Climate change and glacier melting - Latest data

There have been many studies conducted with the purpose of determining the
level of glacier melting and shrinkage in years to come, and the latest comes from the
the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. Here are some of the most
interesting conclusions of this study: 1. Mountain glaciers and ice caps are projected
to lose 15-27% of their volume by 2100, though this will significantly vary by region.
It is expected that European Alps and New Zealand will shrink the most (by more
than 70%) while on the other hand shrinkage is predicted to reach about 10% in
Greenland and high-mountain Asia. 2. Melting of the glaciers will threaten the water
supplies of cities such as Kathmandu in Nepal and La Paz in Bolivia, which depend
substantially on glacial meltwater for drinking and farming. 3. Melting glaciers and
ice caps will be responsible for increases in sea levels of 8.7-16.1cm by 2100 (this
doesn't include ice loss from calving).4. Total sea level rise is likely to be
considerably higher but glacier melting has made a growing contribution to sea level
rise over past decades.5. Mountain glaciers and ice caps include less than one percent
of all water on Earth bound in glacier ice but despite this their retreat has caused half
of sea level rises from melting ice over the past 50 years.

Climate change in 2011 - What needs to change?

The year 2010 was the year of big expectations, and there were many
environmentalists who believed that world would be finally able to stop the further
increase in CO2 emissions by agreeing on new climate deal. Sadly, Cancun climate
talks, despite providing some glimpses of optimism, still weren't successful in uniting
the world to tackle the climate change, well at least not in the form of new
international climate deal which would oblige countries to significantly reduce their
CO2 emissions. Will we see a change for better in 2011, and will this be a year when
the world will finally act as one in order to agree the so much needed successor to
Kyoto protocol, or will once again the differences in opinion between developed and
developing countries prove to be too much of the stumbling block for world leaders to
unite? World leaders still prefer talk instead of the real action so don't be surprised if
the 2011 ends up in similar tone like the 2010, namely plenty of expectations, with
not much positive in the end. I would really like to think otherwise but the way things
have been going lately it is very difficult to remain optimistic about it. World leaders
still do not realize that there is no time to delay on climate change. Time is running
out, and climate change is becoming stronger and stronger, after all the year 2010 was
the joint warmest year on record. The thing that needs to change the most about the
climate change in 2011 is the way world leaders look at it, or to be more precise
world leaders should add the factor of urgency when discussing climate change, and
they should stop talking about this issue like they have all the time in the world to
tackle it. Inactivity means stronger climate change impact, and the more stronger
climate change gets the more closer this world is to a state of total environmental and
economic disaster where large parts of the world will be inhabitable, with millions
people as refugees. More commitment and more urgency in tackling the climate
change issue are two main things that need to change in 2011. Without these two, yet
another year will end up in disappointing tone.

The most mentioned climate change threats

Here are some of the most mentioned climate change threats: More frequent extreme
weather events such as droughts, floods, hurricanes which will not only create huge
environmental but also huge economic damage. Arctic totally free of summer ice, and
rapid melting of Antarctica's ice. This could cause serious sea level rise, and threaten
many coastal areas around the globe. More hunger in the world, because of new pests
and new diseases that will have the negative impact on crop health. More hunger in
the world could lead to new wars. Severe water shortages in some parts of the world.
This, just like hunger issue, could lead to new wars. More refugees. Climate change
has the potential to make living impossible in certain areas of our planet which could
turn lot of people into refugees. Extinction of many animal and plant species. We are
not talking only about polar bears but many other animals which will find it hard to
adapt to rapid changes in climate. Biodiversity loss is already a huge problem, and in
years to come it could reach catastrophic proportions.

What should be in the focus of international climate deal?

There are many people who are still convinced in the positive outcome of Cancun
climate talks that are just behind the corner. Whether we'll actually see something
positive or not it is difficult to tell because even top political analysts have so far been
sending us mixed signals about the possible success of international climate deal.
There are four major areas which should be in the focus of new international climate
deal: first of all is how to adapt to climate change, second how to curb carbon
emissions in order not to make climate change worse than it already is, third transfer
of clean technologies from rich to poor countries, and fourth to create international
fund for long-term climate financing. Adapting to climate change would be crucial in
years to come, and this is only possible if rich countries help poor countries, after all
this should be the moral duty of rich countries since they are the ones that are mostly
responsible for climate change issue because of their excessive carbon dioxide
emissions. World will have to significantly curb carbon emissions in years to come.
Whether this will be achieved by renewable energy or clean coal technologies doesn't
really matter, the most important thing is to get it done, because if we continue with
our current levels of carbon emissions climate change impact will continue to grow.
Transfer of clean technologies (renewable energy and some alternative solutions like
clean coal technologies) is also something that needs to be done because developing
countries are mostly using coal to boost their economies, and coal is the dirtiest fuel
of them all. The developing world should focus more on renewable energy
technologies, and this is where rich countries should step in and provide adequate
knowledge and funds. World also needs to create international fund for long-term
climate financing, because climate change is long-term phenomenon, and world will
no doubt need lot of money to adapt to changes that climate change will no doubt
bring in years to come. International fund for long-term climate financing is therefore
also a necessity. Cancun climate talks will soon start, and world leaders have once
again the chance to do something for our planet, and protect our future generations
from the worst that climate change has to offer. Have they learned something from
their past mistakes? We'll soon see.

What must world do to stop climate change?

These are the most important things world needs to do in order to stop climate
change from strengthening its impact:
1. Significantly reduce the global level of greenhouse gas emissions, not only carbon
dioxide (CO2) but also other greenhouse gases such as methane.
2. Agree on new international climate deal that would legally oblige countries to curb
their emissions. Kyoto protocol definitely needs much stronger successor to make the
difference.
3. Listen to science, and ensure better funding for science researches that study the
climate change phenomenon. Climate change is extremely complex and
multidimensional issue which is why science needs all the help it can get in form of
adequate funding.
4. Stop deforestation in Amazon rainforests, and other large rainforests and forests on
our planet because these forests absorb huge quantities of CO2.
5. Stop the ocean acidification because this could disrupt the ability of oceans to sink
CO2, and they are currently, together with rainforests, the largest CO2 absorbers on
our planet.
6. Develop renewable energy sector to get more energy from renewable energy, and
decrease the fossil fuels consumption because burning fossil fuels creates harmful
carbon emissions.
7. Significantly improve energy efficiency. By improving energy efficiency world
would also decrease its need for energy coming from fossil fuels which would result
in less CO2 emissions.