Fatalistic Friday (Our 501st Post!): Antarctic glacier thinning at astonishing rate

by Emily Gertz

categories: Arctic & Antarctic, Astroturf, Environmental Justice, Fatalistic Friday, Greenhouse Gas, Water, Wildlife & Biodiversity

Published August 14, 2009 @ 06:36PM PT

Here's the latest bad news on how global warming is changing the environment -- super concentrated into one regular weekly burst of woe:

Antarctic glacier 'thinning fast': One of the southern continent's largest glaciers is thinning four times faster than it was 10 years ago. The Pine Island Glacier is dropping at a rate of up to 16 meters (52 feet) a year. "Since 1994, the glacier has lowered by as much as 90m, which has serious implications for sea-level rise," reports the BBC about the research, which is published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. "This is unprecedented in this area of Antarctica. We've known that it's been out of balance for some time, but nothing in the natural world is lost at an accelerating exponential rate like this glacier," said co-author Andrew Shepherd of Leeds University. (BBC News)

Study looks at warming’s effect on Beartooth glaciers: When Dr. Edward Chatelain first climbed Montana's 12,604-foot Castle Mountain as a teen, in the mid-1970s, he was awed by the size of the glacier and the deep crevasses that sliced into its core. Flying over it two decades later, "We were absolutely aghast to see what was left," he said. The Castle Rock Glacier lost 60 meters (197 feet) of ice from its surface between 1952 and 2003, an average of 1.26 meters (1.434 feet) of melt per year. (The Billings Gazette)

Vast expanses of Arctic ice melt in summer heat: In late July the mercury soared to almost 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celsius) in Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories, Canada, home of 900 Inuvialuit. Kids were swimming in the ocean. "As of Thursday, the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center reported, the polar ice cap ... shrunk an average 41,000 square miles (106,000 square kilometers) a day in July -- equivalent to one Indiana or three Belgiums daily. The rate of melt was similar to that of July 2007, the year when the ice cap dwindled to a record low minimum extent of 1.7 million square miles (4.3 million square kilometers)..." (AP)

Either way, it was really, really warm: Globally averaged land and sea surface temperatures for July were the second hottest on record, according to NASA (data set here). NOAA calls it the sixth hottest on record, with global ocean surface temperature for July 2009 was the warmest on record.

Why do the same groups oppose health care and energy reform? "Perhaps the best explanation is that great unifier, money." That is, the enormous sums a small but powerful coterie of corporations stand to lose if and when these policies are brought up to date for the conditions the 21st century America. (DeSmogBlog)

Money key stumbling block at UN climate talks: Developing countries will need billions to curb carbon pollution and cope with globl warming's effects on their vulnerable lands and populations. Who will foot the bill was a key hurdle at UN climate talks this week in Bonn. "The five-day negotiating session veered to an end with many participants expressing frustration at the lack of progress only four months ahead of the Copenhagen climate conference slated to deliver a planet-saving climate treaty." (AFP)

Related: India called developed nations' failure to implement the Kyoto Protocol the "single biggest issue" facing multilateral talks. (AFP)

As India water and power dry up, the people revolt: Could be global warming, could be natural cycles that are causing an abnormally light monsoon season this year. Not much comfort to the thousands of Indians whose farm fields are drying up, and hydro-powered electricity supply is faltering. (The Los Angeles Times)

Climate change fueling forest fires in Europe: Greenpeace has warned that climate change is fueling forest fires that have already destroyed tens of thousands of hectares in southern Europe this year. "Climate change is driving a new generation of fires with unknown social and economic consequences," said Miguel Soto, Greenpeace Spain forests campaigner. (AFP)

Intensity of Recent Hurricanes Not Matched Since Middle Ages: The Atlantic Ocean is experiencing the most intense period of hurricane activity in 1,000 years. One of the study's authors says, "We believe a substantial part of the reason for that anomalous recent warmth is in fact the human influence on climate." The research has just been published in the journal Nature. (NPR)

Emissions trading scheme defeated in Australia: Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said it was a ''disappointing day indeed for Australia...Today, Australia had an opportunity to embrace the future on climate change and instead we find ourselves, courtesy of the Liberal and National parties, dangerously anchored in the past,'' he told Parliament. (The Age)

Life's a bleach for Barrier Reef as climate changes: New research into the potential financial cost of climate change to the world heritage-listed wonder puts the present value of the reef at $51.4 billion - approaching $2500 for every Australian alive today - but warns that nearly four-fifths of this value would be destroyed if the coral was totally and permanently bleached. Warming global ocean temperatures are increasing coral bleaching events. (The Australian)

Related: Australia's Green (liberal) and Coalition (conservative) parties have voted down an emissions plan. It's bad news for the environment. (The Guardian)