Giant ice shelf snaps free from Canada's Arctic

[Lady Dragonfly]

I don't preach hun. Oh, that's funny. I cannot say how many people would stagger and stare if they ever heard someone say they thought I was preaching. :laugh:

Sometimes my humor is very dry; you may consider a lubricant.

The last time I did laundry in a coin operated shop with one of those machines I caught that one. I was stunned. I mean, they are big machines, but really, wow. I had the initial thought of what "What idiot inspired the mandate that all washing machines and dryers have one of those stuck on them?!"

Actually, sometimes people put their "wet" babies in the dryer. The last nut case was reported in December, I believe.

My thoughts on how to exterminate the species? I'm not sharing them.

Pleeease... Pretty pleeeease?

[Magrus]

Sometimes my humor is very dry; you may consider a lubricant.

Ok, I just got a jack and coke, and two Long Island Ice Teas for a grand total of $3.75. I'm SO not going to respond in this state to that statement.

Actually, sometimes people put their "wet" babies in the dryer. The last nut case was reported in December, I believe.

Those people should be drowned in bleach. Stupidity should be rewar....punished.

Pleeease... Pretty pleeeease?

No. Begging doesn't work with me. I am susceptible to other methods. The fun is in finding out which ones!

[Lady Dragonfly]

No. Begging doesn't work with me. I am susceptible to other methods. The fun is in finding out which ones!

:laugh: I already suggested one but never mind.

In my mind the word extermination is firmly paired with the utterly pathetic Orkin Man. Commercials act in a mysterious way...

[Chimaera182]

Better for who?
Suppose you have your majority; what about the minority who does not "lean towards the latter"? Or can't lean towards anything yet because they are, say, little children? Who is to decide their fate?

Better for every living thing on this earth except us, basically. And all the animals we've domesticated over the centuries to the point that we've suppressed their true nature. However, they'll relearn their own natures seeing as they are highly adaptable. Animals do that, after all, adapt to their environments. Humans, on the other hand, force their environments to adapt to them, it's quite a weakness.

I'm having a vision of an apocalyptic future where the world is burning; everyone is running around, screaming in despair; everywhere people meet their doom; and Magrus is sitting in an easy chair with popcorn, covering them in the torrent of his evil laughters.

I think I'll join ya

*cough* Us. You'll join us; Magrus is already saving me a spot for my lawnchair. And p.s., the invitation is BYOLAB (Bring Your Own Lawnchair And Beer).

This is all horribly off-topic. I imagine a mod'll close this eventually if we don't spawn some genuine thread-related conversation soon. And speaking of that, has there been anything new on that front? Any more arctic shelves suddenly free-floating or crashing into the seas?

[dragon wench]

has there been anything new on that front? Any more arctic shelves suddenly free-floating or crashing into the seas?

No, but weather has been weird in many places this winter. Ski resorts in Europe have been closed down due to a lack of snow, there has been very little snow in Central Canada, and meanwhile here on the West Coast we have been hammered by hurricane force winds several times this winter. In one recent storm something like 20% of all the trees in one of Vancouver's major parks came down. We've also also had more snow than normal (usually we just get rain). Sure, weather can by cyclical, but I think this is all related to climate change.

[BlueSky]

No, but weather has been weird in many places this winter. Ski resorts in Europe have been closed down due to a lack of snow, there has been very little snow in Central Canada, and meanwhile here on the West Coast we have been hammered by hurricane force winds several times this winter. In one recent storm something like 20% of all the trees in one of Vancouver's major parks came down. We've also also had more snow than normal (usually we just get rain). Sure, weather can by cyclical, but I think this is all related to climate change.

And here the the Bluegrass state, where the temps are usually in the 30 degree range, I'm wearing a T-shirt and looking at a forecast of 60 degrees on Sat.
A very warm and mild winter so far here, looks like I'll have firewood for next year if this keeps up:mischief:

[Magrus]

:laugh: I already suggested one but never mind.

That suggestion leads to things that are unmentionable. I suggest another route.

[Lady Dragonfly]

That suggestion leads to things that are unmentionable. I suggest another route.

I suggest we start a new tavern thread where we could spam our hearts out.
I am all for it. Let's call it Bottomless Mag and his Dragon Pest. :laugh:
We will serve tap water with pesticides.

[Tricky]

Saturday April 14th, 2007 - The Bilt.

[url="http://www.knmi.nl/VinkCMS/news_detail.jsp?id=36300"]"KNMI (Royal Dutch meteorological institute) records earliest meteorological summer since its founding."[/url] (Dutch article, rough outline follows)

Average temperatures surpassing 25 degrees Celsius have never before been recorded before the 15th. For Sunday and Monday similar temperatures are to be expected, after which the temperature will decline a little. On the 12th of April the temperature first rose above 20 degrees and on the 13th the first average above 25 was measured. This is remarkable for April, although similar but shorter peaks have been recorded around this month in the past.

15 April 1904 - Average 26.4C
18 April 1949 - Average 25.3C
20 April 1968 - Average 26.6C
20 April 1996 - Average 25.2C

This looks to be the first one that exceeds the average peak length of three days (I assume from the article that less than three days doesn't constitute a meteorological summer's beginning), which will also set a new record by Monday. There has been no rain in nearly a month, so there are some local concerns for wildfire. The drought isn't likely to end soon.

So, how fares the rest of the world?

[Malta Soron]

(I assume from the article that less than three days doesn't constitute a meteorological summer's beginning)

AFAIK the KNMI indeed requires a weather condition to hold on for three days until it counts.

[Chimaera182]

I have a question. I gave up being concerned with the notion of global warming a couple weeks ago specifically because I began to wonder if maybe this trend of the earth warming up might be natural. If we believe that a large asteroid struck the earth, and if the dust that was kicked up as a result caused a global ice age that drastically changed the temperature, what if the earth is just returning to its previous state? We already know that the world was a warmer place during the age of the dinosaurs, which implies that a warmer world is its natural state. Wouldn't it then stand to reason that a warmer world is what the earth would return to when it has healed?

[dragon wench]

@Chim,
It may be the case that a changing climate is a part of the planet's evolution. As you state, climactic changes have occurred for millenia, and they have been preserved in the fossil record.

However, it can no longer be denied (regardless of what your president and his oil company cronies try to tell you) that mankind has had a dramatic impact on the earth's climate and ecosystem as a whole.

Virtually all scientists, specialists in the area, are in agreement on this fact. I, for one, will go with expert opinion where this issue is concerned.

[DarthMarth]

I have a question. I gave up being concerned with the notion of global warming a couple weeks ago specifically because I began to wonder if maybe this trend of the earth warming up might be natural. If we believe that a large asteroid struck the earth, and if the dust that was kicked up as a result caused a global ice age that drastically changed the temperature, what if the earth is just returning to its previous state? We already know that the world was a warmer place during the age of the dinosaurs, which implies that a warmer world is its natural state. Wouldn't it then stand to reason that a warmer world is what the earth would return to when it has healed?

The Earth is constantly in heating and cooling processes, whether or not we can survive along with the Earth is the bigger problem. Also, excess CO2 from exhaust pipes is in no way natural.

[Chanak]

Absolutely. It is known that cyclical climate changes are business as usual for the earth...and it is also known that the millions and millions of tons of greenhouse gases released into the earth's atmosphere by humanity is not business as usual for the earth. It is having an impact...greater than was ever thought before, measured and recorded by scientists worldwide. The oil companies and their allies can no longer poo-poo the damage being done to this earth and get away with it, but their position was always silly to me in the first place, and made no sense. It takes some serious damage being done for people to start waking up...that is tragic.

[galraen]

Unfortunately Chanak, what's really tragic is that nothing is going to be done about it. The sad truth is that any political party that lays out the measures that need to be taken to stop global warming in their pre-election manifesto will get trounced in the elections.

Even in the UK, where GW is being taken more seriously than in most countries none of the 'Big Three' is actually prepared to commit itself to the drastic action that is necessary. Most politicians accept that something needs to be done here, even John "drittsekk" Gummer had a Damascene conversion back in the 90's, but aren't prepared to risk electoral anihilation.

Even if the UK did take the necessary action, as long as the worlds worst polluters continue to stick their heads in the sand it wouldn't change things. So, unfortunately it's probably inevitable that many places in the world will sink beneath the waves, which is a shame, I quite like East Anglia, and my favourite English city, Portsmouth, is almost certainly doomed.

[Chanak]

Statistically speaking, the single worst offender of putting greenhouse gases into the atmosphere on earth is my own country, the United States. While we represent but a fraction of the world's population, we contribute close to 25% of the total spewed forth by humanity as a whole.

An up and coming offender that will eventually surpass the United States in this regard is China, who is erecting coal-fueled power plants at a staggering pace.

You might have heard about Arnold Schwarzenegger - now the governor of California - mandating a 25% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles in that state by a certain date in the future (I forget the exact year). This has resulted in legal action against him from the automobile industry, which should come as no surprise, really.

Also, the U.S. Supreme Court recently found the Environmental Protection Agency at fault for not regulating the automobile industry in this regard. It found the EPA in violation of the Clean Air Act. The cynics amongst us are not surprised by any of it. I've maintained that corporate interests and their deep pockets have ruled American politics for far, far too long.

[galraen]

Statistically speaking, the single worst offender of putting greenhouse gases into the atmosphere on earth is my own country, the United States. While we represent but a fraction of the world's population, we contribute close to 25% of the total spewed forth by humanity as a whole.

An up and coming offender that will eventually surpass the United States in this regard is China, who is erecting coal-fueled power plants at a staggering pace.

You might have heard about Arnold Schwarzenegger - now the governor of California - mandating a 25% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles in that state by a certain date in the future (I forget the exact year). This has resulted in legal action against him from the automobile industry, which should come as no surprise, really.

Also, the U.S. Supreme Court recently found the Environmental Protection Agency at fault for not regulating the automobile industry in this regard. It found the EPA in violation of the Clean Air Act. The cynics amongst us are not surprised by any of it. I've maintained that corporate interests and their deep pockets have ruled American politics for far, far too long.

Unfortunately the perception over here, is that the only politician in the US that's actually trying to do something is Arnie, and he of course is an Austrian! Not a fair perception I know, I realise that a lot of individual cities/states are trying to do something, but that seldom gets mentioned over here.

[Chanak]

Of course it's not a fair perception, Galraen. Arnold, and others like him in the past, came here and became Americans. Some, like me, are the 6th generation descendants of individuals like Arnold Schwarzenegger...only my ancestors came from the UK, not Austria. Remember, he wouldn't be the governor of a state if he were not an American citizen. The U.S. is a hodge podge of ethnic roots.

EDIT: I would also be remiss if I failed to point out that Arnold Schwarzenegger is a member of the Republican party (the party of people like President Bush and Ronald Reagan, to name a few famous examples). Up until very recent history, he pretty much toed the party line. Lately, however, he has been straying from that party's doctrine. I could be cynical and say he smelled the political wind and started heading towards the center in a hurry, and would probably be correct. It looks like he's doing his best to create a good deal of distance between himself and the right wing of this country, which he was a part of when elected to that office the first time.

[fable]

Unfortunately the perception over here, is that the only politician in the US that's actually trying to do something is Arnie, and he of course is an Austrian! Not a fair perception I know, I realise that a lot of individual cities/states are trying to do something, but that seldom gets mentioned over here.

This really should be under the "Misconceptions" thread. A simple reading of several sites such as Huffington Post, or Firedoglake, or Daily Kos, or Bob Geiger.com, would provide a sense that--surprise, surprise--USian politicians are just as diverse, and just as skilled and awful, crooked and honest, as their European counterparts. Unfortunately, as you point out, the depth of news coverage doesn't get mentioned in Europe. It doesn't even get mentioned in the US, thanks to a press owned by a few very conservative media magnates. And in turn, we have a similar image of European politicians, when we have any, at all. Few people take the time to read the UK, German, etc, newspapers online, and many can't translate blogs in non-English languages. I can do alright in German, but that's about it.