Global Warming?

[thereselittleflower]

There is no conclusive evidence of Global Warming. Two years ago the strong hurricane season was blamed on global warming. They predicted a huge season and guess what we got. Nothing. For every piece of evidence for it you can find evidence against it. So we get to listen to all these political evironmentalist preach about it and then hop in the private jet while condeming me for so called big gass guzzling SUV.

Excuse me?

Greenland ice cover is rapidly disappearing. . the Antartic ice shelf is rapidly breaking up . . .

Sorry, but we are in a global warming cycle . . what is causing it is up for debate . . . but that we are in such a cycle is pretty much a given and well recognized by leading scientists.

Right now we have a strong El Nino . . . the entire Pacific Northwest into Canada was wracked by a huge windstorm stretchng into Montana that caused widespread damage and power loss (afecting a milion people) through a huge region. Well over 100 mph winds on the coast.

Sorry, but denial that there is a global warming is silly, when we have sea levels rising and inhabited islands disappearing and excalating ice melts that are putting large amounts of fresh water into our seas . . .

Rapid desalianization of the North Atlantic Ocean with fresh water is not a good thing . . . . .



.

 

[thereselittleflower]

There are many studies that would show this to be a natural variation in climate.

Global warming is a natural variation in climate . . . . just on a GRAND scale with devestating results .. .


.

 

[jad123]

Excuse me?

Greenland ice cover is rapidly disappearing. . the Antartic ice shelf is rapidly breaking up . . .

Sorry, but we are in a global warming cycle . . what is causing it is up for debate . . . but that we are in such a cycle is pretty much a given and well recognized by leading scientists.

Right now we have a strong El Nino . . . the entire Pacific Northwest into Canada was wracked by a huge windstorm stretchng into Montana that caused widespread damage and power loss (afecting a milion people) through a huge region. Well over 100 mph winds on the coast.

Sorry, but denial that there is a global warming is silly, when we have sea levels rising and inhabited islands disappearing and excalating ice melts that are putting large amounts of fresh water into our seas . . .

Rapid desalianization of the North Atlantic Ocean with fresh water is not a good thing . . . . .



.

There is no consenses among the scientific community that global warming even exisits. The facts stated by the Gore movement are disbuted all the time.


Glaciers are moving rivers of ice - and many (not all) of these are shrinking. However, over 90% of the Earth's ice is located in non-moving ice caps - and these are increasing mass.

Many Global Warming arguments refer to the receding glaciers along the coasts of Greenland. However, it is almost never mentioned that Greenland was about 2 degrees Fahrenheit warmer in 1200 AD than it is today (during the height of the Viking settlements) and the total ice mass is actually increasing according to many scientists.
In the end there is contradictory evidence and opinions all over the place.

 

[Carey]

You just ruined my thought that I was a true environmentalist. I am going out today to buy another SUV, a motocycle, a couple of boats and a plane. Will that make a green enough???

It won't do a thing for the better or the worse.

Now burning reign forrests that can be seen from outer space may have a little impact though.

 

[thereselittleflower]

There is no consenses among the scientific community that global warming even exisits. The facts stated by the Gore movement are disbuted all the time.

Oh, for goodness sake, forget what the Gore movement is doing . . I don't pay attention to him at all.

There are islands disappearing . . .this means the sea levels are rising dramatically. This is a REALLY BIG deal.

What is being debated is what is causing this global warming to occur.. . . I don't know what part man has contributed to this, probably it's pretty small. The earth goes through these periods, they preceed ice ages.

Glaciers are moving rivers of ice - and many (not all) of these are shrinking. However, over 90% of the Earth's ice is located in non-moving ice caps - and these are increasing mass.

The Greenland ice cap is HUGE. The loss of the Greenland ice cap is HUGE.

Let's see if I remember this right . . . The loss of the Greenland ice cap alone would result in a 20 ft rise in sea level. We have lost quite a bit of it already . . . the sea levels are rising.

Sorry, but when whole islands begin to disappear, that is a REALLY BIG sign that something REALLY BIG is going on . . . .

Call it what you like . .. but it is happening!

Many Global Warming arguments refer to the receding glaciers along the coasts of Greenland. However, it is almost never mentioned that Greenland was about 2 degrees Fahrenheit warmer in 1200 AD than it is today (during the height of the Viking settlements) and the total ice mass is actually increasing according to many scientists.

That is called the Medival Warm Period. It was followed by . . . yep, an ice age.

http://www2.sunysuffolk.edu/mandias/lia/end_of_vikings_greenland.html

In the end there is contradictory evidence and opinions all over the place.

Well, people like to argue don't they.

In the end, whole, ice is rapidly disappearing from Greenland and the Antartic ice shelf and entire islands are disappearing as the sea level dramatically rises . . . .

Why is the sea level rising if not for a massive amount of water being added to it by disappearing ice and glaciers?

Why are the glaciers disappearing so rapidly if not for a general increase in global tempurature?


Sorry . . the evidence is pretty plain . . . . call it what you will . . .the earth is getting significantly warmer and we are seeing the issues gobal warming predicts.


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[geetrue]

I would rather do what I was doing, instead of go look it up,
but go look it up I will.

From memory alone (my best source is ABC evening news, lol)
the ocean is expected
to rise one (1) foot in the next fifty years.

That was based on present day trends ...
believe me that is one big ocean out there ...
You can't believe how big it is till you've
spent a couple of weeks crossing the Atlantic
and six weeks in the North Pacific on a submarine
in Force ten weather ... It is huge ...

"It will take fifty years to rise a foot" ...
Now I will go look that up, least I be shamed
with an untruth.

Pray for fear to go away and for the
unsaved to trust the Lord, because
a whole lot of crazy things are going
to happen before Jesus comes back.

We need to have the answers ready
for them, but we can practice on
ourselves first of course.

 

[geetrue]

Okay, I looked up ... not that hard ...
just time consuming.

From an article on global warming:
Pick your own search engine
I used goodsearch.com
(30 centimeters is about a foot in the last 100 years)

However, over the past century, sea level over much of the United States has risen by 25 to 30 centimeters relative to land, according to Jim Titus, the Environmental Protection Agency's project manager on sea level rise. Even that figure is a guesstimate, Titus says. "We only know that sea level last century rose more than average over the last several thousand years."

 

[cavell]

My son lives in Henley, on the banks of the river Thames, which runs on down through London town.
I forget the dates as I write this, but within my lifetime gates were erected at the mouth of the river Thames to be lowered to stop the sea flooding through and into the city of London, and districts

When these gates were first erected it was thought they would provide sufficient defense, against any future tidal rise. But no. Today bigger gates for flood defense are planned. The former are inadequate. A thought never even contemplated they were erected.

Seems to me that internationally we face rising tides and flood waters, never before known, in our lifetime.

 

[dcyates]

Oh, for goodness sake, forget what the Gore movement is doing . . I don't pay attention to him at all.

There are islands disappearing . . .this means the sea levels are rising dramatically. This is a REALLY BIG deal.

Therese, I hope you know how much I respect you, so I ask this with no hostile intent whatsoever: But which islands are disappearing due to a rise in sea levels? I've heard of some native islanders in the South Pacific who were leaving their islands in pretty large numbers to go to New Zealand, Australia, etc. These migrations were seized by global warming activists as evidence of their islands disappearing under rising sea levels. But when the islanders themselves were asked why they moved, they simply answered that it was for better standards of living and economic opportunities. When any were asked about rising sea levels, they were frankly mystified.

"I can assure Mr. Gore that no one from the South Pacific islands has fled to New Zealand because of rising seas. In fact, if Gore consults the data, he will see it shows sea level falling in some parts of the Pacific." (Dr. Chris de Freitas, climate scientist, associate professor, University of Auckland, NZ)

"We find no alarming sea level rise going on, in the Maldives, Tovalu, Venice, the Persian Gulf and even satellite altimetry, if applied properly." (Dr. Nils-Axel Mörner, emiritus professor of paleophysics and geodynamics, Stockholm University, Sweden)

What is being debated is what is causing this global warming to occur.. . . I don't know what part man has contributed to this, probably it's pretty small. The earth goes through these periods, they preceed ice ages.

The Greenland ice cap is HUGE. The loss of the Greenland ice cap is HUGE.

Let's see if I remember this right . . . The loss of the Greenland ice cap alone would result in a 20 ft rise in sea level. We have lost quite a bit of it already . . . the sea levels are rising.

This only depends on what is meant by "quite a bit of it." The interior of the ice cap is actually thickening.
"Both the Antarctic and Greenland ice caps are thickening. The temperature at the South Pole has declined by more than one degree C since 1950. And the area of sea ice around the continent has increased over the last 20 years." (Dr. R.M. carter, professor, Marine Geophysical Laboratory, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia)

Sorry, but when whole islands begin to disappear, that is a REALLY BIG sign that something REALLY BIG is going on . . . .

Call it what you like . .. but it is happening!

That is called the Medival Warm Period. It was followed by . . . yep, an ice age.

Well, a mini-ice age.

Well, people like to argue don't they.

To say the least.

In the end, whole, ice is rapidly disappearing from Greenland and the Antartic ice shelf and entire islands are disappearing as the sea level dramatically rises . . . .

Why is the sea level rising if not for a massive amount of water being added to it by disappearing ice and glaciers?

"Mr. Gore suggests that the Greenland melt area increased considerably between 1992 and 2005. But 1992 was exceptionally cold in Greenland and the melt area of ice sheet was exceptionally low due to the cooling caused by volcanic dust emitted from Mt. Pinatubo. If, instead of 1992, Gore had chosen for comparison the year 1991, one in which the melt area was 1% higher than in 2005, he would have to conclude that the ice sheet melt area is shrinking and that perhaps a new Ice Age is just around the corner." (Cr. Petr Chylek, adjunct professor, Department of Physics and Atmospheric Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada)

"From data published by the Canadian Ice Service, there has been no precipitous drop-off in the amount or thickness of the ice cap since 1970 when reliable overall coverage became available for the Canadian Arctic." (Dr./Cdr. M.R. Morgan, FRMS, formerly advisor to the World Meteorological Organization/climatology research scientist at University of Exeter, UK)

Why are the glaciers disappearing so rapidly if not for a general increase in global tempurature?

Climatologists on both sides of the debate agree that the average global termperature has increased by about 0.6-0.8 degrees C over the last century.

Sorry . . the evidence is pretty plain . . . . call it what you will . . .the earth is getting significantly warmer and we are seeing the issues gobal warming predicts.

But this is part of the problem, Therese, no matter what the evidence is, it's used by enviromentalists as proof of global warming. An extra-wet season in Southeast Asia? It's global warming. An extra-dry summer in the American mid-west? It's because of global warming. A severe snowstorm Maritimes? Global warming. A bad hurricane season in the American South? Global warming. Drought in Sub-Saharan Africa? Obviously global warming. Your neighbour's cat died? What more evidence could you need? It's just gotta be global warming.
Heck, I've even heard some people include the Indian Ocean tsunami of two years ago as evidence of anthropogenic climate change, obviously forgetting that it was caused by an undersea earthquake. (Unless, of course, global warming can also cause earthquakes now.)

 

[Parmenio]

To back up her claim: http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article2099971.ece

 

[thereselittleflower]

Things have been escalating . . . . . .

Thursday, December 28, 2006

TORONTO — A giant ice shelf the size of 11,000 football fields has snapped free from Canada's Arctic, scientists said. The mass of ice broke clear 16 months ago from the coast of Ellesmere Island, about 497 miles south of the North Pole, but no one was present to see it in Canada's remote north. Scientists using satellite images later noticed that it became a newly formed ice island in just an hour and left a trail of icy boulders floating in its wake.

Warwick Vincent of Laval University, who studies Arctic conditions, traveled to the newly formed ice island and could not believe what he saw.

"This is a dramatic and disturbing event. It shows that we are loosing remarkable features of the Canadian North that have been in place for many thousands of years. We are crossing climate thresholds, and these may signal the onset of accelerated change ahead," Vincent said Thursday.

In 10 years of working in the region he has never seen such a dramatic loss of sea ice, he said.

The collapse was so powerful that earthquake monitors 155 miles away picked up tremors from it.

The Ayles Ice Shelf, roughly 41 square miles in area, was one of six major ice shelves remaining in Canada's Arctic.

Scientists say it is the largest event of its kind in Canada in 30 years and point their fingers at climate change as a major contributing factor.

"It is consistent with climate change," Vincent said, adding that the remaining ice shelves are 90 percent smaller than when they were first discovered in 1906.

"We aren't able to connect all of the dots ... but unusually warm temperatures definitely played a major role."

Laurie Weir, who monitors ice conditions for the Canadian Ice Service, was poring over satellite images in 2005 when she noticed that the shelf had split and separated.

Weir notified Luke Copland, head of the new global ice lab at the University of Ottawa, who initiated an effort to find out what happened.

Using U.S. and Canadian satellite images, as well as data from seismic monitors, Copland discovered that the ice shelf collapsed in the early afternoon of Aug. 13, 2005.

"What surprised us was how quickly it happened," Copland said. "It's pretty alarming. Even 10 years ago scientists assumed that when global warming changes occur that it would happen gradually so that perhaps we expected these ice shelves just to melt away quite slowly, but the big surprise is that for one they are going, but secondly that when they do go, they just go suddenly, it's all at once, in a span of an hour."

Within days, the floating ice shelf had drifted a few miles offshore. It traveled west for 31 miles until it finally froze into the sea ice in the early winter.

The Canadian ice shelves are packed with ancient ice that dates back over 3000 years. They float on the sea but are connected to land.

Derek Mueller, a polar researcher with Vincent's team, said the ice shelves get weaker and weaker as the temperature rises. He visited Ellesmere's Ward Hunt Ice Shelf in 2002 and noticed it had cracked in half.

"We're losing our ice shelves and this a feature of the landscape that is in danger of disappearing altogether from Canada," Mueller said. "In the global perspective Antarctica has many ice shelves bigger than this one, but then there is the idea that these are indicators of climate change."

The spring thaw may bring another concern as the warming temperatures could release the ice shelf from its Arctic grip. Prevailing winds could then send the ice island southwards, deep into the Beaufort Sea.

"Over the next few years this ice island could drift into populated shipping routes," Weir said. "There's significant oil and gas development in this region as well, so we'll have to keep monitoring its location over the next few years."

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,239737,00.html
​

 

[thereselittleflower]

Therese, I hope you know how much I respect you, so I ask this with no hostile intent whatsoever: But which islands are disappearing due to a rise in sea levels? I've heard of some native islanders in the South Pacific who were leaving their islands in pretty large numbers to go to New Zealand, Australia, etc. These migrations were seized by global warming activists as evidence of their islands disappearing under rising sea levels. But when the islanders themselves were asked why they moved, they simply answered that it was for better standards of living and economic opportunities. When any were asked about rising sea levels, they were frankly mystified.

"I can assure Mr. Gore that no one from the South Pacific islands has fled to New Zealand because of rising seas. In fact, if Gore consults the data, he will see it shows sea level falling in some parts of the Pacific." (Dr. Chris de Freitas, climate scientist, associate professor, University of Auckland, NZ)

"We find no alarming sea level rise going on, in the Maldives, Tovalu, Venice, the Persian Gulf and even satallate altimetry, if applied properly." (Dr. Nils-Axel Mörner, emiritus professor of paleophysics and geodynamics, Stockholm University, Sweden)

This only depends on what is meant by "quite a bit of it." The interior of the ice cap is actually thickening.
"Both the Antarctic and Greenland ice caps are thickening. The temperature at the South Pole has declined by more than one degree C since 1950. And the area of sea ice around the continent has increased over the last 20 years." (Dr. R.M. carter, professor, Marine Geophysical Laboratory, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia)

Well, a mini-ice age.

To say the least.

"Mr. Gore suggests that the Greenland melt area increased considerably between 1992 and 2005. But 1992 was exceptionally cold in Greenland and the melt area of ice sheet was exceptionally low due to the cooling caused by volcanic dust emitted from Mt. Pinatubo. If, instead of 1992, Gore had chosen for comparison the year 1991, one in which the melt area was 1% higher than in 2005, he would have to conclude that the ice sheet melt area is shrinking and that perhaps a new Ice Age is just around the corner." (Cr. Petr Chylek, adjunct professor, Department of Physics and Atmospheric Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada)

"From data published by the Canadian Ice Service, there has been no precipitous drop-off in the amount or thickness of the ice cap since 1970 when reliable overall coverage became available for the Canadian Arctic." (Dr./Cdr. M.R. Morgan, FRMS, formerly advisor to the World Meteorological Organization/climatology research scientist at University of Exeter, UK)

Climatologists on both sides of the debate agree that the average global termperature has increased by about 0.6-0.8 degrees C over the last century.

But this is part of the problem, Therese, no matter what the evidence is, it's used by enviromentalists as proof of global warming. An extra-wet season in Southeast Asia? It's global warming. An extra-dry summer in the American mid-west? It's because of global warming. A severe snowstorm Maritimes? Global warming. A bad hurricane season in the American South? Global warming. Drought in Sub-Saharan Africa? Obviously global warming. Your neighbour's cat died? What more evidence could you need? It's just gotta be global warming.
Heck, I've even heard some people include the Indian Ocean tsunami of two years ago as evidence of anthropogenic climate change, obviously forgetting that it was caused by an undersea earthquake. (Unless, of course, global warming can also cause earthquakes now.)

What you are not understanding is that this type of climate change actually causes both the droughts in some areas, and the overly wet weather in others . .

These are related to tropopause folds . . they are not well understood, but those who understand them are able to use them to accurately predict severe weather and can use them to explain how the weather patterns pull the moisture from one area, leading to drought there, moving the moisture to another causing excessively wet weather patterns that cause flooding in other areas.

The climate changes we are experiencing cause an increase in these weather events. I am going to do my best to explain, but I am not an expert by any means.

The tropopause (which I knew nothing of until this last year) is like a membrane between the troposphere and the stratosphere. It acts like gortex (as it has been explained to me) a semi permeable membrane. It's function is not understood.

Tropopause folds are involved in the extreme wicked weather we see, supercells. It causes the troposphere (warm moist air) to fold up and the stratosphere (super cold air) to fold down creating tremendous cyclonic motion leading to supercells. Supercells should last only an hour or two . . last year we saw supercells lasting hours upon hours upon hours.

It is believed that such events are what led up to the Mammoths being frozen in their tracks, with food still in their mouths . . a huge tropopause fold which caused a huge cyclone that sucked down super cold air from the stratosphere over a large area causing an instant freeze and an ice age. This is the science behind the movie "The Day After Tomorrow" - regardless of what one thinks about the movie, the science is real.

In addition, I saw a bizarre weather phenomena myself on the unisys radar this past year. . . It looked just like a land-locked "huricane" (for lack of a better term) over the eatern Dakota's, with a well defined eye that sat there for 12 hours just twisting away. It was amazing to behold. Such things are unheard of. But not a peep from any national weather news service . . . .


Global tempturatures are rising . . there is no doubt about that. Small changes in tempturatures globally have significant effects on weather. I expect to see more and more of these tropopause fold cyclonic storms and supercells as time goes by . . . . . more drought in some areas, more flooding in others. More extreme weather.

 

[Carey]

ecclesiastes 11 : 2 Give portions to seven, yes to eight,
for you do not know what disaster may come upon the land.

3 If clouds are full of water,
they pour rain upon the earth.
Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north,
in the place where it falls, there will it lie. 4 Whoever watches the wind will not plant;
whoever looks at the clouds will not reap.


Jeremiah 10 : 10 But the LORD is the true God;
he is the living God, the eternal King.
When he is angry, the earth trembles;
the nations cannot endure his wrath.

11 "Tell them this: 'These gods, who did not make the heavens and the earth, will perish from the earth and from under the heavens.' " [a]
12 But God made the earth by his power;
he founded the world by his wisdom
and stretched out the heavens by his understanding.
13 When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar;
he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth.
He sends lightning with the rain
and brings out the wind from his storehouses. 14 Everyone is senseless and without knowledge

Nahum 1 : 3 The LORD is slow to anger and great in power;
the LORD will not leave the guilty unpunished.
His way is in the whirlwind and the storm,
and clouds are the dust of his feet.

4 He rebukes the sea and dries it up;
he makes all the rivers run dry.
Bashan and Carmel wither
and the blossoms of Lebanon fade.
5 The mountains quake before him
and the hills melt away.
The earth trembles at his presence,
the world and all who live in it.
6 Who can withstand his indignation?
Who can endure his fierce anger?
His wrath is poured out like fire;
the rocks are shattered before him.
7 The LORD is good,
a refuge in times of trouble.
He cares for those who trust in him, 8 but with an overwhelming flood
he will make an end of Nineveh ;
he will pursue his foes into darkness.

 

[geetrue]

Thank you Carney for going to all of that
trouble to point out that our God reigns ...

I needed these scriptures ... we all need to
be reminded how big God really is.

I would rather have His Word on the matter
than for fire to come down out of heaven.

He that controls the weather ...
Controls what men think

 

[mumluvsherboys]

Wow, so many differing views! My personal view, scientists, climate and weather aside is this. The world is God's gift to us, we should take care of it and respect it. Does everyone really need a gas guzzling SUV or their own personal jet? I'm pretty sure people could get a long fine without. As Christians we are not to have more than we need anyways, we are to give to the poor, and recycle our goods in that way. I think if anything us Christians can agree that toxic fumes and similar things are deadly and perhaps taking care of our world is all these environmentalists and scientist want us to do. All of us! Believers and non-believers. As a believer, I think we have certain responsibilities. Of course we are forgiven our transgressions, but the world is less forgiving. God bless!

 

[thereselittleflower]

More information:

"The breakup of the ice cover on Ellesmere Island has been going on for 12,000 years, but it seems to have accelerated in recent years which is another indicator, among many others, of warming of the entire Arctic cryosphere," he said, referring to low-temperature elements of weather such as ice and snow.

Canada conducts land, sea and aerial observations of the Arctic ice surface, but often these studies target certain areas and ignore vast, uninhabited areas, the environment ministry says, making satellite images crucial.

The sudden formation of a "new island" in the Arctic "is a symptom among a cluster of symptoms of global warming, the most important evidently being the spectacular redcution in the extent and thickness of the Arctic ice field," Fortier said.

In an article published in December, Canadian and US researchers predicted that by 2040 Arctic Ocean ice will nearly disappear in the summer off the north coast of Greenland and Canada, opening a maritime corridor that would reduce shipping time between Europe and Asia.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061229/sc_afp/canadaarctic

​

 

[dcyates]

More information:

"The breakup of the ice cover on Ellesmere Island has been going on for 12,000 years, but it seems to have accelerated in recent years which is another indicator, among many others, of warming of the entire Arctic cryosphere," he said, referring to low-temperature elements of weather such as ice and snow.​

Canada conducts land, sea and aerial observations of the Arctic ice surface, but often these studies target certain areas and ignore vast, uninhabited areas, the environment ministry says, making satellite images crucial.​

The sudden formation of a "new island" in the Arctic "is a symptom among a cluster of symptoms of global warming, the most important evidently being the spectacular redcution in the extent and thickness of the Arctic ice field," Fortier said.​

In an article published in December, Canadian and US researchers predicted that by 2040 Arctic Ocean ice will nearly disappear in the summer off the north coast of Greenland and Canada, opening a maritime corridor that would reduce shipping time between Europe and Asia.​

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061229/sc_afp/canadaarctic​

This is very informative, therese. Despite my being Canadian, and even having relatives living in Canada's North, I had not heard of this. Usually the left-leaning media here jumps all over stuff like this, but I have no reason to doubt your source here. As I've already noted, I have no problem acknowledging a general global warming trend. What I highly doubt is that it's human-caused. Ice has been breaking up and going through thickening and thinning cycles throughout history. In point of fact, throughout most of Earth's history, both poles have been completely ice-free!

 

[thereselittleflower]

I don't know what human contribution there really is . . . I have heard arguments on both sides, and I tend to go along with your point of view on this. From what I have read, cows are a big source of methane emmissions! So . . there you go! The problem is due to cows belching and what not!



But really . . when one looks at what what naturally is happening in the world, such as volcanos, it seems to me that what man does is not too significant.

Here is a new report - I don't know much about the source, and they take the POV that man can do something about all this, but it is interesting:

A combination of global warming and the El Niño weather system is set to make 2007 the warmest year on record with far-reaching consequences for the planet, one of Britain's leading climate experts has warned.

As the new year was ushered in with stormy conditions across the UK, the forecast for the next 12 months is of extreme global weather patterns which could bring drought to Indonesia and leave California under a deluge.

The warning, from Professor Phil Jones, director of the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia, was one of four sobering predictions from senior scientists and forecasters that 2007 will be a crucial year for determining the response to global warming and its effect on humanity.

Professor Jones said the long-term trend of global warming - already blamed for bringing drought to the Horn of Africa and melting the Arctic ice shelf - is set to be exacerbated by the arrival of El Niño, the phenomenon caused by above-average sea temperatures in the Pacific.

Combined, they are set to bring extreme conditions across the globe and make 2007 warmer than 1998, the hottest year on record. It is likely temperatures will also exceed 2006, which was declared in December the hottest in Britain since 1659 and the sixth warmest in global records.

Professor Jones said: "El Niño makes the world warmer and we already have a warming trend that is increasing global temperatures by one to two tenths of a degrees celsius per decade. Together, they should make 2007 warmer than last year and it may even make the next 12 months the warmest year on record."

.......the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), the United Nations agency that deals with climate prediction, issued a warning that El Niño is already established over the tropical Pacific basin. It is set to bring extreme weather across a swath of the planet from the Americas and south-east Asia to the Horn of Africa for at least the first four months of 2007.
El Niño, or "the Christ child" because it is usually noticed around Christmas, is a weather pattern occurring every two to seven years. The last severe El Niño, in 1997 and 1998, caused more than 2,000 deaths and a worldwide damage bill of more than £20bn.

The WMO said its latest readings showed that a "moderate" El Niño, with sea temperatures 1.5C above average, was taking place which, in the worst case scenario, could develop into an extreme weather pattern lasting up to 18 months, as in 1997-98. The UN agency noted that the weather pattern was already having "early and intense" effects, including drought in Australia and dramatically warm seas in the Indian Ocean, which could affect the monsoons. It warned the El Niño could also bring extreme rainfall to parts of east Africa which were last year hit by a cycle of drought and floods.

Its effect on the British climate is difficult to predict, according to experts. But it will probably add to the likelihood of record-breaking temperatures in the UK.

The return of El Niño

* Aside from the seasons, El Niño and its twin, La Niña, are the two largest single causes of variability in the world's climate from year to year.

Both are dictated by shifts in temperature of the water in the tropical Pacific basin between Australia and South America. Named from the Spanish words for "Christ child" and "the girl" because of their proximity to Christmas, they lead to dramatic shifts in the entire system of oceanic and atmospheric factors from air pressure to currents.

A significant rise in sea temperature leads to an El Niño event whereas a fall in temperature leads to La Niña.

The cause of the phenomenon is not fully understood but in an El Niño "event" the pool of warm surface water is forced eastwards by the loss of the westerly trade winds. The sea water evaporates, resulting in drenching rains over South America, particularly Peru and Ecuador, as well as western parts of the United States such as California.

Parts of the western Pacific, including Indonesia and Australia, suffer drought. The effects can last for anything from a few weeks to 18 months, causing extreme weather as far afield as India and east Africa.


http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article2116873.ece

​

 

[dcyates]

I should note that, since reading your post, Therese, I have heard from several different sources concerning this large 'island' of ice breaking off Ellesmere Island. During the course of this, though, I've also found that very much the same thing happened 35 years ago, when the Earth was just emerging from a mild cooling trend. (Of course, this didn't stop numerous scientists during the '70s from warning the world about a coming ice age.)

 

[geetrue]

Thank you for all of that homework ... thereselittleflower
I needed this information.

We should pray for the people that get paid to
know what's going on ...
We pray that would make a difference in what we know, Lord.