Melting ice pack displaces Alaska walrus

[slowhand]

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Thousands of walrus have appeared on Alaska's northwest coast in what conservationists are calling a dramatic consequence of global warming melting the Arctic sea ice.


Alaska's walrus, especially breeding females, in summer and fall are usually found on the Arctic ice pack. But the lowest summer ice cap on record put sea ice far north of the outer continental shelf, the shallow, life-rich shelf of ocean bottom in the Bering and Chukchi seas.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071007/ap_on_sc/sea_ice_walrus;_ylt=AscFu1BXG4netZnvC3IZAWSs0NUE

 

[AFA]

While estimates a few years ago sounded urgent enough regarding global warming, several times this week I read articles including this one, that now say something like, "Surprised at the speed this is happening".

 

[Friday on my mind]

While estimates a few years ago sounded urgent enough regarding global warming, several times this week I read articles including this one, that now say something like, "Surprised at the speed this is happening".

I have been hearing the same thing AFA.Not so long ago I posted something on how the ice caps were originally beleived to be almost ice free in the summers by the end of the century,now they were saying from what they were learning the estimate was that would happen by 2030.I think many scientists and policy makers beleive the situation is much worse than they are letting on.They are scared if they really say what they think people would start living like there is no tommorow and that they would come under extreme criticism for causing the panic that might be produced.

 

[elict47]

the problem with all of this is that the earth has been going through heating and cooling periods for millions of year, all without our hands in the cookie jar. although humans may be contributing to the rate at which this current warming trend progresses it is impossible and foolish to say we are the sole cause and need to dramatically alter our lives to prevent it.

 

[AFA]

the problem with all of this is that the earth has been going through heating and cooling periods for millions of year, all without our hands in the cookie jar. although humans may be contributing to the rate at which this current warming trend progresses it is impossible and foolish to say we are the sole cause and need to dramatically alter our lives to prevent it.

Natural or not, responsiblity is shirked by people in power who are taking a very biased approach to ignore the fact this will effect food supply and the lives of everyone from now into the future.

 

[Legzman]

the problem with all of this is that the earth has been going through heating and cooling periods for millions of year, all without our hands in the cookie jar. although humans may be contributing to the rate at which this current warming trend progresses it is impossible and foolish to say we are the sole cause and need to dramatically alter our lives to prevent it.

no maybe about it, we are contributing to it! I do agree, though, that we are not the sole cause of it. But we are definently helping to speed it up!

 

[Friday on my mind]

I think if you go read about about it scientists are agreed we are the overwhelming cause of the current warming.It is due to all the carbon monoxide(Co2) we have added and continue to add at increasing amounts.

 

[senob44]

Natural or not, responsiblity is shirked by people in power who are taking a very biased approach to ignore the fact this will effect food supply and the lives of everyone from now into the future.

That's exactly how I was thinking. If we know there is a natural disaster coming, where are the contingency plans? Those who are in power do not want to touch the global warming issue because they are afraid to take any blame, or in some cases even admit it is a problem. But from this story and others, it seems like we are going to be in some serious trouble in the next decades. Fisheries are probably being affected already. Species will start dying out, ecosystems will fail, and leaders seem to just want to "wait and see".

 

[Friday on my mind]

That's exactly how I was thinking. If we know there is a natural disaster coming, where are the contingency plans? Those who are in power do not want to touch the global warming issue because they are afraid to take any blame, or in some cases even admit it is a problem. But from this story and others, it seems like we are going to be in some serious trouble in the next decades. Fisheries are probably being affected already. Species will start dying out, ecosystems will fail, and leaders seem to just want to "wait and see".

I think that is a little hard on the "leaders".Are we ready to take blame and responsibility as a people?I don't think so ,so don't expect leaders to be any different.They are only reflecting what the people want which is denial.

 

[senob44]

I think that is a little hard on the "leaders".Are we ready to take blame and responsibility as a people?I don't think so ,so don't expect leaders to be any different.They are only reflecting what the people want which is denial.

What you say is certainly true. I was focusing mainly on the idea of "What are we going to do when this happens?" Why aren't we making contingency plans? Are we going to be ready to evacuate the coasts if global warming creates the flooding that many are predicting? I'm just trying to posit the point that if we aren't ready to try and ameliorate the situation, can't we at least talk about what we're going to do when it happens? That, I feel is a duty that will fall to the leadership perhaps sooner than we think. I think the leaders should at least acknowledge global warming, like many of us people are (even if we aren't ready to change as a people). If they acknowledge global warming there will be a precedent to do things to deal with it, even if we as a nation are not ready to try and prevent it.

 

[Friday on my mind]

What you say is certainly true. I was focusing mainly on the idea of "What are we going to do when this happens?" Why aren't we making contingency plans? Are we going to be ready to evacuate the coasts if global warming creates the flooding that many are predicting? I'm just trying to posit the point that if we aren't ready to try and ameliorate the situation, can't we at least talk about what we're going to do when it happens? That, I feel is a duty that will fall to the leadership perhaps sooner than we think. I think the leaders should at least acknowledge global warming, like many of us people are (even if we aren't ready to change as a people). If they acknowledge global warming there will be a precedent to do things to deal with it, even if we as a nation are not ready to try and prevent it.

Well even Bush has acknowledged that it is real again recently and Rice called on the polluting nations to do something recently also.You know I agree with you 100% that we should be trying to plan for it and maybe even try to reduce the emmisions world wide but it seems relatively hopeless.Because the truth is that to really reduce it would mean a lot of sacrifice by people.America the biggest emiter of Co2 would have to really give up a lot to not only reduce the growth in the emmision rate but to actually move towards reducing overall how much we add.How can we go to China and say forget all your economic developement plans we think global warming is a problem they will and should tell us what to do.By the time they are wealthy enough to think they can afford to cut down it will be way to late and way to much damage.And the other thing is that the western countries mainly the US are not going to sacrifice one little bit of living standards and economic growth to do anything about the problem IMO.I do not beleive it is possible to be clean and still consume the way we do.It would have to be like it was in WW2 on the homefront with gas rationing and such where people were suppose to ask themselves "Is this trip really neccesary?".Can you imagine a politician running saying thats what they would do?They would be lucky if their mother voted for them.So I guess the long drawn out point here is I think politicians will only do it if they think its a winning issue for them and its not right now on balance.They might talk about it some to please some of us but real action that effects large amounts of people negatively which unfortunately is what I think it would take, I don't see it coming anytime soon.Its a harder sell than tax cuts and optimism based on pure faith in the future.

 

[D-rock]

the problem with all of this is that the earth has been going through heating and cooling periods for millions of year, all without our hands in the cookie jar. although humans may be contributing to the rate at which this current warming trend progresses it is impossible and foolish to say we are the sole cause and need to dramatically alter our lives to prevent it.

We are the predominate cause of it by far. To say humans are just “contributing” is a vast understatement. There's a difference between millions of years of slow cycles and things happening in about a hundred years. It would be stupid to not alter our lives and have the planet's climate shift to the point of no return and have life be adversely effected because of our stupidity and because we don't want to give up any convenience now.

 

[Becks...poamr]

Stop global warming!! Give the young walruses a Chance to be crushed by their parents when they stampede!!!

I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me.:crying:

 

[elict47]

I think the jury is out on this on, yes the ppm CO2 level has risen in the atmosphere since the advent of the industrial revolution CO2 is not the sole cause of earths warming trend. If you recall, there was concerns that the earth was going into a cooling trend in the 70's. Please don't tell me that people are actually beliving Al Gore and his docu-drama. What about all the emissions from volcano's?

I totally that we as humans ought to be responsible in minimizing the adverse impact we have on our own home but the fact is we have only tracked atmospheric data for a eye blink in the earth existance, saying we are destroying it already is foolish.

 

[dick van cock]

Goo-goo-ga-joob!

 

[Friday on my mind]

Yeah nutty Al Gore only the leading candidate for the Nobel Peace prize.Go to the Nasa web site,go to the national academy of scientists and see what they say if you don't won't to beleive Al.The agreement among scientists about this probably the most peer reviewed subject ever is overwhelming.I wonder how long it took some to acknowledge the world was not flat or that the earth was not the center of the universe,heck some still deny evolution so I guess no amount of evidence will convince those few.:dunno: