Meltwater from Asia’s peaks is much less than previously estimated, but lead scientist says the loss of ice caps and glaciers around the world remains a serious concern
By Damian Carrington
The world’s greatest snow-capped peaks, which run in a chain from the Himalayas to Tian Shan on the border of China and Kyrgyzstan, have lost no ice over the last decade, new research shows.
The discovery has stunned scientists, who had believed that around 50bn tonnes of meltwater were being shed each year and not being replaced by new snowfall.
The study is the first to survey all the world’s icecaps and glaciers and was made possible by the use of satellite data. Overall, the contribution of melting ice outside the two largest caps – Greenland and Antarctica – is much less than previously estimated, with the lack of ice loss in the Himalayas and the other high peaks of Asia responsible for most of the discrepancy.
For me this says it all: “The discovery has stunned scientists!!!”
I’m shocked. Not shrinking? Oh, My God!
I love it how they say “Wait! Wait! This doesn’t mean that all the other stuff we say is garbage too. We were stunned and shocked that we were wrong about this but everything else we say is true, so you better be worried! Be very, very worried about global warming”!!!! I’m paraphrasing, of course, but that’s essentially what they’re saying. These people are deluded.
‘”Our results and those of everyone else show we are losing a huge amount of water into the oceans every year,” said Prof John Wahr of the University of Colorado.’
What do you think of this statement? He is clearly saying that they have gathered data which shows significant melting nontheless.
What proof do you have that shows he is lying?
Just to be clear, I am NOT asking this to insult or argue with anyone.
Don’t know what to tell you JP. I’m not part of the “team” here. I’m the token Liberal/troll. Usually Neil is very good at responding to these kinds of questions. In my opinion Dan should be paying him, he does such a good job for this site. Maybe he’s in the middle of re-newing his contract (just kidding- they accuse me of being a paid rabble-rouser, so I can do so just this once, for fun). They have a hard time believing that someone can feel so strongly about something, in my case mainly logic and reason, that is- when it is different from their own strong beliefs.
Italy and Switzerland are planning to redraw their shared alpine border, as global warming is melting the glaciers that originally guided the line. Although peaceful, the move raises fears of future conflicts over shifting borders and resources.
Glaciers and ice fields around the world are melting as temperatures rise, with Europe’s high mountains particularly hard hit.
Last year, Crain’s New York Business reported that Rush Limbaugh’s ratings were down 33 percent. The reliable portable people meters have been expanding to different markets throughout the last few years (they didn’t just replace all of the diaries instantly in 2007, it’s taken a while). So, it’s unclear how much Rush was hurt by the more accurate readings last year and how much people just stopped listening to him. Either way he has no where near the number of listeners that he claims.
We are in a civil war folks. The corporatist state side (aka- the corporate power) knows it. Many on the liberal side don’t (some on the Right are just in denial). Many still think that it’s politics as usual. Many Liberals think that at some time the Republican Party will come to its senses and return to being the traditional center-right party it was until Reagan and even more so since the Gingrich wing took it over in the 90’s. It’s time that we all begin to wake up. The GOP is now a far-right party, in the context of what right-wing parties look like in the other advanced capitalist nations. US capitalism has become increasingly less dependent on manufacturing and increasingly more dependent on the extraction and sale, at home and abroad, of fossil fuels, and on profits to be derived from purely financial transactions. Since the GOP cannot run on such a platform, it must run on such issues as racism, homophobia, misogyny, religious bigotry (abortion illegalization being based much more on the latter than the former), Islamophobia, and the drive towards and the continuation of Permanent War (although other words are used to describe it). Increased sophistication of Right-wing Think Tank derived propaganda and mis-information techniques are becoming disturbingly more effective due to the increase in monies available from the elite 1-3%.
And that is the key: more money funneled to the elite to sway the public even further via blanketed propaganda in all sectors and in all ways. The added bonus is they also get more expensive toys, and more expensive homes around the world, and even better vacations, etc. While the rest of the country dries up.
Love to post to yourself I see? Any responses?
Just yours unfortunately.
I’m not shocked. They are not shrinking.
If you say so.
I just did.
I know you did… so there… nah!
Recommended reading list (not necessarily in order): Brave New World, Animal Farm, A Watership Down, The Shadow Factory, Lord of the Flies.
Have read all of them and probably half before you where born and your point is?
It’s not my point, you jester you. Since you’ve read them and I assume understand them (?) no further points must be made. That is the miracle of reading.
What a waste.
J/joe do you feel you represent the average Conservative/Libertarian/etc.?
I represent myself. I need no party to tell me what to do, who to vote for, nor salute. I’m an average American that can simply think/talk for myself like others. Need no party or affiliations to tell me “what is best for me.” That should be up to the individual that will hopefully vote. Talk is cheap today isn’t it. By the way, I detest political ads, be they Dems, Repubs et al. They all suck and demonize the other party. Nothing about details on how to assist the economy, help create new jobs, nothing of substance et al. I, as others, hit the mute button. Never changes and all parties are guilty and they wonder why the hate and diverse arguments?
Always wished that any party candidate would simply sit down on national TV absent commercials and absent a moderator and just have discourse in front of the people they may someday represent. Remember seeing/hearing this as a child. Never will see/hear again. Hopefully I’m wrong. The average person today has no idea what is going on in the world as well as at home. Know more about movie stars and TV shows than reality. Now that scares the hell out of me as it should for you as well as others.
You failed citizenship class didn’t you?
You people are so dumb. Climate change is REAL! You are as bad as holocaust deniers
Hi
This is not exactly about Himalayas ice, but reveals how the scam works.
I was reading a 2008 article of BBC News about melting alpine glaciers wich are revealing fascinating clues to Neolithic life in the high mountains.
(The title made me read it because it means there was living people in places where now are glaciers)
here is the article:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7580294.stm
They write :
“What fascinates scientists about the age of the finds is that they correspond to times when
climate specialists have already calculated the Earth was going through an especially warm
period, caused by fluctuations in the orbital pattern of the Earth in relation to the Sun.”
Ok…seems right. After all there is the main effect of solar radiations on Earth’s climatic changes
.And as the article says many years ago, (much before the CO2 mania) there was men living in
areas where there was no glaciers. The same areas had cycles of warming and cooling , More
and less areas of ice. Seems logical.
However the conclusion of the article is a complete joke:
“But what we do know is that the climate has fluctuated throughout history; in the past the driving
force for the changes was the Earth’s orbital pattern, NOW the driving force is green house gas
emissions.”
Thats very funny : Only after 5000 years the driving force of the orbital pattern of the Earth purely
disapeared !!!!!
Maybe those climate specialists are also fascinated by the temporary random and ocasional
Earth’s orbit ! lol
At least they could have been more coherent. If in the end they wanted no matter how to blame
gas emissions they could have calculated the “Earth especially warm period” also because of
another important green house gas emission : The now well known flatulence of Mammoth´s wich
alike the article itself, also smells to bullshit…
Francisco, Lisbon, Portugal