Top Geophysicist: Arctic ice sheet decreased 60% in last 50 years

David Chapman, one of the world's most leading geophysicists, visited the University of Wisconsin late last week and spoke about the geothermics of climate change.  Most notably, Chapman explained that temperature changes caused by greenhouse gases are more significant in the Arctic:

“Although the global average is only a jump in a few degrees, certainplaces, like the Arctic, could warm up to 10 degrees and have direconsequences,” Chapman said.“The quantity of ice in the Arctic regionis only about 40 percent of what it was 50 years ago.”

Chapmansaid global warming is caused by human activities. He presented theaudience with an equation that had three factors: the number of peopleon the planet, how much energy each person uses and where that energycomes from. Chapman said the severity of global warming depends onthese three things.

He then spoke about ways to reduce theinfluences of these three factors. Some of the solutions includedreducing global population, using less fossil fuels, using morerenewable energies and other ways to reduce humanity’s impact on theenvironment.

“We should not be worrying or debating inWashington whether it is warming or not; meteorological temperatures,sea level rise and drill-hole temperatures are all independently givingus the same answers: the earth is warming,” Chapman said.

On Capitol Hill, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has released the names of the 15 members  that will be on the new Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming.  The committee will be chaired by Edward Markey (D-MA), and the ranking Republican minority leader will be James Sensenbrenner (R-WI).

Comments

[ripismoney]

Actually, if the ice remaining is only 40%, wouldn't that mean it was a 60% decrease?

[Administrator: Todd]

I stand corrected. It will be changed. Thanks for the recommendation.