A 60 mile long iceberg, known as B9B, has smashed into the Mertz Glacier tongue in Antarctica. The Mertz Glacier is a 100-mile long tongue of ice which the B9B iceberg broke away from in 1987.
Over a period of nearly 8 weeks, the B9B iceberg approached the glacier and with tide and current slowly hammered into the tongue of ice.
On the 26th February, the Mertz Glacier tongue broke off creating a new iceberg measuring 50 miles by 25 miles. This iceberg could now disrupt weather patterns for years to come.
Both icebergs are now floating 90 miles off the northern coast in the Antarctic Continental Shelf and combined, they are weighing in at over 1000 billion tons. The Mertz Tongue Iceberg contains a year’s supply of fresh water for 1/5 of the world’s population and could potentially block the ‘bottom water’ which powers the oceans circulation system. ‘Bottom water’ is the lowest layer of ocean, cold-salt water and Antarctica produces bottom water for the South Pacific, Southern Indian Ocean, South Atlantic and portions of the North Atlantic.
Changes in these waters and currents could influence weather patterns around the world and would make Britain colder as we would not have the mild sea temperatures brought in by the Atlantic drift.
With such a mass floating in the ocean it could also reduce the amount of oxygen in the oceans jeopardising marine wildlife. Emperor penguins, bird life and seals could be under threat.
Experts say that ‘iceberg calving’- which occurs when these icebergs break off, does happen from time to time and that this occurrance is by no means a record large iceberg.
The icebergs are expected to head west along the Antarctic coastline.
Ever feel ashamed of living in the UK? On the whole I feel highly privileged to live in this country, but just sometimes I’m forced to publically blush at the petty minded bureaucracy which plagues us. Case in point is a story I first came across on a US blog UK Barber Banned from Composting. It’s also been covered by The Telegraph. I had to read both articles twice because I simply couldn’t believe what I was reading.
It seems that a local barber, Jeff Stone from Blackburn in Lancashire, has been banned from taking hair clippings and salon newspapers home to compost: Why I hear you ask?
Is he stealing from the people whose head it once belonged?
They left it behind happily so apparently not.
Is human hair somehow toxic to our delicate eco-structure?
No, in fact quite the reverse, apparently all environmental agencies recognise human hair as fantastic, highly biodegradable compostable material, perfect for adding nitrogen to the soil.
Perhaps he’s taking home so much of it, it’s upsetting the neighbours?
Nope – only one small swing bin every two or three weeks.
Well then, obviously it’s because Blackburn and Darwen Councils have invested heavily in establishing domestic and retail recycling programs and by taking the hair home Mr. Stone is somehow confusing the system?
Absolutely not, documentation received by Mr. Stone confirms that the waste will be emptied at landfill sites at Whinney Hill, near Accrington, and Withnell just outside Blackburn.
Well then, what could possibly be the problem…? Surely it would have nothing to do with money? Surely no council would stoop so low as to force Mr. Stone to buy one hundred Council issued waste sacks, which he doesn’t need and which cost £100, in order to ‘comply’ with their guideline?
Apparently so.
Reassuring isn’t it that Councils have so little to do; that crime levels are so low, housing so abundant, local facilities so immaculate, that they have nothing better so spend our council tax on than paying people to search through our dustbins checking for people who might be ‘illegally’ trying to save the planet…
The conference provided a program on the first global agreement to limit and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, support adaptation for the most vulnerable and help establish environmentally sustainable growth.
Countries have agreed to limit global temperature rise to below 2 degrees Celsius. Developed countries are implementing targets for greenhouse gas emissions and financially supporting the developing countries.
Also, the most vulnerable will be identified and protected – taught to adapt to the changes brought on by global warming. In addition, discussions regarding the subject of reducing carbon emissions due to deforestation were initiated.
After 2 years of negotiations leading up to this UN Copenhagen conference, the above all appears rather vague and in fact a spokesperson from Greenpeace has been quoted as saying, ‘It’s so weak as to be meaningless’. Not quite the positive, inspirational outcome we were hoping for.
The UN Climate Change Conference was always going to be controversial and yesterdays disturbances have certainly come as no surprise. With news of demonstrators arrested and cars set on fire we can be forgiven for thinking things of already gotten out of hand. However, when reports confirm that one man was hurt by a stone and another injured by a firework you can’t help feeling that there’s more damage done on an average Friday night out. Therefore, nearly 1,000 arrests under contentious anti-hooligan laws seem somewhat excessive.
With tens of thousands of peaceful demonstrators flooding into Copenhagen, it can clearly only be a highly impassioned, more violent minority who are causing the trouble. Obviously this can’t be helping, but then people do feel incredibly strongly on this issue and with so much riding on Copenhagen it’s understandable that frustration levels are risings.
There seems to be mixed reactions to yesterday’s events with many people feeling that all the fuss in the news is purely a distraction from the real issues. There is also a school of thought that far more harmful to the climate struggle than the demonstrators, are secret closed door negotiations and the false hope the conference is giving, especially given the high profile delegates, without any actual definitive action agreed upon as yet. The conference continues until next Friday 18th December.
Is it only me, or is it massively suspicious that this week, of all weeks we hear that the validity of 160 years worth of Met Office temperature data is under question?
Apparently, we are led to believe, that this controversy was started due to leaked emails. It appears that it will take 3 years for the re-examination of the findings, so only by 2012 will the information have any perceivable credibility. The Met Office database is one of three main sources used by the UN to analyze climate change and was to be the foundation of the talks in Copenhagen this week
The timing plays straight into the hands of countries such as America and Australia, who are concerned that unrealistic CO2 emission cuts will be introduced at the summit.
Following the diary posting on Greenmomentum for 24th October – International Day of Climate Action, I urge you to check out the 350.org website. The photographs are truly awesome and inspiring
Spurred on by the recent success of the Great Climate swoopers? Then next stop Copenhagen…
From 7th to 18th December, a climate summit will be held in Copenhagen, Denmark. This event is billed as the ‘largest ever to be held’ and ‘our last best hope’. Frustrated by the lack of progress Plane Stupid and their cohorts intend to make an appearance and their feelings known!
The intention is to take over the summit on December 16th and have their say, transforming the conference into a ‘Peoples Summit for Climate Justice’.
Since talks began 15 years ago there has been no evidence of a reduction in greenhouse gasses and emissions continue to steadily rise. So more of the same type of promises regurgitating out of Copenhagen simply aren’t going to have any credence – seen and heard it all before and more to the point, they just don’t work!
Environmentalists believe alternative changes should be made, such as:
• No fossil fuels
• Community control of resources
• relocalising food production
• reducing over consumption
• recognising and dealing with ecological and climate debt
• respecting indigenous and forest peoples’ rights
Why are these alternatives so impossible for the summit to consider, when they appear so potentially achievable? It’s time to change the system not the climate!
Following the posting on Greenmomentum on 26, July 2009 outlining the usage of speed cameras in the exclusive area of Sandbanks, Poole, Dorset, it now appears that Islington Council have jumped on the bandwagon.
Following complaints about the volume and speed of cyclists, the council in their wisdom have laid 14 speed bumps in the alleyway of a residential area in North London. The move came in fear, that one day a pedestrian would be injured by a careless cyclist.
As expected the cyclists are absolutely outraged and there is the added dimension of the implication these obstacles will have on the disabled, elderly and mothers with buggies and prams.
Who’s at Fault…?
A move has been made by Government advisors to make motorists legally responsible by default, should they be involved in an accident with a cyclists, even if the motorist is not a fault.
The idea stems from regulations in place in the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany. It seems a little extreme that a motorist should pay for an accident caused by the dangerous manoeuvre of a cyclist, however if a realistic compromise could be reached, as cyclist groups point out, it would encourage more people to get out of their cars and make more journeys by bike, on foot or by public transport.
On a lighter note…
A German brothel is offering cyclists a 5 euro discount, if they travel to the establishment by bike. The owner said, ‘it’s good for business, it’s good for the environment and it’s good for the girls!’
This is brilliant! Finally an environmental grassroots movement that gets everyone involved, engaged and empowered to actually do something, no matter how small, to effect climate change and make a difference. Finally a reasonable time scale, not some distant date 10:10 and finally, some Action!
It’s a shame that the people are having to lead the government by the nose on an issue as critical as climate change, especially when they are supposed to have our best interests at heart, but perhaps I am being naive. Ken Livingstone phrased it neatly when he reflected that many of the Labour party “are afraid of losing a Daily Mail reader in Chipping Sodbury.”
10:10 is all about individuals and institutions making a difference by making a personal vow to cut carbon emissions by 10% in 2010, be it turning down the heating, eating less mass produced meat, using the car less and the bike more, whatever it takes. I personally take my hat off to Franny Armstrong and everyone involved in getting this campaign off the ground.
Join up now and add your voice to the thousands calling for change!
The organisers are striving to exploit and improve the Brownfield sites, while respecting and preserving the Greenfield areas.
The Brownfield site (underdeveloped, derelict or contaminated land), in this case the Lower Lea Valley in London, will house the Olympic Village and the area will post-games become the biggest new park in the city.
The Greenfield sites (area which has not been used for non-agricultural development) such as Hackney Marshes and London Fields will be used sympathetically, meaning that nothing permanent or damaging will be built in these areas.
Also 2012 will be ‘car free’ (except for disabled vehicles), construction will minimise pollution, waste and wildlife habitats will be protected. In addition to this, the organisers are conscious of taking every opportunity to educate Londoners about the importance of sustainable development.
