Western Courier

Issue date: 3/27/06 Section: Opinion

We are in big trouble.

Remember back in the day when you were told global warming, if not taken care of soon, was going to be a problem that would plague our children and our grandchildren? Can you remember being told back in grade school our planet had begun experiencing climate shifts that, over the next few decades, could lead to a global catastrophe unless we did something about it? Well, apparently scientists back then were wrong about part of those previous claims - and no, the mistake wasn't global warming doesn't exist.

According to a recently published article in Time magazine, alarming new indications have led scientists to conclude our planet's climate is suddenly and unexpectedly collapsing around us. From violent storms, to fires, floods and devastating heat waves, scientists' suspicions of global climate systems being booby-trapped with feedback loops and tipping points appears to be accurate.

These loops and points are basically thresholds that, once exceeded, will accelerate the slow creep of environmental decay into a sudden and self-perpetuating collapse. We have, apparently, exceeded these thresholds.

One of the scariest signs discovered during the research was uncovered late last year when scientists found the Greenland ice sheet isn't only melting; it is melting quicker and quicker each year. Last year alone the ice sheet lost 53 cubic miles into the sea, a number significantly higher than the 23 cubic miles lost in 1996.

It has been unveiled that one of the reasons the acceleration has occurred is in part because one of the feedback loops has started. Now instead of having the pole's bright white surface to reflect sunlight back into space, we have more ocean water to absorb those same rays. In essence, with each mile that melts into the sea, the next mile will vanish that much faster.

The same concept is happening on land, where droughts are becoming increasingly more common as temperatures continue to increase and ultimately cause moisture to bake out of our soil faster. This, in turn, can be attributed to the wildfires that have become increasingly more frequent as forests grow more arid. Even the forests that survive the fires will now succumb to dying of thirst.

This is very disturbing news considering many people have believed, or even still believe, global warming to be nothing more than a myth. Now, however, we are forced to recognize and accept the reality of our situation and how grave it has become due to our ignorance. This problem is no longer a problem we have time to correct. The problem is imminent and potentially the most dangerous in a nation cautious about terrorist attacks, wars and national security. Our country's greatest, most potential threat has gone practically unchecked.

It is projected the ocean will consume our planet's ice caps by the year 2060. Let that sink in for a moment - within your lifetime you may witness a time when our polar ice caps will no longer exist. Within most of our lifetimes, we may very well witness the end of our planet as we know it. It is time for us as a generation to step up to the plate and realize we are looking at a full-blown crisis and it is up to us - not our parents, our children or any other generation - to do something about it.

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