Whisky in the Kilimanjaro.

[Finless]

I happened to be half listening to Radio 4 last night whilst doing some work on my PC and caught part of a science program about:-

The Snows of Kilimanjaro

The glaciers on Mount Kilimanjaro are melting so fast scientists predict the famous snow cap will disappear by 2020.


It was quite fascinating listening to this Scottish guy as he prepared for his climb on the last bit to the summit of Kilimanjaro. His dialogue was interspersed with with interviews and comments from other scientisits about the measurements they are taking, how fast the snow and glaciers are disappearing and whether it is Global Warming or a normal climatic change that is causing the "problem".

I didn't catch all of the program either BUT it was a good listen. If I had broadband I would take "the listen again option".

I shall endeavour to remember to listen again next week.

[EDIT]My mouse got excited and clicked on "post" before I'd got my poll sorted. Hopefully Mr T will add it for me when he gets back from his booze run to Venus. Aliens! Have to show off, France isn't good enough for them!

[Finless]

Sorry - should've got this info for the opening post in the thread.





THE SNOWS OF KILIMANJARO
MISSED A PROGRAMME?
Go to the Listen Again page
Monday 21 March 2005 9.00-9.30pm
The great snowfields of Kilimanjaro have shrunk by over 82% since 1912 to just one square mile - and scientists predict it will disappear altogether by the year 2020. Euan McIlwraith investigates.

Mount Kilimanjaro Listen again to the programme
Kilimanjaro, the legendary resting place of King Solomon was described by Ptolemy in his 2nd Century Geography as the 'great snow mountain'. In the 1930s, Hemingway described the ice cap as being 'as wide as all the world.' Today, it seems we may be the last generation to see the iconic white peak of Africa's most famous mountain.

Euan McIlwraith makes his own attempt to reach the roof of Africa to find out more about how the melting glacier informs our scientific understanding of the future of climate change. On route he talks with local people about the repercussions of the melting glacier in terms of drinking water supply, crop irrigation, hydroelectric production and tourism. Every aspect of their livelihoods is bound up in the water stored on Kilimanjaro's ice cap.

Professor Lonnie Thomson, Head of the National Science Foundation at Ohio University has spent over 20 years studying tropical ice fields. Professor Thompson's work is part of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme that seeks to understand global environmental change. The present study of the glacier involves analysing compacted ice core samples that provide a frozen 'archive' documenting 12000 years of environmental change. Tropical ice cores of this age are extremely rare in Africa and have already contributed much to the understanding of the continent's climatic past.

[sch]

There's an item on the BBC news page as well -
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4362561.stm

[dry suit diver]

I think that we are not helping nature, as nature goes through its normal climatic change.

most of the damage was probably done in the industrial revolution and we cannot go back in time to change things so must look forward towards new solutions.

[sch]

Just seen the poll, and voted for the mix of global warming and normal change, but mainly normal.

I don't doubt that all the stuff we pump out into the air has an impact, but I've heard numbers that say that every time a volcano erupts it pumps out enough co2, soot etc as we manage to put out in n number of years.

Personally I think its going to be a bit of a race between the supposed global warming, and the supposed oncoming ice age - but I'm not expecting to be around to see the end result.

[SoggyFox]

I feel that it's climatic change being accelerated by our pollution. It'll be our children who feel the brunt of the changes.

[chrisch]

This is easy. Go back millions of years to the carboniferous era. That's where the oil/coal/gas comes from. Look at the climate. Tropical. Now lock up the carbon. Goes cold. Makes pretty valleys. Skiing - weeee...

Now return carbon to atmosphere.

No brainer.

The complexities are due to wobbles in earth axis, volcanic actions etc. But long term the results should balance out. The $60,000,000 question is time scales - no-one knows.

Enjoy the ride; the yanks and the Chinese will fuck everything up even if we do our bit here in Europe.

Chris
(Greetings from the third most polluted city in the world)

[ray]

Hi/

Me and er indoors were in bed at Ambaselli game lodge in Kenya, looking out over the animals at Kilimanjaro, waiting for the breakfast coming what a view, what a breakfast, what a holiday!

[Badger]

I agree that we are releasing masses of carbon back into the atmosphere.

I also agree that the globe cycles through natural warm and cool periods, ice ages etc (which we are well over due for another - if you believe what some people say)

However what really concerns me, after watching a documentary on Global cooling, apparently the huge volume of air travel is in fact, presently causing global warming through emmisions, but the jet trails themselves, the pretty white lines on blue skied summers day, are actually preventing the suns energy entering the lower realms of our atmosphere and so holding back the advance of global warming.

So if jet traffic continues to increase then the globe will get cooler!

After Sept 11th a study was done on this phenomenon and while jet traffic was prevented over the US the difference between minimum night and maximum day temperatures actually increased significantly outside of expected averages for the time of year.

What this means? Hell only knows?

What is really happening - I have yet to make up my mind? So I will sit on the fence, us, nature and who knows what else?

[resting rifleman]

I cant see how the carbon we humans put into the atmosphere, can in any way compare to the amount thrown out by a single volcano!
our foothold here is tentative, nature can wipe us out in a moment! in so many ways.
while i agree emmisions should be minimised (good nieghborliness) i dont believe we can ever be anything more than a momentary irritation in the greater scheme of things, the earth will continue in its cycle regardless of our
behaviour. adapt or die, natures way.