Antarctic Ice Loss and Other Loss on Earth

I was watching the tv news coverage of the shootings in Binghamton and one of the banners moving along the bottom caught my eye. It said something about Antartica losing another huge chunk of ice, but this one was to be the biggest loss yet. It was one of those moments where you are watching something important and tragic unfold and something else important and tragic is also unfolding, but to many it is not as important as the other thing, so it gets just a mention. I think that made sense? But since I am who I am, I noticed the announcement and it has been on my mind.

Delving deeper I found that because of the 4.5 degree increase in temperature over the past 50 years in the Antarctic peninsula, ice shelves have been collapsing and an ice bridge connecting Latady and Charcot Islands may be going soon. An area 10 times the size of Philadelphia could be lost (up to 1,400 square miles). The melting ice in large quantities over time can lead to higher sea levels and eventually devistation for many coastal areas. Warming temperatures also have profound effects on species distribution and diversity.

Time Magazine has a read-worthy article on "The New Age of Extinction" that discusses the mass extinction we seem to be going through. Yes, I know there have been other times of mass extinction on Earth, well before we had houses and cars. But the rate is the important thing here, it is astounding this time. It is estimated that we will lose 20-30% of ALL species by the end of the current century just due to global warming, not including the species we'll lose to habitat loss, overfishing, pollution and the like. So what? That's what some people say. Who cares if we lose all those plants and animals? It's not US. But it IS us. We are animals too. And we have spent all of our time on Earth relying on the natural world for our survival; for our food, our water, our medicine, our materials to build and clothe our human needs and wants. If we have an unhealthy and depauperate ecosystem, our lives will change drastically, and not for the better.

And what about nature just for nature's sake? I, for one, don't want to live on a planet with just people and maybe a few scattered scavenger-type animals and lots of cockroaches (cockroaches survive anything). Time's (April 13, 2009) article had a statement that I wholeheartedly agree with along those same lines: "...so if you care about tigers and tamarins, rhinos and orangutans, if you believe Earth is more than just a home for 6.7 billion human beings and counting, then you should be scared."

I know I have touched on global warming here before and I know it has been the most controversial and annoying topic I have brought up. No one has anything negative to say about worms or birds, but many people have opinions about global warming. Or climate change, whatever PC phrase you want to use. And I will stand by my belief that it is happening and it is mostly human-caused and we can't keep doing what we are doing and expect to get away unscathed. Not tomorrow or the next day, but in the future. Our children's future.