Huge Antarctic ice chunk collapses

Thanks stephenthompson - I really like the way he uses simple logic to come to a conclusion. I'll definitely check it out.

Chique, have you seen the other videos this guy has done? he rocks the logic, and encouragingly his videos have received millions of hits. look for "wonderingmind42" on Youtube.

Excellent link stephenthomson.

Well, it's sort of like what Al Gore said last night on 60 Minutes. Yea, people are worried about money, as they have always been. But there is a spiritual awakening to occur in all of this. When you have that spiritual awakening, you begin to care. And when you CARE ABOUT more than just the money in your wallet, TAKING CARE OF the planet, ecosystem, fellow man, and yourself is easy.

stephenthomson's YouTube video sez it all...

i completely agree with you.

people are in such an uproar over the war now, but it's hard to imagine how they'll feel when we're not only fighting for freedom and against "terrorism", but when we're fighting for everyday essentials, such as water and living space.

i feel as though our efforts for the shift to green (mostly in the case of renewable energy) are slightly skewed. many people aren't looking for renewable energy because they want to save the planet, they're doing it in hopes that it'll be less expensive and because of the apparent oil shortage..
the emphasis should be more on saving the planet so that if an when we do make these advances, we have a place available to us to put them to use.

im not saying renewable energy isn't a fantastic idea, or that there aren't people out there working towards it to save the planet, i just feel that much of the public is still in the dark.

we're in such a race to blow each other up.

We should be racing to save the planet and ecosystem from collapse.

the way i see it...

if global warming isn't real and we put x amount of money into attempting to stop it, whats the worst that could happen?

perhaps we would fall into an economic decline and have another "great depression" except this time on a more global scale. obviously doesn't sound too appealing eh?

but then you take a look at the other side.

lets assume global warming is real. if we put x amount of dollars into stopping it as stated above we at least have a chance at stopping or decreasing the negative outcomes correlated with global warming.

and then look at what happens if global warming is indeed real, and we choose to keep ignoring it. then not only will we have a mass global depression, social and political structures could crumble due to the mass influx of populations currently living in coastal regions to inland areas.

whether you choose to believe it or not, the benefits of putting forth some effort to stop global warming far out way the consequences of doing nothing at all... at least in my mind.

i am a believer in global warming and i do think we need to to action now.

Ok... We're all going to die. There's no escape from the Great Flood of the 21st Century... (cue dramatic music, -and tears)... There's really no stopping this, but we can do something to prepare for what's to come. We must not stop thinking of more ideas. Okay, so we have solar, wind, geothermal, etc. What else can we come up with...?

Good research inofuilwell, thanks. I knew that Heartland Institute had some strings attached.

http://current.com/items/88879233_the_convergence_of_the_smart_grid_with_photovo...

There is hope. Just look up and within yourself. ;-)

Plusaf, listen carefully.

I'm not a scientist, and I'm not a political leader, I'm not an urban developer or architect, or engineer. Nor must I be any of these to know what the right thing to do is.

I'm an artist who has undergone profound changes in his life, such that I know experientially both sides of the coin: addiction/denial and acceptance/reform.

that's what this is all about. Until you take a good look at yourself and see that you are at fault, you will not reform. A series of addictions plague our society, altering our values and resulting in poorly made short-term decisions that hurt us in the long run.

When you really wake up and understand the damage you've done, you hit the ground running in the opposite direction, with good intentions leading seamlessly to good actions.

I dont know how else to tell you. I know our leaders could certainly be doing much more than they are right now. And I fear we don't really have the margin of luxury we imagine to pontificate.

Not to minimize the seriousness of this matter but I'd like to add this video: This will clue you in to many other problems facing the world today...

http://current.com/items/88837814_leave_some_for_me

"no nuclear, no more coal. wind and solar and geothermal and stuff like that. If we put our money into it, we can get it done. "

Stephen: I think I love you. ;-).

no nuclear, no more coal. wind and solar and geothermal and stuff like that. If we put our money into it, we can get it done.

Hey, i agree with you, Ted Kennedy is an utter dick for refusing to invest in wind power on Cape Cod. I lost all respect for him after that.

apart from every individual playing his/her part, the government should set tougher regulations on emissions, i.e. tax the shit out of heavy pollluters so that they're forced to look for alternatives, stop putting their money into a dumb war, start giving tax incentives to clean tech. stop drilling for oil. ratify Kyoto. be a leader in the Copenhagen talks in 09

start doing on the federal level all of the things that progressive cities are taking upon themselves. ban plastic bags, ban old energy wasting tech. etc

and when? i cant think of a better time than right now.

See! There's even more proof that our Earth is dramatically changing. Why are people waiting till the last minute to do something about it. It's not like Global Warming has just snuck up and bit us on the butt, it's been obvious for a long time but still nobody is really doing anything about it.

You know, for a while now I have been wondering about the latent interest on the part of Washington big whigs (yes, Condi included) and the super wealthy to purchase homes in the mountains of West Virginia....am I imagining something here, or are they making plans to head for the higher ground already...fully aware of the implications of their neglect when it comes to the possibility of things like 200 ft. tidal waves?

Perhaps our government is taking action....just not the kind of action we were expecting. It's called the "me first " doctrine of survival....I think we saw a rehearsal of sorts when Katrina hit New Orleans. Let's see, where was Condi then, while people were sitting on their rooftops pleading for government assistance...oh yeah, she was at Ferragamo on 5th Avenue, purchasing Manolo Blahniks...ie. $1,000 shoes.

Govt regulation is the only way to solve this in a timely manner. And timely is the only way to solve it.

I don't expect the denialists to become enlightened tomorrow. They may never learn.

Those without a conscience need only follow the rules.

b-dee b-dee b-dee... thats all folks!

Every time i hear of things like this i do get really worried...maybe i should avoid articles like this. haha

Sadly, benjaminV, the type of person whose answers you seek sees the world through economic lenses. Haves and have-nots.

One common argument: "Let the free market come up with solutions to these problems."

Another retort:: "The only effect I feel related to global warming is the effect on my wallet from save-the-earth types."

The ruthless economist criticizes the victims simply for being in the way.

Just like the dude above me.

I mean like everyone can get a Prius and that'll just solve the problem.

I always find the climate-change 'skeptics' to be such a pitiful group of humans. For some reason, they've taken it upon themselves to protect the notion that our activities as humans are victimless. So, my enlightened skeptics, I am listening with open ears! What's your grand plan for the next hundred years? Shall I buy a new Corvette? Two, you say? Hot Damn, that's the ticket. My baby shouldn't use cloth diapers, you say? Plastic ones will do just fine? Splendid!

Humans, sick masocists...

The beginning of the end. unless...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................?

I had never heard of Eddie Izzard... that was hilarious!

I seem to remember that Ted (of course I'm not drunk and didn't drowned that annoying bitch right before vehemently objected to waterboarding like the hypocrit that I am) Kennedy refusing to allow a windfarm to be built near his beloved home. Please tell YOUR candidates to practice what they preach.

Sincerely,

Liberal_Extinction

P.S. ROFLMAO @ wtoffler and thank you Al Bore for bringing to light the treachery of manbearpig.

I would just like to take this time to inform everyone of a very serious threat, one which threatens to destroy life on this planet as we know it, I am of course speaking of Manbearpig. Its half man, half bear, and half pig. He is known to live in very cold places such as antarctica, i propose that we send some of out biggest bombers complete with as much fuel as will fit and fly around the world a few times so he won't suspect we are after him and then after our 40th time circling the world and refueling a good 130 times we fly down and nuke that ice shelf out of existance. problem solved. manbearpig is gone for good and also we never have to worry about antarctica melting.

Twodee: I have great respect for you and for what you are doing. I too have gotten my carbon footprint down tremendously and intend to keep it that way, and know others have done the same. I surely didn't mean to imply I did not. Of course there are those who are doing good things to keep up the fight as well. It is just that I do feel the urgency of this and see where we are headed unless we make drastic changes within the next five to ten years to mitigate the very worst of it. So to see people be so stubborn and arrogant to think they don't have any effect whatsoever on what is now happening just boggles my mind. Maybe the ad campaign being launched by The Alliance for Climate Protection will reach more people to bring them to a higher consciousness... Maybe all those running for office will understand then that they cannot keep pushing this aside or making goals that are illogical based on scientific models... Maybe... but until then?

Hellz yeah ! i wanna be able to surf a break right off the east slope of the appalachian mts. ! how's that for adapting to climate change ?

(humor me)

Fools are those who arrogantly believe that we humans have the power to alter the course our mother earth have chosen for us. She survived even larger catastrophes than what we humans can possibly concieve. Mother earth is moving to get rid of us. Fools are those who resist and fail to adapt to these rapid changes.

Punctuated equilibrium.

Bravo to all of you. Even if you are shouting in the wilderness and no one hears...know that your voices are carrying on the winds of change and eventually the collective mind of man will come to its senses...where there is reason there is hope...therein lies change...

We have been at this for a while and it does get frustrating. We have seen good friends and family turn away from us when we get too pressing on the issue. Come on too strong and people shut down fast. In the end that just does a disservice to the whole point. It is a very difficult balance. We get angry. We get outright pissed at people who should know better. We also know what we can do and decided to just go do as much as we can. We have also seen people make big changes because of what we are doing. This keeps us going.

Regina - you are pretty accurate on that cancer diagnosis. Been there, done that and this does feel as over-whelming and scary as that did. Hopefully, we can treat this as successfully as my cancer was treated. A lot of us are doing what we can but until our government gets involved and does more than talk about it, we are in a bind. Even my local government is just 'talking'. It is driving me crazy. I just want to shout at them -" Quit talking and DO SOMETHING." Maye, this will motivate them.

twodee are my heroes. 'unravelling into sustainability'
bravo!

but for every one to who takes it upon himself, there are 100 who don't. So I share Jan's frustration with not seeing anything happen at the top where it needs to.

Of course there is hope in this, but how many times can you tell people about this and get no response? The time between movement to mitigate this and the tipping point is getting mighty close if they haven't met already.

For what we've paid just on Iraq we could've built enough windmills and solar plants to power all of the US and China!

I mean, we could have actually come in and just built it for them (who would turn down that deal?). Told them to turn off their coal burning monstrosities and use wind and solar.

this feels like a cancer diagnosis.

Unfortunately, the response to this urgent problematic situation, which seriously began at least ten years ago, will continue to be too little too late. So, when the time comes, we will all have to be prepared for the biggest flood that any of us can imagine...know where is the high ground. The tidal waves could be enormous...any speculation on maybe 200 feet high..? Maybe higher...

We can't expect any cooperation from the present administration...too busy trying to get tat oirl...

well put Jan. regulation is obviously necessary. NEW RULES.

People adapt really well. Market it like a "curfew" if you must, tell them it's just for a short time, that as soon as industry figures out how to exploit solar power they can all go back to their oppulent lifestyles. People are willing to bend if it's just for a short time. And before they know it, they'll have forgotten about the days of hummers and frequent flyer miles.

Things like this keep me up at night....

I think the time is here to stop asking people nicely to change their lightbulbs. After An Inconvenient Truth and all the information that has been disseminated to the public in this country, if they can't understand the urgency yet, then it is plain to see that the majority of them are simply lazy, comfortable, selfish people who would rather sacrifice the future for their children just so they can continue to live in excess. Well said, Huntre. Simply FOOLS.

80% by 2050 is NOT enough. Hear that candidates?

And so it begins.

perfectly put, huntre.

Million year old ice breaks off, melts, becomes flooding water that eventually evaporates. New ice won't suddenly show up to restart the process. That's it.
If you aren't doing something yet to correct this decline because you still don't believe it, you're taking the rest of us with you.
There's been enough death at the hands of fools.
Wake up!

"Vaughan had predicted the Wilkins shelf would collapse about 15 years from now."

That means that we're in much worse shape that we thought. I think most of the figures and predictions are 10 to 15 years in the future, but in reality, it is happening much faster. We need action NOW!!

Umm...something tells me that CAN'T be good.

there's no stopping it.

So what's the impact of this?? The article doesn't say and now I'm really freaked out ...