosphere etc around us. one such example are americans, they live in a country that is prone to hurricanes etc, and earthquakes. they adapted to thier environment.

it isnt a matter of changing, just adapting.

I came across this at John Titor's website one day. I'll paraphrase something that Titor said when asked about global icecap melting:

"Since ice floats, wouldn't the water level stay the same?"

While ice does float, I do acknowledge that the Antarctic and Greenland shelves, at least, rest largely on landmasses, and the effect will be that there is some rise in ocean levels. However, there is no land under the North Pole ice.
Just thought this would be relevant.

This was all posted in the 'State of the Union' thread, but since this conversation is still continuing and that thread has slipped away I am copying it over to here.

2002 “Antarctic climate cooling and terrestrial ecosystem response,” Nature 415: 517-20
From 1986 to 2000 central Antarctic valleys cooled .7 degrees Celsius per decade with serious ecosystem damage from cold.

2000 “Variability and trends in Antarctic surface temperatures from in situ and satellite infrared measurements,” Journal of Climate 13: 1674-96
Both satellite data and ground stations show slight cooling over the last 20 years.

2002 “Positive mass balance of the Ross Ice Streams, West Antarctica,” Science 295: 476-80
Side-looking radar measurements show West Antarctica ice is increasing at 26.8 gigatons/yr. Reversing the melting trend of the last 6,000 years.

2002 “Interpretation of recent Southern Hemisphere climate change,” Science 296: 895-99
Antarctic peninsula has warmed several degrees while interior has cooled somewhat. Ice shelves have retreated but sea ice has increased.

1999 “Climate and atmospheric history of the past 420,000 years from the Vostok ice core, Antarctica,” Nature 399: 429-36
During the last four interglacials, going back 420,000 years, the Earth was warmer than it is today.

2004 “Interpretation of recent Antarctic sea ice variability,” Geophysical Research Letters 31: 10.1029/2003 GL018732
Antarctic sea ice has increased since 1979.

2002 “Africans go back to the land as plants reclaim desert,” New Scientist 175: 4-5
Analysis of satellite images reveals that vegetation is ousting sand across a swathe of land stretching 6,000 kilometers.

There are 160,000 glaciers in the world. About 67,000 have been inventoried, but only a few have been studied with any care. There is a mass balance data extending five years or more for only 79 glaciers in the entire world.

The Kilimanjaro glacier has been rapidly melting since the 1800’s, long before any thought of global warming.