A new report says New England is not on track to meet its targets for global warming pollution reductions – a commitment made back in 2001. New Hampshire had the greatest increase in emissions in the region between 2001 and 2005. Emissions rose by 26%, mainly because of an increase in electricity generation.
Julie Walsh
By Joseph D’Aleo, CCM
Last year when Antarctic set a new record for ice extent, it got no media attention. They focused on the north polar regions where the ice set record low levels. This summer when unprecedented anomalous cover continued in the Southern Hemisphere again no coverage. Then this report in the news today. You probably saw it on your favorite network or internet news site (pick one, anyone).
Vast Antarctic Ice Shelf on Verge of Collapse – Latest Sign of Global Warming’s Impact Shocks Scientists
Andrea Thompson Livescience
A vast ice shelf hanging on by a thin strip looks to be the next chunk to break off from the Antarctic Peninsula, the latest sign of global warming’s impact on Earth’s southernmost continent. Scientists are shocked by the rapid change of events. Glaciologist Ted Scambos of the University of Colorado was monitoring satellite images of the Wilkins Ice Shelf and spotted a huge iceberg measuring 25 miles by 1.5 miles (37 square miles) that appeared to have broken away from the shelf. Scambos alerted colleagues at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) that it looked like the entire ice shelf – about 6,180 square miles (about the size of Northern Ireland)- was at risk of collapsing. The region where the Wilkins Ice Shelf lies has experienced unprecedented warming in the past 50 years, with several ice shelves retreating in the past 30 years. Six of these ice shelves have collapsed completely: Prince Gustav Channel, Larsen Inlet, Larsen A, Larsen B, Wordie, Muller and the Jones Ice Shelf. See MSNBC version of this story here.
Icecap Note: Let’s put this in perspective. The account may be misinterpreted by some as the ice cap or a significant (vast) portion is collapsing. In reality it and all the former shelves that collapsed are small and most near the Antarctic peninsula which sticks well out from Antarctica into the currents and winds of the South Atlantic and lies in a tectonically active region with surface and subsurface active volcanic activity. The vast continent has actually cooled since 1979.
See full image here
The full Wilkins 6,000 square mile ice shelf is just 0.39% of the current ice sheet (just 0.1% of the extent last September). Only a small portion of it between 1/10th-1/20th of Wilkins has separated so far, like an icicle falling off a snow and ice covered house. And this winter is coming on quickly. In fact the ice is returning so fast, it is running an amazing 60% ahead (4.0 vs 2.5 million square km extent) of last year when it set a new record. The ice extent is already approaching the second highest level for extent since the measurements began by satellite in 1979 and just a few days into the Southern Hemisphere winter and 6 months ahead of the peak. Wilkins like all the others that temporarily broke up will refreeze soon. We are very likely going to exceed last year’s record. Yet the world is left with the false impression Antarctica’s ice sheet is also starting to disappear.
See full image here
One Icecap reader points also to a paper (Glasser et al, 2008) identifying some of the other natural processes that can lead to these ice sheet breaks, in this case Larsen B.
The embarrassing truth is that the weak correlation between earth's temperatures and human-emitted greenhouse gases is rapidly worsening. The CO2 correlation with earth's thermometer record since 1860 is less than 22 percent. The correlation between earth temperatures and sunspots is 79 percent and strengthening. Singer and Avery have published extensively on the evidence of the moderate, natural 1,500-year climate cycle, which was discovered in the Greenland ice cores in 1984, and a few years later in the Vostok Antarctic glacier core — at the opposite end of the earth.
The disastrous hurricanes of recent years have become the poster children of global warming. But Roger A. Pielke Jr., an environmental policy expert at the University of Colorado at Boulder, wondered whether the billions of dollars of damage was caused by more intense storms or more coastal development. After analyzing decades of hurricane data, Pielke concluded that rising levels of carbon dioxide had little to do with hurricane damage. Rather, it boiled down to a simple equation: Build more, lose more.
What do Americans believe about global warming?
Evidently most don’t believe the globe’s small warming trend is a large problem. A recent Gallup poll said only 37% of Americans worry “a great deal” about global warming, less than last year. In fact, there are eight environmental issues that they are more worried about, including the pollution of drinking water, lakes, and reservoirs; loss of natural habitat for wildlife; and damage to the earth’s ozone layer.
And a NCPRR poll said that the majority of Americans wouldn’t even pay a penny more per gallon of gas to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, 72% of Americans said that the recent price increases in gasoline has caused financial hardship for them or their household, according to a new CNN poll.
Likewise, the world is skeptical of global warming’s crisis status.
And yet our Congress is considering a bill that would cost each American around $1,375 per year by 2030 and cause a gas price increase of 53 cents per gallon, according to the EPA(page 4), to supposedly alleviate global warming.
If Congress believes that only $600 per taxpayer of “stimulus” can keep us out of a recession, wouldn’t a $1,375 cost per individual send us into one?
These polls confirm why Al Gore’s massive new $300 million dollar ad campaign is needed to move public opinion.
In Ottawa, the Liberals appear to be leaning toward a carbon tax plan. As the Liberal economic strategist, M.P. John Mc-Callum would know that Canada is in no position to impose a carbon tax in isolation. It would impose a burden on Canadian industries and hit the country's competitiveness.
ABC’s harmlessly named “profile” segment March 23 was, in essence, an attempt to discredit and bury the individual profiled – not too surprising, however, because he is a scientist who refuses to support wildly hyped global warming predictions.
The bad news is that gasoline prices are at record levels. The worse news is that the pain at the pump will likely increase in the months ahead, thanks in part to our own government.
All was going green last year in the Maryland legislature, with environmentalists winning easy approval of many of their long-awaited priorities. But the story is different this year. A plan to address global warming by slashing carbon emissions has been weakened. Tougher rules governing waterside development have been modified. And a bill to postpone a deadline for requiring lower phosphates in dishwashing detergent is headed toward approval.
Black carbon, a form of particulate air pollution most often produced from biomass burning, cooking with solid fuels and diesel exhaust, has a warming effect in the atmosphere three to four times greater than prevailing estimates, according to scientists in an upcoming review article in the journal Nature Geoscience.
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