Can't be global warming!

[Bigmack]

Southern Europe blazes in record heat
Firefighters battle flames in Portugal, France and Spain as temperature hits 110F By Nicholas Pyke  07 August 2005

Some of the hottest temperatures ever recorded in southern Europe are forecast for this weekend, placing the region on full-scale alert against a further devastating outbreak of forest fires. Temperatures up to 110F are predicted for Spain and Portugal, with similar conditions expected in the south of France, Italy and Greece as a wave of hot air arrives from Africa. The Mediterranean is in the grip of severe and long-running drought, which has left the countryside in tinderbox condition. Thousands of hectares have already been destroyed.

Two forest fires were still blazing out of control in Portugal yesterday, down from 17 on Friday night, while in south-eastern France the authorities were coping with the aftermath of three huge fires which forced 17,000 residents to flee. The drought is Portugal's worst ever. The southern Algarve region, one of Europe's main holiday destinations, is warning of possible water cuts, and tankers are making daily deliveries to some 53,000 people in rural areas whose taps are dry.

Two-thirds of France is living with water restrictions. Fountains have been switched off, rivers and streams are drying up and campers have been banned from cooking with naked flames. Authorities have urged consumers to save water by showering instead of bathing, and not to run washing machines and dishwashers unless full.

Not in 65 years of record-keeping has Spain seen such little rain. Reservoirs are running low. Nor is relief on the horizon: the Spanish Meteorological Institute predicts clear skies and 100F-plus heat for the rest of August.

http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article304225.ece

[G_j]

1. lots of records broken

this year, including in the US.

[Swede]

2. In Ontario there was a 5% increase in sunshine above normal.

5% is an incredible increase.

[AuntPatsy]

3. I believe even the sceptics are beginning to take notice...

[G_j]

4. Greenland is Melting

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=4201977


http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/news/greenhouse-effect-is-melting-g

Going, Going, Gone?
Greenhouse Effect is Melting Greenland

July 21, 2005

Greenland — In a stunning discovery aboard the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise yesterday, scientists found new evidence that Greenland’s glaciers are melting at an unprecedented rate. Global warming is no longer on the horizon, it has arrived at our doorstep, and if you live in a coastal city, that’s not just a figure of speech.

That’s because Greenland’s massive ice sheet locks up more than six percent of the world’s fresh water supply, and it is melting much faster than expected. If Greenland were to melt fully, it would cause sea levels around the globe to rise by nearly 20 feet. Even measurements of four to five feet of sea level rise could mean that cities like New York, Miami and Boston will experience flooding in low lying areas and increased threat of storm surge from hurricanes. More than 70 percent of the world's population lives on flat coastal plains, and 11 of the world's 15 largest cities are on the coast or bays and estuaries.

The Arctic Sunrise arrived in Greenland at the end of June, with scientists from around the world onboard. The ship and its crew have been documenting and measuring the impacts of global warming. Yesterday’s’ scientific discovery adds further proof that Greenland’s glaciers are melting far more rapidly than previously believed. All current scientific forecasts for global warming had assumed slower rates of melting from the Greenland ice sheet. This new evidence reveals that the threat of global warming is much greater and more urgent than previously believed.

In addition to the increased speed of the glacier, scientists from the University of Maine found that the Kangerdlussuaq glacier has receded more than three miles since 2001. Measurements from glaciers across Greenland are providing startling new evidence of thinning, causing the glaciers to speed up and decrease in overall mass, intensifying the flow of ice into the ocean.

Kangerdlussuaq glacier alone contains enough ice to fill the Great Lakes four times if it melts completely.

“The alarm is now deafening. We can’t stand back and watch our future go under, literally,” said Melanie Duchin, Greenpeace campaigner onboard the Arctic Sunrise. “We must stop generating global warming pollution."

(Take Action
Sign our Project Thin Ice Pledge Today)
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[wli]

5. a few more

1. arctic ice cap abnormally shrunken
2. highest CO2 levels in 400000 years
3. "dead zones" the size of small Atlantic states all over the ocean
4. mass bird die-offs on the West Coast of the US.
5. glacier speed in Greenland 3 times normal