Global Warming Factoid's for 2008: Factoid 3 {Volcano Found in West Antarctica}
Your Global Warming Factoid of the Day is brought to you by The Los Angeles Times.
See: Volcano Lies Buried Under West Antarctica
I find talking to conservatives, especially religious conservatives, about global warming issues to be patently frustrating. Evangelical Christianity seems to have lost all sense of stewardship in our post modern world. Maybe, it’s their belief that the end times are here and now so there is no need to even worry about in the first place. I don’t know.
But to be fair, those of us on the other side of the issue need to remember that when we talk about global warming we really are talking about an issue with two broad categories. The first is the natural process of global climate change that is part of living on a geologically active planet such as ours. The other is the man made causes of global warming. One we can do something about. The other we can’t.
The article linked above to the Los Angeles time appeared in this weeks Sunday Denver Post reminds us that there are things out of our control…things we can do nothing about except be aware of and prepare to adapt.
According to the article from LA Times reporter, Alan Zarembo scientists have found what appears to the first evidence of a volcano under the ice in West Antarctica. The volcano is estimated to have last erupted about 2,300 years ago. The article goes on to discuss that heating from the volcano will contribute to glacial melting in that area of the ant artic.
However, the report ends by quoting Hugh Corr, a researcher with the British Antarctic Survey as saying that while it may be producing quite a bit of heat underneath the ice it is not enough to change the dominant theory. The dominant theory being that the warming temperatures of the ocean is melting shore bound sea ice allowing the glaciers to flow more quickly.
The problem with stories like this is that anti-global warming people and religious conservatives ultimately dismiss the man made causes of global warming. We can’t do anything about the natural processes. But we can do something about our own contribution and that is significant.
We can’t continue to poison our water systems and continuing belching our large quantities of CO2 into the air over and above what the natural processes and not expect to have some type of ill effect.
ABC.Net: Carbon Conundrum
NOAA Global Monitoring Division
Q: How much CO2 is pumped into the atmosphere annually?
A. Naturally through normal geological and ecological processes?
B. By man made means through automobiles, airplanes, industry?
Plant-A-Tree-For-Clean-Air:More Information