English: AIRS 2006-2009 annual mean upper trop...
English: AIRS 2006-2009 annual mean upper troposphere(359Hpa) methane concentration(ppm). Data source:http://daac.gsfc.nasa.gov/giovanni/ (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Following up on the article I posted last week– a few days ago, a really large (80 M across, a bit smaller than a football-field) hole was punched into the ice from the Siberian Permafrost. The article is here. From the article: Aerial images posted on YouTube indicate a hole up to 80m wide in Yamal, a peninsula jutting into Arctic waters whose name translates as “the end of the world”. There seems to be some indication that the hole was created by a methane ‘burp’. Methane escaping from under the ice may have caught fire due to chemical interaction, blowing a big hole in the permafrost.

The most compelling problem with climate collapse/global warming currently being discussed by scientists is that while the progressive climb upward of c02 (or methane) in parts per million seems gradual, there are numerous feedback loops that have been set off by warmer temperatures. These include the melting of the Siberian permafrost, which will free huge amounts of methane (a far more potent greenhouse gas) as well as a not-insignificant amount of carbon dioxide. Such events will greatly accelerate warming trends, which is one reason why some scientists are predicting the end of human habitability on Earth well before the end of the century–possibly as early as 2035.

A list of the feedback loops is here. Last count there were some 38 identified positive feedback loops that have been set off by the .9 c warming we’ve already seen on the planet. Some of these are under our control–setting up drilling for oil in the Arctic can be stopped, as can using the now-open Arctic waters as a convenient bypass of the Panama Canal. It’s hard to see either of these happening. Most of the feedback loops cannot be turned off. Plan B’s should be on the table.

Which brings me to MSM. Last year, Meet the Press did not have a single segment about climate change/global warming. There was a lame ‘debate’ recently over whether it was even happening, with Bill Nye ‘winning’. The other TV network shows weren’t much better. There’s no other industrialized country in the world where  there’s debate about this issue.

Keep all this in mind the next time someone in your hearing vicinity mouths off about the issue. Just saying.

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funksands
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Mr., I find it fascinating that some think that 7 billion people can shit into a balloon 24 hrs a day and there not be any effects.

I guess all of the stuff we burn just “goes away”.

sillylittleme
Member

MBX, thanks for the cheery news. Saw this today but was unsure if I was reading the scientists eval correctly. Glad that you put this altogether, great piece.

SueInCa
Member

MBX

This is pretty scary. Think about it, if you are right, there is less than 16 years for Planet Earth, at the least. That is incredibly sad, if true. I don’t pretend to know a great deal about global warming/climate change, but I can see the signs and no amount of ignoring the issue is going to make it go away.

I wonder, if at the last second, the deniers will be able to face their folly? This is the price we pay for not putting more stock in science education. Of course, people who took science courses could still deny it, but at least they would have the scientific knowledge to know that they were lying to themselves and others.

I saw a report on this earlier but I did not even really understand the impact as you have described it, thanks for keeping me better informed.

sillylittleme
Member

Sue, the planet will still be here. It is humans that will be the first wave of a new mass extinction.

SueInCa
Member

Right, we are all Planet Earth. Thanks for bringing that to my attention. I was talking about humans though that might not have been clear

sillylittleme
Member

Possibly only the plants will survive and those animals that can tolerate higher rates of CO2. I can’t believe we are doing this to ourselves!!!

Nirek
Member

MBX, this ties in with solar power and other renewable energy use. The only way to reverse the effects of over a hundred years of fossil fuel use is to get off them ASAP! You are pointing to the effects of our use of fossil fuels. I agree it is only going to get worse unless we act now. Solar does zero harm, hydro and wind are excellent ways to use renewable energy, also.

sillylittleme
Member

While it is admirable that we are finally getting off our collective duffs. Some of the damage done is already permanent. Damn, I lost my optimism. Gotta go find it…

SueInCa
Member

You, and me too, SLM