Antarctic Ice Shelf Collapses

While there was a time when people dismissed Climate Change as some unproven theory, at least now we have an awareness of the reality of this serious problem. The most serious humanity has ever faced. Yet it is the unwillingness to take the situation seriously that causes me to feel despair.

In part it is that people are still viewing this as a problem for the future, something that will happen. Yet the effects of a changing climate is real and immediate. In the UK we are seeing early signs of spring coming four to five weeks earlier, while the weather is still predominantly that of winter. All of this adding to the decline of a number of species.

Yet the real effects of Climate Change that are being noticed are not to do with weather but with cost of food. While part of the reason for this is an increased demand out striping supply, the effects of a Changing Climate are inhibiting the growing of food crops. This removes our ability to increase production to accommodate this new reality. Thus climate change is hitting us in our pockets first.

The reality is that the majority of people are unwilling to change the way they live for the benefit of themselves or the future. We continue to consume vast amounts of the earth's resources on trivial items that we don't need. We are to lazy to walk to the shops, we prefer to drive. We are so inactive that its a effort to get out of a chair to change the television channel or even turn the TV off.

Well what has this all got to do with another lump of Sea Ice breaking away from the Antarctic? It in its self doesn't raise sea levels, but it removes the barriers that prevent the land based Ice from sliding into the Sea.

Well to all you who don't believe this can happen, in Russia that's exactly what did happen in the Caucasus Mountains. A glacial slid down the mountain at one hundred miles per hour, as a direct result of global warming. Its already known that the melt water on glacial is percolating down to the base, lubricating their flow...

Therefore in a few years, three or four, we will see a sudden and dramatic rise in sea levels.

A link to the News Story

Japanese Whaling

Even before the Japanese started their latest round of so called “Scientific” whaling, I wanted to post something about it. However, in the back of my memory I recalled a fact that seemed to be overlooked in all the reports on whaling. Back in 1988 there was in fact no moratorium on whaling, I repeat there was no moratorium agreed. What in fact happened was that a quota of zero was agreed.

While this may appear to be a pedantic point, in terms of the legal validity of what the Japanese are and have been doing it is quite important. This was the aspect that I wanted to check, as while I am seen just as a blogger, I feel that its important that I, as a citizen journalist, apply the same rigorous standards to my postings as would any other publication. Therefore it took me some time to confirm what was actually agreed. While the effect of a zero quota has effectively been to stop commercial whaling, it did leave the back door open to the farce that is “Scientific” whaling.

The actions of the Japanese though, will finally close that loophole.

Even in the pro whaling nations like Norway and Iceland, while there is a macho nationalistic view in favour of still being allowed to kill whales, there is in fact no market for whale meat. Changing tastes and markets mean that in Norway and Iceland, the boats that are doing their “Scientific” whaling cant do it commercially. What that means is there is no market for the meat from the whales they catch scientifically. I told you it was a farce! Even the Norwegian fisheries minister agreed last year in an interview that fact.

Therefore we can all be grateful to the Australian government who filmed the barbaric killing of a mother and calf minke whale. This footage will be used in a legal challenge to the Japanese, and we all hope will stop whaling once and for all.

The irony is that had Japan not gone off and hunted whales in the Internationally protected area of Antarctica, then it was likely that a vote by the IWC (International Whaling Commission) would have restarted commercial whaling in coastal and territorial waters. The actions of the Japanese have now turned the world against them and commercial whaling.

Photo courtesy of Greenpeace

Old Friends and New Beginnings

When I was younger and worked in the photographic industry, I worked for a company that carried out the photo processing services for The British Antarctic Survey. Via this work as well as getting to see many amazing images, I got to know a couple of the scientists who lived in this frozen wilderness. There were times when talking to these people when I really did think that in their hands that part of the planet was safe.

However as can happen, I lost touch. Then in the last couple of months something remarkable happened, the husband of one of the people I knew then, recognised my descriptions of watching badgers in Epping Forest, and realised who I am. So he emailed me.

Yesterday, I had a rather nice lunch with her and as well as catching up on what has happened in our lives but it also emerges that she was in Bali for the Climate Change conference. One interesting fact that I gleaned was that one of the NGOs were making a “Fossil of the Day” award to the delegate who was being most obstructive. I wonder what country won that one?

One important commitment we made, apart from a commitment to stay in touch, was that she is going to take me whale watching, she is involved in a project monitoring citations. So I will have to get my sea legs out of the cupboard.

While it was great to catch up with an old friend, it was also disheartening to hear just how much the climate is affecting the habitat that is Antarctica.

Although I am looking forward and I was able to run my current idea past her. I have been thinking of trying to record some of the sounds of the wildlife that I encounter. One of the aspects of watching wildlife that people, who do their nature watching from an armchair, is just how much noise animals can make. Often when out watching, or trying to watch is a more accurate description, the badgers I have a symphony of sounds around me. Owls calling, the sounds of the badgers snuffling in the earth, even mice and voles make sounds as they are moving about. Thus, I have been looking at recording some of the sounds.

However, I just didn’t know how to do it. Therefore, I went to another friend to learn what I would need to do. I discover that it need not be that expensive either. Therefore I have already started obtaining some of the equipment I will need. While this will not be happening just yet, I am thinking of producing a monthly Podcast with news and stuff regarding Natural History and Wildlife watching. My friend said that she was willing to be interviewed for one or two of them.

So while I thought this last year had been busy, I guess that I will be kept even busier in the coming year.

Is there hope for Polar Bears in a Fossil?

It used to be that the scientific community would couch their arguments on climate change with comments that “It appears…” or “the models indicate…” or other such caveats so that they didn’t appear alarmist. There is a new sense of urgency in the scientific community as the predictions of the climate models are coming to fruition thirty and forty years ahead of what the models expected. This is even more pronounced in the Artic and Antarctic. Even some of the most sceptical sat up and took notice when the Larson B ice shelf disintegrated in only a few months.

When this area of sea ice, the area of Cornwall, broke away from the Antarctic, suddenly climate change switched from being something that could or would occur in the future, but became something that’s happening now.

While many people have been trying to raise awareness of the very real threat of this, our voices have been drowned out by the noise of the hot air of they nay Sayers.

The new scientific reports on climate change are having to revise forward the dates when certain events are expected to occur. The most noticeable is the loss of the summer sea ice at the artic. This year the volume and area of Sea Ice, matched what was predicted in climate models it to be by the year 2050.

While I could tell you of the implications of this for our climate, it is the effect upon two important species that rely upon the Sea Ice that is really alarming. With a reduction in the size of the habitat, the ring seal population will eventually fall to about thirty-five to forty percent of existing numbers. This will impact even more on the numbers of Polar Bears.

While the discovery of this part of a jawbone of an ancient Polar bear shows that they could have survived a previous inter-glacial period, the fact remains that polar bears will loose ninety-five percent of their territory when the sea ice disappears. Further, while some may be lucky and find themselves stranded on some of the islands dotted around the Artic, unless they have a food source, i.e. Ring Seals, they will still die off.

While I would love this discovery to be a source of hope, I don’t see it as much of one.

The News Story Here.



My thanks to WWF for the image