Polar Year study: Global warming accelerating

[Jovial Monk]

affecting sealevels and all forms of life. The scientists from 60 countries are getting hysterical about the lack of urgent action!

Both the Arctic and Antarctica are losing ice.

Have a read

[Rainbow Moonlight]

I suppose it is a pretty negative attitude but i look and wonder if there is really anything we can do to avert this progressive affect. perhaps the balance has been tipped and we need to work out how to adapt to a changing environment,a s the species has done in the past. Perhaps we could also wonder if the balance will tip back again, and if there will still be human life when and if ti does- and if it did, what non-human factor could trigger it.

I don't know if our science and knowledge is good enough on this issue to plan to avert the change.Or if our political and administrative systems and disunity across the world would allow it even if a valid course of aversion action could be planned. But our engineering and political and administrative systems may be good enough to help us to adapt to the changes while people are still trying to figure things out.

And if matters really are urgent then the engineers- both social and civil and mechanical and electrical etc and the politicians and administrators have the most urgent work to do.

[Jovial Monk]

Pretty much the only options left are amelioration.

Engineering suggestions have been offered--the scifi idea of a large sail of solar cells stretched between earth & the sun to cool it, other suggestions (forgot the details) to add lime to the water to counter ocean acidification or ways of getting dead organisms to drop to the seafloor taking their carbon with them.

Failing that kill all sheep, cattle & goats!

40cm searise by 2020 is mentioned by that article, storms, spring tides etc gonna do a lot more damage--we should be building shore defences against the sea, dunes, dikes, groyns yadda yadda

Tipping points just about to trigger much faster, irreversible CO2/methane releases into the atmosphere e.g. Arctic ice melting more and more so dark water is exposed which absorbs the heat of the sun where previously the white ice mostly reflected it.

We know all that, scientists like those of the PYS are telling us this then the stupid Fibs, greedy, rent seeking moneysuckers like the AIG say "Oh we can't introduce the ETS to start in 2010" or "We should delay the ETS till the GFC/GEC is over. NO, IDIOTS! Get together with Rudd to have it introduced next month! Argue Rudd into increasing the target, into spending big bucks on renewable energy--nuclear is not too damn late!

[mantra.]

I suppose it is a pretty negative attitude but i look and wonder if there is really anything we can do to avert this progressive affect. perhaps the balance has been tipped and we need to work out how to adapt to a changing environment,a s the species has done in the past. Perhaps we could also wonder if the balance will tip back again, and if there will still be human life when and if ti does- and if it did, what non-human factor could trigger it.

I agree. I believe we should be learning how to adapt to the changing climate. We don't know how to fight it, but the planet does need to be cleaned up desperately. At the rate we're destroying the land,air and sea with pollution, there will be no life in another century or so. We haven't got infinite resources and we are consuming more than we produce and just leaving destruction behind us. We need to be more diligent and clever in the use of our resources and start reducing our consumption of fossil fuels and focussing more on alternatives. We've got a fantastic sunny country - which has an abundance of natural energy sources that don't require turning Australia into a quarry.

[Jovial Monk]

No, mantra, we do know how to fight it. There is not the political will, there are too many rentseekers to implement what has to be done to DO it.

When GW starts producing real damage the clowns (Andrew Dolt, Sheepy et al) that resisted action being taken, that kept crying out "No GW happening" will scream the loudest for urgent action to be taken!

[Postul8]

I look at it this way. If I can convince my children not to breed, then my line will die out and by extension, none of our off-spring will have been brought into a world which will be a sad, sad place. Going on family averages, I'll be dead by 2040, my kids by 2074 or thereabouts. The real shit will hit the fan by mid-22nd century. We'll all be dust long before then. Who gives a shit because sure as my arse currently points to the ground, there's no politician going to have the courage to make the big decisions.