That Melting Antarctic Glacier Isn’t Nearly Enough To Snap Us Out Of Our Climate Apathy

Posted by | March 18, 2015 06:30 | Filed under: Bob Cesca Contributors Opinion

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This will likely be the least-viewed article I write all week, but it’s difficult to over-emphasize the importance of the topic. This week, scientists from United States, Britain, France and Australia released the results of a study published in Nature Geoscience showing that the Totten Glacier in eastern Antarctica is melting much faster than previously known. The study showed that global warming above, and warmer ocean water below is rapidly decaying the glacier.

This news is lumped on top of a report last year showing that the ice sheet covering western Antarctica is melting as well. When it goes for good, the melted ice sheet could create 10-foot rise in the global sea level within 100 years. And now this. If the Totten Glacier melts completely, add another 11 feet to the sea level. That’s 20-plus feet combined over the next 100 years. If that occurs, say goodbye to, among other places, every coastal region, all of lower Manhattan, all of southern Florida, all of San Diego — everything from the current sea level on up to 20-feet in elevation.

The Totten Glacier is around 90 by 22 miles, but not for long as it’s losing massive volumes of water every year, approximately 70 gigatons, which a representative from the Australian division of the study compared with the entire volume of the harbor in Sydney, Australia.

Here’s exactly why nothing significant will be done to prevent it from happening. No one really cares. The scope is too massive, the time-frames are too lengthy and a sense of futility is almost universal, even among environmentalists. It’s difficult to comprehend making the changes necessary to mitigate the impact of what’s already happening — chiefly because most people don’t grasp that it is. And… CONTINUE READING

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Copyright 2015 Liberaland
By: Bob Cesca

Bob Cesca is the managing editor at The Daily Banter (www.thedailybanter.com) and a Huffington Post contributor since 2005. He's worked in journalism since 1988 as a print writer/editor, a radio news anchor, a digital media columnist/editor, a book author and blogger. He's the co-host of the Bubble Genius Bob & Chez Show podcast and a Thursday regular on the syndicated Stephanie Miller Show. He's appeared on numerous other radio shows including the John Phillips Show and Geraldo Rivera Show in Los Angeles. Bob has been a commentator/analyst on the BBC (TV and radio), MSNBC, Current TV, CNN and Sky News. Following him on Twitter: @bobcesca_go

8 responses to That Melting Antarctic Glacier Isn’t Nearly Enough To Snap Us Out Of Our Climate Apathy

  1. Roctuna March 18th, 2015 at 14:21

    And cue the Inhofe-impersonators…..now. Who’ll be first? Redeye? Trees? John Tarter?

  2. trees March 18th, 2015 at 19:43

    Well, what is it that’s causing the Glacier to melt, was it always it’s current size, and how do we restart the ice age?

    http://www.skepticalscience.com/ice-age-predictions-in-1970s.htm

    • Roctuna March 18th, 2015 at 20:15

      In answer to your inquiry from the abstract of the paper (link included above)

      We identify entrances to the ice-shelf cavity below depths of 400 to 500 m that could allow intrusions of warm water if the vertical structure of inflow is similar to nearby observations. Radar sounding reveals a previously unknown inland trough that connects the main ice-shelf cavity to the ocean. If thinning trends continue, a larger water body over the trough could potentially allow more warm water into the cavity, which may, eventually, lead to destabilization of the low-lying region between Totten Glacier and the similarly deep glacier flowing into the Reynolds Trough.

      I know you can read, you responded to my post below, so comprehension must be the problem.

    • Obewon March 18th, 2015 at 20:42

      “ice age?” Science deniers don’t know that glacial runoff decreases ocean salinity, slowing the undersea conveyor bringing warm equatorial seawater through the North East and into Europe. Eventually leading to runaway albedo. Then it takes another 1000 years+ to restart the undersea warm water conveyor, because it’s a 2 mile uphill journey!

    • fahvel March 19th, 2015 at 03:43

      buy a snow suit – it’s like washing your car to make it rain – real science! or you might actually read something of substance with really big science kinda words, you know like magic stuff, test tubes and all – it’s amazing how revealing learning can be.

  3. Obewon March 18th, 2015 at 20:20

    Global sea levels rose +1 foot since the 1990’s and have doubled sea level rise within our 21st century because Global temps are +1.4 F above the 20th century average.

    All NASA, NOAA, MET climate indicators continue rising beyond 1 M year+ record levels because ‘Modern global warming is 80% caused by man burning fossil fuel, 20% caused by human deforestation’-NASA, NOAA. MET et al ‘97% climate science consensus’ http://climate.nasa.gov/scientific-consensus/

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