|
Rising global temperatures melt sea ice
By Janet Larsen
Jan. 22 — By 2020, the snows of Kilimanjaro may exist only
in old photographs. The glaciers in Montana’s Glacier National
Park could disappear by 2030. And by mid-century, the Arctic Sea may
be completely ice-free during summertime. As the earth’s temperature
has risen in recent decades, the earth’s ice cover has begun to
melt. And that melting is accelerating.
In both 2002 and 2003, the Northern Hemisphere registered record-low
sea ice cover. New satellite data show the Arctic region warming more
during the 1990s than during the 1980s, with Arctic Sea ice now melting
by up to 15 percent per decade. The long-sought Northwest Passage, a
dream of early explorers, could become our nightmare. The loss of Arctic
Sea ice could alter ocean circulation patterns and trigger changes in
global climate patterns.
On the opposite end of the globe, Southern Ocean sea ice floating near
Antarctica has shrunk by some 20 percent since 1950. This unprecedented
melting of sea ice corroborates records showing that the regional air
temperature has increased by 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1950.
Antarctic ice shelves that existed for thousands of years are crumbling.
One of the world’s largest icebergs, named B-15, that measured
near 4,000 square miles or half the size of New Jersey, calved off the
Ross Ice Shelf in March 2000. In May 2002, the shelf lost another section
measuring 19 miles wide and 124 miles long.
Elsewhere on Antarctica, the Larsen Ice Shelf has largely disintegrated
within the last decade, shrinking to 40 percent of its previously stable
size. Following the break-off of the Larsen A section in 1995 and the
collapse of Larsen B in early 2002, melting of the nearby land-based
glaciers that the ice shelves once supported has more than doubled.
Unlike the melting of sea ice or the floating ice shelves along coasts,
the melting of ice on land raises sea level. Recent studies showing
the worldwide acceleration of glacier melting indicate that the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change’s estimate for sea level rise this century
— ranging from 0.1 meters to 0.9 meters — will need to be
revised upwards.
On Greenland, an ice-covered island three times the size of Texas, once-stable
glaciers are now melting at a quickening rate. The Jakobshavn Glacier
on the island’s southwest coast, which is one of the major drainage
outlets from the interior ice sheet, is now thinning four times faster
than during most of the twentieth century. Each year Greenland loses
some 32 cubiclies of ice, enough to annually raise sea level 0.13 millimeters.
Were Greenland’s entire ice sheet to melt, global sea level could
rise by a startling 23 feet, inundating most of the world’s coastal
cities.
The Himalayas contain the world’s third largest ice mass after
Antarctica and Greenland. Most Himalayan glaciers have been thinning
and retreating over the past 30 years, with losses accelerating to alarming
levels in the past decade. On Mount Everest, the glacier that ended
at the historic base camp of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, the
first humans to reach the summit, has retreated 3 miles since their
1953 ascent. Glaciers in Bhutan are retreating at an average rate of
98 – 131 feet a year. A similar situation is found in Nepal.
As the glaciers melt they are rapidly filling glacial lakes, creating
a flood risk. An international team of scientists has warned that with
current melt rates, at least 44 glacial lakes in the Himalayas could
burst their banks in as little as five years.
Glaciers themselves store vast quantities of water. More than half of
the world’s population relies on water that originates in mountains,
coming from rainfall runoff or ice melt. In some areas glaciers help
sustain a constant water supply; in others, melt water from glaciers
is a primary water source during the dry season. In the short term,
accelerated melting means that more water feeds rivers. Yet as glaciers
disappear, dry season river flow declines.
The Himalayan glaciers feed the seven major rivers of Asia — the
Ganges, Indus, Brahmaputra, Salween, Mekong, Yangtze, and Huang He (Yellow)
— and thus contribute to the year-round water supply of a vast
population. In India alone, some 500 million people, including those
in New Delhi and Calcutta, depend on glacier meltwater that feeds into
the Ganges River system. Glaciers in Central Asia’s Tien Shan Mountains
have shrunk by nearly 30 percent between 1955 and 1990. In arid western
China, shrinking glaciers account for at least 10 percent of freshwater
supplies.
The largest aggregation of tropical glaciers is in the northern Andes.
The retreat of the Qori Kalis Glacier on the west side of the Quelccaya
Ice Cap that stretches across Peru has accelerated to 509 feet a year
between 1998 and 2000, three times faster than during the previous three-year
period. The entire ice cap could vanish over the next two decades.
The Antizana Glacier, which provides Quito, Ecuador, with almost half
its water, has retreated more than 90 meters over the last eight years.
The Chacaltaya Glacier near La Paz, Bolivia, melted to 7 percent of
its 1940s volume by 1998. It could disappear entirely by the end of
this decade, depriving the 1.5 million people in La Paz and the nearby
city of Alto of an important source of water and power.
Africa’s glaciers are also disappearing. Across the continent,
mountain glaciers have shrunk to one third their size over the twentieth
century. On Kenya’s Kilimanjaro, ice cover has shrunk by more than
33 percent since 1989. By 2020 it could be completely gone.
In Western Europe, glacial area has shrunk by up to 40 percent and glacial
volume by more than half since 1850. If temperatures continue to rise
at recent rates, major sections of glaciers covering the Alps and the
French and Spanish Pyrenees could be gone in the next few decades. During
the record-high temperature summer of 2003, some Swiss glaciers retreated
by an unprecedented 492 feet. The United Nations Environment Program
is warning that for this region long associated with ice and snow, warming
temperatures signify the demise of a popular ski industry, not to mention
a cultural identity.
Boundaries around Banff, Yoho, and Jasper National Parks in the Canadian
Rockies cannot stop the melting of the glaciers there. Glacier National
Park in Montana has lost over two thirds of its glaciers since 1850.
If temperatures continue to rise, it may lose the remainder by 2030.
In just the past 30 years, the average temperature in Alaska climbed
more than 3 degrees Celsius (5 degrees Fahrenheit)-easily four times
the global increase. Glaciers in all of Alaska’s 11 glaciated mountain
ranges are shrinking. Since the mid-1990s, Alaskan glaciers have been
thinning by 6 feet year, more than three times as fast as during the
preceding 40 years.
The global average temperature has climbed by 0.6 degrees Celsius (1
degree Fahrenheit) in the past 25 years. Over this time period, melting
of sea ice and mountain glaciers has increased dramatically. During
this century, global temperature may rise between 1.4 and 5.8 degrees
Celsius, and melting will accelerate further. Just how much will depend
in part on the energy policy choices made today.
Source: Earth Policy Institute
Mining expansion triggers protests
By Thelma Mejía
Tegucigalpa, Jan 20 (IPS) - The concession of environmental
licenses to expand mining operations in Honduras has prompted local
communities, environmental groups, and municipal governments to take
action against what they see as the weaknesses of the national Law on
Mining.
Opponents say the legislation and the increase in licenses will aggravate
environmental destruction and poverty.
The first sign of protest came from the residents of Valle de Siria,
in the central departments of Francisco Morazán, where the U.S.-based
Entremares transnational mines for gold.
A recent health impact study found that the outbreak of skin diseases
and increase in baldness among the Valle de Siria population could be
attributed to inappropriate mining practices.
Doctor Juan Almendares, director of the non-governmental group Tierra
Madre, led the study of 23 families. He found that many newborns presented
with skin problems and that school-aged children “are losing hair
without explanation.”
The operations of Entremares were the target of a protest by Roman Catholic
cardinal Oscar Andrés Rodríguez, who two years ago led
a march of local residents against the mining company. But the effort
proved useless, as Entremares continues to mine for gold.
Executives deny that the company has caused contamination, and say the
denunciations are part of a campaign to discredit Entremares and to
halt development.
Similar protests have taken place in western Honduras, where two communities
have mobilized against the Canadian-based Maverick company and Minerales
de Occidente S.A. (Minosa), property of the Honduran Banco Atlántida.
In January 2003, Minosa was slapped with a 54,000-dollar fine for contaminating
the environment after a cyanide spill was discovered. The chemicals
killed off fish in the Lara River, which flows into the Higuito, the
main supply of potable water for the Santa Rosa de Copán region,
one of the cradles of the ancient Maya civilization.
And more irregularities were found in the granting of environmental
licenses. The authorization for Minosa was renewed in August 2003, just
as the company threatened to declare bankruptcy.
Juan Carlos Elvir, mayor of Santa Rosa de Copán, told Tierramérica
that the public protests against the mining company are so strong “that
we have even received death threats.”
According to Elvir, his community is not opposed to development, but
believes it should be achieved in a balanced way that respects the environment.
The residents are against open pit mining because it requires cutting
down the forest.
As the ore is extracted, it is mixed with chemicals like cyanide in
order to separate out the metal. Experts say the technique is appropriate
for desert areas, but in Honduras it is being used in lush forested
valleys.
The mining companies “clear a forest or a hill without taking into
account the environmental consequences. They are depleting our natural
resources, and the ones who will pay for the results are those of us
who live nearby,” said the mayor.
Elvir has led actions against Maverick, joined by his colleague, Mayor
Amílcar Rodríguez, of La Labor, in the western department
of Ocotopeque, on the Guatemalan border.
Maverick holds a state-granted environmental license to exploit 400
hectares in the heart of El Güisayote national reserve, considered
one of the “lungs” of western Honduras.
A commission made up of environmental officials, the attorney general,
residents, mayors, and non-governmental organization activists found
that the license is illegal because it violates laws that prohibit exploitation
of resources in protected areas.
The commission says “the damage caused by the activities of logging
and leveling are considerable, given the topographic conditions and
characteristics of the soil in the zone.”
The mining industry generates 45 million dollars annually in Honduras.
The most common metals mined here are lead, silver, zinc and, to a lesser
extent, gold.
In 69,899 square miles of territory, 21,971 square km have been ceded
for mineral exploration and exploitation. The concessions have been
granted to some 15 companies.
The licenses handed out by the mining directorate must be reviewed,
because “we have received many reports of irregularities and we
believe the concessions should be granted after seeking consensus with
the municipalities affected,” state environmental prosecutor Elmer
Lizardo told Tierramérica.
Joaquín Agüero, adviser to the Ministry of Environment,
said the problem lies in the fact that the Mining Law, approved by Congress
three years ago, gives too much authority to the mining directorate.
The agency “is totally independent of the Ministry of Environment
and nobody regulates or controls it,” says Agüero.
|
