And what is the significance of 2012?
The Year 2012 is a significant one for us. It is the end of the commitment to the Kyoto Protocol, as it is. Adopted in 1997, and an amendment to the International Treaty of Climate Change, the purpose of the protocol was to give industrialised countries mandatory targets to reduce their collective emissions of greenhouse gases, being carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, sulphur hexafluoride, hydro fluorocarbons and perfluorocarbons, by 50% of the 1990 emissions, by the middle of the 21st century. One regional economic integration organisation (EEC) and 168 countries have ratified the protocol, which became legal and binding in 2005.
In preparation for a new protocol, in May 2007, a group of business leaders and scientists gathered to form the Copenhagen Climate Council with the aim to establish a new climate treaty to come into play after 2012.
Since then there have been a series of meetings among appropriate groups and networks, all working towards a Climate Conference in Copenhagen in November this year. At the conference it is expected that a ‘Copenhagen Protocol,’ aimed to prevent global warming and climate change, will be agreed upon.
I believe that it is very important that a new protocol, following Kyoto, is necessary.
However, given this significant occasion, planned to affect our response to global warming and climate change, is it not any wonder then, that much information and propaganda has emerged?
Today, two books on this controversial subject are hot on the local marketplace.
The first, ‘Air Con – The Seriously Inconvenient Truth about Global Warming’ by the investigative journalist, Ian Wishart, has just been published.
In this easy-to-read book, Ian informs us about how much the Copenhagen Protocol will cost us – and, according to Ian, it will not be cheap. He questions the so called facts about global warming and climate change.
If you have not had time to read it yet, for a lively opinion about the Ian’s book, visit http://hot-topic.co.nz/
This website is by another author, the economist, portfolio manager, biker and public speaker, South Islander Gareth Morgan. Gareth is about to publish his own book ‘Poles Apart’ which he co-wrote with John McCrystal.
Gareth wasn’t sure if he believed in global warming or not. So he hired some of the world’s best scientists to answer his questions about the topic. ‘Poles Apart’ is the result of their answers.
Both these books appear to expound the facts about global warming and climate change, whether political, fictional or hearsay, and probably are worth the read.
However, no matter what form the Copenhagen Protocol appears in, no matter what is outlined in Ian’s, nor Gareth’s books, the truth about global warming and climate change is concealed in the earth’s glaciers.
It has always been recognised that the glaciers can tell us much about the earth’s history. In the May 1 issue of Science Magazine (on the net) there are two articles confirming this fact. The first one is:
‘The Geographic Footprint of Glacier Change’ by Greg Balco from the Berkeley Geochronology Centre in California. In it, he talks about how Alpine Glaciers offer ‘spectacular records of climate change’ and along with their deposits in the form of lakes, moraines and valleys they can reveal much information about the rises and fluctuations of the world’s temperatures before they were measured by today’s scientific instruments.
Another item in the same edition by three New Zealand Scientists is entitled
‘High-Frequency Holocene Glacier Fluctuations in New Zealand Differ from the Northern Signature.’ It talks about the research identifying the differences in the movements of glaciers in the Northern and Southern Hemisphere. In both regions the land experienced their own hot and cold periods – at different times!
Over the weekend a Climate conference, attended by around 150 international scientists was held in Wellington to discuss the results of climate research completed in the southern hemisphere.
Geomorphologist Andrew Mackintosh of Victoria University, who participated in the New Zealand Glacial research projects, says that the earth will not uniformly warm up. In fact, the Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers are growing, because of the wet cool conditions weather patterns are bringing to our country.
“The more we're learning about the Southern Hemisphere we understand that it has its own climate system that's somewhat different." He is quoted as saying in the NZ Herald.
So how can we find out the truth about Global Warming and Climate Change?
Here are some websites to visit.
Visit “NZ glacier findings upset climate theory’ at
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/324/5927/599
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyoto_Protoco
www.erantis.com/events/denmark/copenhagen/climate-conference-2009/index.htm
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=the-greenhouse-hamburger
Personally, I believe that that Global Warming is a load of Codswallop.
Yes, we carelessly using the earth by over fishing, too much deforesting, creating too much waste. And too many destructive gasses. Yes, the climate is changing. Yes, climate research is important. It reveals much about the history of the earth, including when, where and how certain areas have been much hotter or colder, than they are today. And Why. For example, Greenland was named so because it was green. And the Sahara was not always a desert.
So, do we need a Copenhagen Treaty? Yes, I do believe so. It will probably cost participating countries an arm and a leg, which, at the end of the day, means you and I. But it will mean that we all, providing our country ratifies the Treaty, will have some goals about cleaning up our environmental act, to work towards.
Showing posts with label Greenland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Greenland. Show all posts
Monday, May 18, 2009
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
The Deceit of Global Warming
From an article in the Britian’s online newsletterwebsite, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/ November 5, 2007
For those who poo poo’d Al Gore’s facts and information in on Global Warming in ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ then this is the book they will love. Scared to Death: From BSE To Global Warming — How Scares Are Costing Us The Earth by Christopher Booker and Richard North.
The book talks about how we have been cajoled into believing that mankind is responsible for Global Warming, how facts and figures have been manipulated for the purpose of the economics and politics. It tells the real history of the world’s changing temperatures often known as and subsequent life and agriculture changes (for example, the Roman Warming, the Mediaeval Warming, and the Little Ice Age), it exposes how information collected for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (the IPCC) is manipulated for reporting and why Michael Mann’s hockey stick temperature graph was used for ‘scaremongering.”
Global warming, as described that by Tony Blair's chief scientific adviser, Sir David King, claimed in 2004, poses "a far greater threat to the world than international terrorism"
But is this so? Isn’t this just scaremongery? The article on the telegraph.co.uk website is a most informative read in itself, but I do urge you to get a copy. Not sure if it is in New Zealand, but it is available in the UK. Oh and when you have finished reading your copy, may I borrow it?
For those who poo poo’d Al Gore’s facts and information in on Global Warming in ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ then this is the book they will love. Scared to Death: From BSE To Global Warming — How Scares Are Costing Us The Earth by Christopher Booker and Richard North.
The book talks about how we have been cajoled into believing that mankind is responsible for Global Warming, how facts and figures have been manipulated for the purpose of the economics and politics. It tells the real history of the world’s changing temperatures often known as and subsequent life and agriculture changes (for example, the Roman Warming, the Mediaeval Warming, and the Little Ice Age), it exposes how information collected for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (the IPCC) is manipulated for reporting and why Michael Mann’s hockey stick temperature graph was used for ‘scaremongering.”
Global warming, as described that by Tony Blair's chief scientific adviser, Sir David King, claimed in 2004, poses "a far greater threat to the world than international terrorism"
But is this so? Isn’t this just scaremongery? The article on the telegraph.co.uk website is a most informative read in itself, but I do urge you to get a copy. Not sure if it is in New Zealand, but it is available in the UK. Oh and when you have finished reading your copy, may I borrow it?
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Climatic Change - A Snapshot
When flying home from our European Adventure, I was very excited to find out that our flight path would be over southern Greenland. Like many people, I was taught at school, and still believed, that Greenland was white and that a few Eskimos lived there. I think it was a friend called Isabella , who fishes in North Sea, made some comment that Greenland was actually brown!
There, sure enough, was the world’s biggest island, with its grey/brown scoria laiden mountains, dipping into green/blue waters, below me. And not a dot of snow in sight!
Greenland, in spite of looking huge on the map is only about the size of Mexico and 75% the area of Denmark. It boasts one of the world’s largest fiord complexes and apparently 80% of it is covered by ice.
It was first inhabited by the Saqqaq culture in around 2000BC. Then in the 10th century the Norwegian Eric the Red, who had to quit Iceland, 175 miles away, because of his involvement with a murder, discovered it. The church built by his wife Thorhild still stands today.
Since the 1500’s Greenland was governed by the Danes and in 1953 changed from a Danish Colony to become part of the Danish kingdom. By 1979 it has had its own local government at the inhabitants’ request.
Today the population is more than 56 thousand and has many tourists who enjoy the unique arctic climate and the outdoor activities it offers.
The country, which is environmentally friendly towards green plants because of geothermal hot spots, has been called “An Arctic Laboratory.” Indeed Danish Scientists had made it the “most completely explored arctic land in the world.” However, the land is poor in natural resources.
Fishing is Greenland’s main industry of Shrimp (peeled prawns) followed by Greenland halibut, crabs, scallops and cod.
The capital of Greenland is Nuuk, or Godthaab, which means “Good Hope,” was founded by Hans Egede. Its population of 15 thousand is made up of the Inuits, and Danes. The average temperature averages from –1 to 18 degrees centigrade, in winter there are 4.5 daylight hours while in summer there is light for 24 hours from May until August.
Greenland and Climatic Change
Greenland and it’s neighbouring Arctic Circle countries seem to be the most vulnerable countries to climatic change. But action is being taken.
In January 2008 Nuuk will be hosting the Mayors of Winter Cities Bi-annual Winter Cities Conference and Expo.
The theme “Mother of the Sea” - a local folk story, reflects the conference’s focus of Global Warming and in particular, Climatic Changes in the Arctic. Reports from various surveys in local and nearby countries reported that 75% of all indigenous adults reported that climatic change is an environmental problem for them, as many, in spite of being satisfied with their lives, and jobs, spend a significant amount of time in traditional subsistence activities, including hunting and fishing.
There are, however, mixed reactions to Climate Change, or Global Warming in Greenland. It is been seen as a local boom, not doom for the world, as Al Gore suggests in his movie, “An Inconvenient Truth.” According to an article in the Wall St Journal in July 2006, a reindeer rancher says the glacier on his property has retreated 300 metres and his reindeer now feast on wild thyme and purple Niviarsiaq flowers. And he is planning to harness his ‘new’ river for hydroelectricity.
Average temperatures in Greenland have risen by 2.7 degrees Farenheight over the last 30 years. Swans have appeared, ducks are no longer migrating, farmers are getting larger crop yields and more vegetables can be grown.
Climatic change in Greenland is not new, according to oxygen isotope samples taken from Greenland’s ice core. Apparently in 1100, when Eric the Red discovered and settled here it was warm. The following 300 years represented the height of the Norse farming era, then the Norse inexplicably vanished. Farming faded and disappeared in the 17th century, but was practised again by the Inuit farmers in the 19th century, combining Norse and modern practices. The cold spell from 1950 – 1975 slowed farming, but now it is expanding rapidly.
Greenland’s fishers are benefiting from the return of warm water loving cod, which disappear from the waters when there are long cold spells. However, the shrimp – Greenland’s largest export may disappear, because not only do they enjoy cold water, they are eaten by cod!
No matter what happens to the temperatures, the Greenlanders are determined to make the most of the benefits they bring.
Climatic Change and the International Scene
Scientific Watchdogs
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was formed by governments who were members of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programmed (UNEP) in 1988 to provide assessments of available scientific and technical information on climatic change. The most recent assessment was released in 2007, and can be seen on www.ipcc.ch
It has three separate working groups examining the physical science of climatic change, the effects on nature and society, and the methods of mitigation - that is, how humans can respond, adapt, survive and prosper to climactic change, and limit the effect of future warming by reducing the release of greenhouse gasses to the atmosphere. There is also a task force which is responsible for the IPCC National Greenhouse Gas Inventories Programme. New Zealanders David Wratt from Niwa, is a vice chair of the Climatic Change group, while Helen Plume, from the Ministry for the Environment, is a member of the Task Force.
Educating the Masses - An Inconvenient Truth – the movie we love and hate
“Humanity is sitting on a ticking time bomb. If the vast majority of the world's scientists are right, we have just ten years to avert a major catastrophe that could send our entire planet into a tail-spin of epic destruction involving extreme weather, floods, droughts, epidemics and killer heat waves beyond anything we have ever experienced.”
No matter what we think about global warming I am sure that most of us who saw the movie “An Inconvenient Truth” with Al Gore would agree that it is worth watching, even if we tire of the many facts, figures and diagrams with tails disappearing into thin air. However he does have many points, which make us think twice about what is happening on our planet, and what we can do, in our own patches.
Life at the Edge
The National Geographic, June 2007, as well as providing some spectacular photos of the wildlife which depend on the ice, talks about the significant shrinking of ice covering the Arctic Ocean in summer, over the last 25 years. What will happen to it if the ice shrinks much more?
Fewer icebergs and thinner ice covering the sea and warming it will result in changes in food supplies and shelter.
*“Ice is part of the biology of every creature that lives in this frozen vastness” Paul Nicklen
There is also alarming information about the thawing and receding of glaciers, in both the Arctic and Antarctic areas. For it is not just a case of the ice melting, there are multiple processes, which speeds the process. The processes include;
- the white snow melts, exposing the dark ice underneath. The dark ice absorbs heat and melts, whereas the white snow reflected the heat.
- Summer meltwater forms in pools in the ice, fractures it and pours below, speeding flow.
- Thinner ice has a weaker grip on the land and can’t hold the accelerating glacier
- Warmer oceans erode floating ice at its base, weakening it and causing it to break up.
The melting season in Greenland is starting earlier and ending later. Much of the bedrock has been forced below sea level, so rising seas may follow. However “Greenland alone could push *up sea level by three feet or so over the next century, if global warming does not let up.” Tim Appenzeller
Over the last 14 years Greenland researchers have had first hand experiences of rising temperatures. The seasonal melts have started earlier and ended later, snowmobile tracks have been full of slush and instead of snowing, it has been raining.
What are the Facts about Climate Change?
Participants in the 2007 IPCC assessment summarized some climatic arguments in the Scientific American magazine.
“Scientists are confident that humans have interfered with the climate and that further human-induced climatic change is on the way. The principle driver is greenhouse gas emissions…global warming has been caused by human activities as much as 90%…the magnitude of expected change depends on what humans choose to do about greenhouse gas emissions.
Eleven of the past 12 years have been the warmest since reliable records began in around 1850.
In conclusion, the article says that what is certain – plants, animals and humans will be living with the consequences of climatic change for the next thousand years at least. But what is uncertain – we have limited knowledge of the response of natural systems and human society to the growing impacts of climatic change.
In silence Greenland’s green waters and dramatic mountains slide out of my aircraft window’s view and for a short while and we fly over the waters of Davis Straight Davis Strait towards Nunavut, Canada. But look at that! A tidal Sea of Ice! Now I bet there is an interesting story here….
References include:
Scientific American August 2007
National Geographic June 2007
www.ipcc.ch
http://mytrip.dk/eindex.html. (great pics here)
http://jensjk.dk
http://www.wintercitiesnuuk.gl
ttp://www.climatecrisis.net/aboutthefilm
http://www.danishexporters.dk
http://en.wikipedia.org
There, sure enough, was the world’s biggest island, with its grey/brown scoria laiden mountains, dipping into green/blue waters, below me. And not a dot of snow in sight!
Greenland, in spite of looking huge on the map is only about the size of Mexico and 75% the area of Denmark. It boasts one of the world’s largest fiord complexes and apparently 80% of it is covered by ice.
It was first inhabited by the Saqqaq culture in around 2000BC. Then in the 10th century the Norwegian Eric the Red, who had to quit Iceland, 175 miles away, because of his involvement with a murder, discovered it. The church built by his wife Thorhild still stands today.
Since the 1500’s Greenland was governed by the Danes and in 1953 changed from a Danish Colony to become part of the Danish kingdom. By 1979 it has had its own local government at the inhabitants’ request.
Today the population is more than 56 thousand and has many tourists who enjoy the unique arctic climate and the outdoor activities it offers.
The country, which is environmentally friendly towards green plants because of geothermal hot spots, has been called “An Arctic Laboratory.” Indeed Danish Scientists had made it the “most completely explored arctic land in the world.” However, the land is poor in natural resources.
Fishing is Greenland’s main industry of Shrimp (peeled prawns) followed by Greenland halibut, crabs, scallops and cod.
The capital of Greenland is Nuuk, or Godthaab, which means “Good Hope,” was founded by Hans Egede. Its population of 15 thousand is made up of the Inuits, and Danes. The average temperature averages from –1 to 18 degrees centigrade, in winter there are 4.5 daylight hours while in summer there is light for 24 hours from May until August.
Greenland and Climatic Change
Greenland and it’s neighbouring Arctic Circle countries seem to be the most vulnerable countries to climatic change. But action is being taken.
In January 2008 Nuuk will be hosting the Mayors of Winter Cities Bi-annual Winter Cities Conference and Expo.
The theme “Mother of the Sea” - a local folk story, reflects the conference’s focus of Global Warming and in particular, Climatic Changes in the Arctic. Reports from various surveys in local and nearby countries reported that 75% of all indigenous adults reported that climatic change is an environmental problem for them, as many, in spite of being satisfied with their lives, and jobs, spend a significant amount of time in traditional subsistence activities, including hunting and fishing.
There are, however, mixed reactions to Climate Change, or Global Warming in Greenland. It is been seen as a local boom, not doom for the world, as Al Gore suggests in his movie, “An Inconvenient Truth.” According to an article in the Wall St Journal in July 2006, a reindeer rancher says the glacier on his property has retreated 300 metres and his reindeer now feast on wild thyme and purple Niviarsiaq flowers. And he is planning to harness his ‘new’ river for hydroelectricity.
Average temperatures in Greenland have risen by 2.7 degrees Farenheight over the last 30 years. Swans have appeared, ducks are no longer migrating, farmers are getting larger crop yields and more vegetables can be grown.
Climatic change in Greenland is not new, according to oxygen isotope samples taken from Greenland’s ice core. Apparently in 1100, when Eric the Red discovered and settled here it was warm. The following 300 years represented the height of the Norse farming era, then the Norse inexplicably vanished. Farming faded and disappeared in the 17th century, but was practised again by the Inuit farmers in the 19th century, combining Norse and modern practices. The cold spell from 1950 – 1975 slowed farming, but now it is expanding rapidly.
Greenland’s fishers are benefiting from the return of warm water loving cod, which disappear from the waters when there are long cold spells. However, the shrimp – Greenland’s largest export may disappear, because not only do they enjoy cold water, they are eaten by cod!
No matter what happens to the temperatures, the Greenlanders are determined to make the most of the benefits they bring.
Climatic Change and the International Scene
Scientific Watchdogs
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was formed by governments who were members of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programmed (UNEP) in 1988 to provide assessments of available scientific and technical information on climatic change. The most recent assessment was released in 2007, and can be seen on www.ipcc.ch
It has three separate working groups examining the physical science of climatic change, the effects on nature and society, and the methods of mitigation - that is, how humans can respond, adapt, survive and prosper to climactic change, and limit the effect of future warming by reducing the release of greenhouse gasses to the atmosphere. There is also a task force which is responsible for the IPCC National Greenhouse Gas Inventories Programme. New Zealanders David Wratt from Niwa, is a vice chair of the Climatic Change group, while Helen Plume, from the Ministry for the Environment, is a member of the Task Force.
Educating the Masses - An Inconvenient Truth – the movie we love and hate
“Humanity is sitting on a ticking time bomb. If the vast majority of the world's scientists are right, we have just ten years to avert a major catastrophe that could send our entire planet into a tail-spin of epic destruction involving extreme weather, floods, droughts, epidemics and killer heat waves beyond anything we have ever experienced.”
No matter what we think about global warming I am sure that most of us who saw the movie “An Inconvenient Truth” with Al Gore would agree that it is worth watching, even if we tire of the many facts, figures and diagrams with tails disappearing into thin air. However he does have many points, which make us think twice about what is happening on our planet, and what we can do, in our own patches.
Life at the Edge
The National Geographic, June 2007, as well as providing some spectacular photos of the wildlife which depend on the ice, talks about the significant shrinking of ice covering the Arctic Ocean in summer, over the last 25 years. What will happen to it if the ice shrinks much more?
Fewer icebergs and thinner ice covering the sea and warming it will result in changes in food supplies and shelter.
*“Ice is part of the biology of every creature that lives in this frozen vastness” Paul Nicklen
There is also alarming information about the thawing and receding of glaciers, in both the Arctic and Antarctic areas. For it is not just a case of the ice melting, there are multiple processes, which speeds the process. The processes include;
- the white snow melts, exposing the dark ice underneath. The dark ice absorbs heat and melts, whereas the white snow reflected the heat.
- Summer meltwater forms in pools in the ice, fractures it and pours below, speeding flow.
- Thinner ice has a weaker grip on the land and can’t hold the accelerating glacier
- Warmer oceans erode floating ice at its base, weakening it and causing it to break up.
The melting season in Greenland is starting earlier and ending later. Much of the bedrock has been forced below sea level, so rising seas may follow. However “Greenland alone could push *up sea level by three feet or so over the next century, if global warming does not let up.” Tim Appenzeller
Over the last 14 years Greenland researchers have had first hand experiences of rising temperatures. The seasonal melts have started earlier and ended later, snowmobile tracks have been full of slush and instead of snowing, it has been raining.
What are the Facts about Climate Change?
Participants in the 2007 IPCC assessment summarized some climatic arguments in the Scientific American magazine.
“Scientists are confident that humans have interfered with the climate and that further human-induced climatic change is on the way. The principle driver is greenhouse gas emissions…global warming has been caused by human activities as much as 90%…the magnitude of expected change depends on what humans choose to do about greenhouse gas emissions.
Eleven of the past 12 years have been the warmest since reliable records began in around 1850.
In conclusion, the article says that what is certain – plants, animals and humans will be living with the consequences of climatic change for the next thousand years at least. But what is uncertain – we have limited knowledge of the response of natural systems and human society to the growing impacts of climatic change.
In silence Greenland’s green waters and dramatic mountains slide out of my aircraft window’s view and for a short while and we fly over the waters of Davis Straight Davis Strait towards Nunavut, Canada. But look at that! A tidal Sea of Ice! Now I bet there is an interesting story here….
References include:
Scientific American August 2007
National Geographic June 2007
www.ipcc.ch
http://mytrip.dk/eindex.html. (great pics here)
http://jensjk.dk
http://www.wintercitiesnuuk.gl
ttp://www.climatecrisis.net/aboutthefilm
http://www.danishexporters.dk
http://en.wikipedia.org
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