The ice melts so fast that scientists had to abandon their polar station

[+Green Blog]

A group of Russian scientists had to abandon their polar station near Svalbard when the ice their station was standing on started to melt away, three months too early.

The polar station was placed on a huge flake of ice last year and the scientists expected to be able to stay on the station for one year. But now, after only nine months, the once so huge flak of ice had melted from 15 to 0,12 square kilometres forcing the scientists to abandon their polar station.

It’s clearly not easy being a polar scientist these days!

Source: DN/TT-NTB

View the full article

[Steve_Barker]

Noticed this story on the BBC news yesterday:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7503060.stm

I wonder how many people will actually notice this story, never mind contemplate it.

[Simon]

Noticed this story on the BBC news yesterday:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7503060.stm

I wonder how many people will actually notice this story, never mind contemplate it.

Very few I would guess.

But why blame them when the mainstream media doesn't want to report on the 350 ppm levels.

[mountainhiker]

Very few I would guess.

But why blame them when the mainstream media doesn't want to report on the 350 ppm levels.

Well, just how much reporting do you see going on about the PPM in China where the "games" are being held. Media is SILENT! Few pics that show more PPM than any other place on earth yet the media has not even raised the issue as being an problem! We are seeing politically correct news, liberal or conservative!

[Simon]

Well, just how much reporting do you see going on about the PPM in China where the "games" are being held. Media is SILENT! Few pics that show more PPM than any other place on earth yet the media has not even raised the issue as being an problem! We are seeing politically correct news, liberal or conservative!

Hehe you are at it again I see!

Well.. Why would the third world countries do anything when:

A ) It was we in the rich world that caused this problem. The "others" are just now coming along on the path towards destruction.

B ) The factories that pollutes, in places like China, are our own factories and they produce mainly for us in the rich world.

C ) The per capita pollution are 5-6 times higher in Europe, USA etc than in China and India, for example.

[mountainhiker]

Hehe you are at it again I see!

Well.. Why would the third world countries do anything when:

A ) It was we in the rich world that caused this problem. The "others" are just now coming along on the path towards destruction.

B ) The factories that pollutes, in places like China, are our own factories and they produce mainly for us in the rich world.

C ) The per capita pollution are 5-6 times higher in Europe, USA etc than in China and India, for example.

Sorry, don't buy the "its our fault" excuse. China has to stand on their on here. No, they are not "Our" factories. They are local factories, no where else do you "see" the pollution like they have in China, blaming Europe etc. is a cop out.

[armadillo]

I'm afraid I agree with Simon... You would see all this pollution in Europe if the europpean industries had their factories in their own country. We find cheap workers in those countries, that's why the factories are there.. I don't blame only us, but don't blame those countries more than you should either...

[Simon]

Sorry, don't buy the "its our fault" excuse. China has to stand on their on here. No, they are not "Our" factories. They are local factories, no where else do you "see" the pollution like they have in China, blaming Europe etc. is a cop out.

What I meant with "our factories" was that it's our companies that has moved away from us because it's cheaper to produce in development countries, like China.

I think the shoe hurts when America, and mainly climate criminal Bush, says he wont do anything unless china and the other development countries start doing anything. Cause it's just another whitewash from Bush!

First he said that there was no thing called climate change, it was all made up by "liberals". But when the science got more clear and deep he couldn't blame his inactions on that anylonger. He had to sort of "accept" climate change.

The problem is he don't believe in climate change and found another way to continue with his inactions by saying there was no scientific consensus.

After a while he couldn't blame it on that either and now he is trying to get away from his duties by blaming the development countries.

Hopefully climate and war criminal Bush will someday face the consequenses of all his actions and inactions.

[mountainhiker]

Hopefully climate and war criminal Bush will someday face the consequenses of all his actions and inactions.

Not going to happen, the democratic party has too many fingerprints on the gun to call for a CSI investigation. All they are going to do is huff and puff until the election and then, poof, all problems go away.

Have to remember that you cannot impeach someone after they are out of office and they cannot impeach someone that THEY assisted in anything they might accuse him of. :rolleyes:

[Steve_Barker]

I'm afraid I agree with Simon... You would see all this pollution in Europe if the europpean industries had their factories in their own country. We find cheap workers in those countries, that's why the factories are there.. I don't blame only us, but don't blame those countries more than you should either...

I tend to agree with both Simon and Armadillo. I've been down Victorian iron ore mines, where the employers were considered very progressive because if the husband was killed down the mine the employers allowed the family a week to move out of the miners cottage, when standard practice was eviction on the same day.

Social and environmental law has progressed a lot since then, and society has genrally benifited from this. However, it is OUR companies that have realised that opting out of such legistlation saves money. The sad thing is that enough people were happy enough to buy "cheep" and unethical, that now even buying "quality" brands means poor labour and/or environmental conditions.

It always amuses me about right wing politicians telling us about the importance of free trade. What they are wanting cheep is production in Asia. However, once we have no manufacturing base we will be vulnerable to the whims of the Asia production countries, because if we do not like what they demand they can bring our infrastructure to its knees by withhollding parts for our equipment.

[beekeeper]

This really sucks. Bees dying, ice melting, people getting sick because they drink not so long ago clean water. Farmers using all kinds of pesticides. We are slowly but surely going into the hell. I just heard over the radio the other day that 4 out of 10 people will get cancer in the year 2020 if we continue this way.... It really sucks...

[mountainhiker]

This really sucks. Bees dying, ice melting, people getting sick because they drink not so long ago clean water. Farmers using all kinds of pesticides. We are slowly but surely going into the hell. I just heard over the radio the other day that 4 out of 10 people will get cancer in the year 2020 if we continue this way.... It really sucks...

However, you have to keep in mind that many articles are negative because that "sells" in the news business.

Many reports like that are really someones OPINION and not based on facts. I am amazed at the number of articles in the news where a reporter throws in their on opinion, as if it were news and therefore true.

If you hear news like that from only one source, most likely it is not true.

[Simon]

However, you have to keep in mind that many articles are negative because that "sells" in the news business.

Many reports like that are really someones OPINION and not based on facts. I am amazed at the number of articles in the news where a reporter throws in their on opinion, as if it were news and therefore true.

If you hear news like that from only one source, most likely it is not true.

Unfortunately, from my experience the majority of the article could be a lot more negative. It's like the journalists are afraid to ask local as well as national governments and authorities the tougher questions.

Sure, you should always be a bit sceptic. But I dont think climate change articles are too "alarmists".

[armadillo]

Yeah,sometimes I think that they still try to make everything seem less worrying. But what we need now is to make people a bit worried. Not telling them that we still got plenty of time, we can still cosume the way we do etc etc.

[mountainhiker]

Yeah,sometimes I think that they still try to make everything seem less worrying. But what we need now is to make people a bit worried. Not telling them that we still got plenty of time, we can still cosume the way we do etc etc.

Depends on which newspaper you are reading! Some play it down and others play it up! Since it is a political football, you have to be very careful assuming that all the "worst news" is really true. Wind farms were "good" until they started building them and now they are "bad" because the "right" people were not able to take political credit for them.... 99% of the time when you have people who are 100% to the left and others 100% to the right, the truth is someplace in the middle.... :sceptical:

[Simon]

It's not easy being Arctic tourists these days, either!

Arctic tourists evacuated amid melting and unprecedented warming, desmogblog.com reports.

"Thawing permafrost, eroding lakeshores, a melting glacier and fears of flash floods at a national park on Baffin Island have forced the evacuation of 21 tourists and led officials to declare much of the wilderness reserve off-limits until geologists and ice experts can assess what appear to be the latest dramatic effects of climate change in Canada's Arctic."

[mountainhiker]

It's not easy being Arctic tourists these days, either!

Arctic tourists evacuated amid melting and unprecedented warming, desmogblog.com reports.

That's why they call it a "wilderness", you have to expect a dirty knee, getting wet and mud/snow/something on your boots. All of the "adventure" places these days tell you to come prepared for "variable" weather.