I watched "An Inconvenient Truth" last week. I had heard about albedo changes from black carbon particulates from dirty Chinese coal plants, but the dirtiness of the northern ice image at the start of the show was still amazing. Why does not Al Gore realize how much that affects ice albedo?

Maybe it would be more cost effective, in terms of global warming, to just give China scrubbers.

If this is the largest ice incident of this type in the last 30 years; does that mean there was one as large or larger in the records prior to this occurence? If there are previous break-ups of this magnitude recorded wouldn't they predate the current the global warming scare? I believe this is all part of a cycle. I am open minded and await your reply...Rick

I have the same school of thought as Rick (above). In fact, many who study climate support the idea of long term warming and cooling cycles (on a global scale) lasting from decades to centuries. Until someone can produce data that proves the last couple of decades are unique and caused by human activity I refuse to "buy" all the fuss and commotion.

Mr. Haenel,

You need to only look as far as your outdoor thermometer to see that there is something disturbing about current conditions affecting the climate. In southwestern PA, we have just witnessed the warmest month of December since they started record keeping of those events and with an almost 70 degree day coming up on Friday and the rest of the plus 50 and plus 60 degree days already this month, we are guaranteed to break yet anoither record for warmth. Skeptics will simply dismiss these facts by saying that "it is but a small and natural trend" - my answer to those folks is as follows:

1. Global warming has to begin somewhere (all trends do) and if we are in the midst of this trend, what will it take for YOU to finally agree that there might be a problem?

2. Polar Bear Clubs (the act of plunging into supposedly freezing waters) have witness a substantial decline in overall members - many commenting that "it is hardly a thrill jumping into 65 degree waters in January, most people simply refer to that as 'swimming'" :p

I don't think so Rick. Our temps are some of the highest in the last 100,00 years and if trends continue for just 10-15 years they will be the highest in upwards of 1 million. Extinction of species is 1,000 times that of the normal rate. Glaciers will be gone from many of our mountain tops in just 20-30 years.

Non of this is a trend.

I appreciate the poster of this article and everyone who responded.

Peace On Earth

If there is Global warming..still to early to tell.. we could be in a short weather cycle.. Thoughout history there has been periods of warming and cooling.. Weather cycles have been around much longer than man has been keeping records...
Questions to ask: Is the sun warmer? Is the earth path around the sun the same as 100 years ago? Or is it slightly closer... What about other planets are they warmer?
Yes, climate could be a little warmer at this time, yet I remember the 70's the Ice age is coming because of man the Ice age will arrive shortly...
Now the mantra is Warming has arrived... Still to early to tell what is causing the warming.. only time will tell... relax enjoy the warmth before the next cold front arrives...

The earth long before mankind has adjusted to many weather changes and will do the same now..

If humans can affect the Earth�s climate in 100 years accidentally then it should be NO problem to terrafom Mars (a smaller planet) if we would really try! Right? NOT. People, there are so many factors that contribute to our climate that no one has the answers yet. Some new factors being investgated which need to be taken into account are cosmic radiation, sun cycles, Earth�s 21 year orbit fluctuations, natural thermal events, etc� By the way Mars� polar caps are shrinking too�I am sure it is Bush�s fault. Oh yeah, back around 900 when it was very wam on Greenland and in Wurope I am sure an antcedent of Bush did that too�. WACKOS!!!

I am constantly amazed by the people who remain in denial that global warming is a reality. I just looked at my AccuWeather forecast and the high on Saturday is going to be 72 degrees! Here in NJ the average January high used to be around 40.

I saw a picture of ice caps taken 10 years ago and what they look like today--only about 1/3 are left. Although I know the earth goes through various climate cycles, there can be no doubt we humans are accelerating the process.

I had the same question as Rick H. How does this compare to prior break-offs? The assumption from your coment is that there is a record of prior large shifts in the ice of equal or greater magnitude farther in the past than 30 years? How long ago and where?

My second and third questions are: How many oil platforms are in its path and what is it's path?

This happened 30 years ago? Wasn't that when the entire Earth was going into the next Ice Age? I agree the globe is warming - but couldn't the additional activity of the sun in the last 20 years seems to have a more direct link to climate change on our planet (and Mars - whose polar caps are melting too) than something us punny humans are capable of producing????

No one is denying that there is global warming. The debate is in what is causing the warming.

I live in Cincinnati. 20000 years ago there was a glacier here before it retreated. Niagara Falls is only 12,000 years old because it was also under a glacier. Something caused the earth to warm and melt the glaciers I don't think it was manmade CO2. But I'm glad it did I would hate to live under a glacier.

Rick, you may be right. But what if you're wrong and this isn't a natural trend? And perhaps the argument of whether it is man made and natural are both right but we keep churning out our pollution and contributing to the "natural" trend making it worse? I really don't want us to "wait and see" and find out it is to late to do anything about it.

Regarding Ricks comments in about did a larger ice shelf piece break off more than 30 years ago. As a glaciologist I have the current unfortunate task of measuring dissappearing glaciers. The Arctic Ice Shelves off of Ellesmere fall into this category. they covered 9000 km2 in 1900 and are down to barely 900 km2 today. The two largest breakups observed were of the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf in 2002-2003 and the Ayles in 2005. Prior to 1972 a larger breakup could have occurred and not been observed, there is no specific breakup that is larger that was observed in the past. The point of this breakup is that temperatures have been so warm that it makes these ice shelves unable to survive period. They are in disequilibrium with climate today. This was not true even 30 years ago.

Mauri,
Being a glaciologist perhaps you can answer this question, as I am not: Is a glacier which is at equilibrium with climate any more or less normal than one which is not? Is the cyclic advance and retreat of glaciers as normal as the flooding of a rain-swollen river, and its subsequent retreat during dry spells? I ask because one of the --very-- few things I remember from my Geology 101 course a few decades ago is the fact that: all rivers flood, that a river in flood is a fairly regular occurrance, and that the only reason we think otherwise is because of the effect it may have on life and property at the time of occurrance. Geological, meteorological, climatological, and siesmic events often happen at inconvenient-to-human times, but they happen nonetheless.

Patrick, I fear you miss the point. The point you make about rivers flooding is well-taken. Suppose we say that a particular river floods about every three hundred years. Suppose some glacier A retreats every few thousand years. Suppose some glacier B retreats every few ten thousand years. Suppose a particular landmass has permafrost that melts every few hundred thousand years. All perfectly regular (statistically) geologic events.

Now suppose ALL of the above are observed to happen essentially simultaneously (again, in geologic time-frames)? What is the statistical likelihood of all four events happening simultaneously?

Those of us who dabble in molecular genetics see a similar phenomena in looking at DNA variation. While it is true that a single individual has a certain non-zero likelihood of demonstrating a particular DNA mutation, it is also true that when that individual demonstrates SEVERAL of those mutations SIMULTANEOUSLY -- DNA variants that are NOT found in either parent -- then it becomes reasonably safe to assert that the individual is VERY UNLIKELY to be the progeny of the two putative parents. The likelihood of ALL those mutations arising simulataneously is VERY SMALL.

What we observe, at the moment, is not limited to JUST glaciers in disequilibrium. We observe a WIDE RANGE of environmental phenomena that ALL point towards a period of global warming that has not been experienced during recorded human history.

We can argue about whether or not this warming is anthropogenic, but we surely do NOT have the luxury of debating whether or not it is taking place.

It seems to me that we are left at least two VERY important questions, as follows:

1. What effects can we expect from this warming, and what must we do to accomodate them, and

2. What, if anything, can we do to minimize, delay, or otherwise alter the phenomena.

Do not forget that Greenland was green and far warmer when the Vikings first visited it one thousand years ago.

If this is all true,why are the oceans not rising and flooding florida we are at sea level,I cannot see any differance over the last 30 some odd years I have lived on the east coast??

Sharon,

Relax- You can't honestly think for a second that humans had something to do with NJ being 30 degrees warmer than the average on a particular day? I hope not. I can remember days as a kid in the middle of winter being 65 degrees here in Cincinnati and there is no more or no less than 30 years ago. As a business owner who works around the weather nearly 365 days a year, I can guarantee you that I have days in June when we freeze our butts off on equipment because it's 20 degrees below the average.

Should I jump to the conclusion that we are approaching an ice age because this happened every year at one time or another over the last 25 years. I think not.

Yes Dennis, I to am glas that global warming took place and melted that damn glacier so we can enjoy the beautiful Ohio valley.

Everyone needs to relax and realize that we will be long gone before all these cycle take place and glaciers melt and them someday a new ice age comes along and covers areas that were 80 degrees everday.

Enjoy life and quit worrying!