Info

You are currently browsing the Environmental Novel: The Haymakers Survey - Our Secret Inheritance weblog archives for the day 28/01/2009.

Calendar
January 2009
M T W T F S S
« Dec   Feb »
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728293031  
Categories
Links

Archive for 28/01/2009

Ice Ice Baby!

We’ve seen a collection of related stories in the media recently all about ice.  First, an account from scientists which reveals the temperature in the Antarctic is getting steadily warmer, disputing previous theories about the continent.  Its a complicated picture as West Antarctica is warming, whilst the East is cooling down.  Rather worryingly, if the West Antarctica ice sheet melted completely, global sea levels would rise by 5 to 6 metres! The study does not indicate how long that might take, nor does it consider the probability of such an event.

west-antarctica.jpg

All the same, its bad news for the Emperor Penguin whose numbers are set to plummet by 95% by 2100 based on predictions of sea ice extent from climate change models.  The challenge faced by the iconic adorable creatures is that the sea ice plays a major role in their breeding season and influences the amount of food available to them.  So much for Happy Feet!

emperor-penguins.jpg

The Emperor Penguins are to the Anatarctic what the polar bear is to the Arctic.  Timely then that a sculpture of a giant polar bear and her cub adrift on an iceberg has appeared on the River Thames in London, stranded before the Houses of Parliament as an iconic reminder of the threat posed by climate change, not only to the bears but also to the 2 billion people worldwide who are dependant on fresh water from glacial meltdown - one third of the Earth’s human population.

 polar-bear-on-thames.jpg

Interestingly, the 16ft high structure was launched from Greenwich, the home of Time! 

Now the words of Vanilla Ice have a new meaning…

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=MxN_pbMOFk0

|