What do you think about Global Warming?

Hi all,
With scientists posting new evidence about effects of global warming on a daily basis, I feel our political representatives to make a move and try to curb the greenhouse gas emission.

What do you think? about this, and also post related news here.

dmef

Hi all,

Stronger evidence of global warming
by R. Ramachandran

Area of glaciers reduced from 3,391 to 2,721 sq. km. between 1962-2004

By 2050, negative mass balance of glaciers will be 90 per cent

Udhagamandalam: With more recent data on the Himalayan glaciers from the Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellites, scientists of the Space Applications Center (SAC) of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) at Ahmedabad now have much stronger evidence of the finger print of global warming in the observed alarming retreat of these glaciers.

The new results were presented at the ongoing National Space Science Symposium (NSSS-2008) here by Dr. Anil V. Kulkarni of SAC.

In 2004 Dr. Kulkarni and his colleagues investigated the spatial extent of 466 glaciers in the basins of Chenab, Parbati and Baspa using remote sensed data and compared them with the 1962 topographic data of the Survey of India.

They found an overall reduction of 21 per cent in the glacial surface area. They had also found that the process of de-glaciation had led to the fragmentation of large glaciers resulting in the reduction in the mean surface area of glacial extent from 1 sq. km. to 0.32 sq. km. during 1962-2004.

The new data pertains to two additional basins of Warwan and Bhut comprising 253 and 189 glaciers respectively. Together with the earlier data on 466 glaciers, the cumulative area of these 908 Himalayan glaciers has been found to have reduced from 3391 sq. km. to 2721 sq. km., implying a total area reduction of 20 per cent.

Another new finding is that the snow line — altitude above which there is no snow-melt had significantly increased in the Himalayan basins since 1970. Snow line essentially is the line of zero mass balance, where snow accumulation equals ablation or melting. For example, studying 30 glaciers in the Baspa basin, the scientists found that the snow line had increased from 4900 m in 1970 to 5300 m in 2006.

More quantitatively, the scientists found that the percentage area of the 30 glaciers below the snow line was only 25 per cent between up to 1990. This means that only 25 per cent of the glacial area had negative mass balance. In 2006, this fraction increased to 70 per cent. The scientists predict that by 2050, this fraction would be a high 90 per cent.

One of the significant changes due to warming that Dr. Kulkarni and his associates had seen even in the earlier work was that the winter run off had increased by as much as 75 per cent between 1966 and 1995. Now they have more quantitative glacier-wise data, which shows the snow accumulation having a wavelike pattern, instead of a flat profile of accumulated snow during peak winter.
Snowfalls

This shows that between snow storms or heavy snow falls the warming is resulting in significant melt. So, even the episodes of heavy snowfalls in the north during the most recent winter should not be taken to imply that warming has not significantly affected the Himalayan snow and glacier formation, Dr. Kulkarni said. Far less accumulation is occurring in glaciers today than before and this is a clear imprint of warming, he added.

Source: Here

dmef

bah! global warming! i don't believe any of these scientists are right, the earth has constantly been in change and is going to constantly be in change whether we reduce our emmissions or not. theres been previous ice ages, theres been previous times when the ice wwas melting, there scientific evidence could just be saying what they want it to say!
think about it for a moment, there equipment was designed to find the sort of things they are finding

i have no intention of reducing my emissions! im sure all you tree huggers reading this post will see me as an ignorant t**t, so why not sign up and lets have a debate!!!

The earth is evolving - GET OVER IT!!

Keyzz, earth was constantly changing there is not question in that, but if you see as the earth's temperature raises it is creating a lot of problems for us(humans). and the co2 gas is acting as a mass effect agent in global warming. It is true that global warming was there even before humans but will the human survive the change?

is keyzz a t**t hehehehe

dmef

is keyzz a t**t hehehehe

yes i am

yeh i think we will survive, everything adapts/evolves to cope with change, and i think the human race will do the same

but keyzz evolution takes a long time, and this global warming if left unchecked will not give us the time window which we seek,

dmef

Yeah i know that ,

what i meant was we will think up ways to survive, if were forced into adapting, we will do it. i just think global warming is a myth.

keyzz i think you are missing a point, check This

dmef

wheather its man made or nature,all i know is its summer here in the uk and its snowing,

krob r u from uk, then you better go and knock keyzz out of hibernation and make him see the snow fall during summer then he will think just kidding,

nice way to say the truth krob, really we are seeing the strangest things now a days