"We're only just now getting to grips with just how

big these dynamic processes may be. There are

still a lot of surprises out there," said David Vaughan,

a glaciologist at the British Antarctic Survey and a

co-author of the study.(1)

The sea level rise predicted by scientists must be

re-calculated but they don't know by how much yet.

South America

Scientists studying the Andeas Mountains predict

the glaciers there will be gone in 30 years, and one

will be melted away within the next two years. Areas

of the region are expectd to double in population by

2050 and there is great concern about the water

shortage that is inevitable.

Glaciologist Edson Ramirez stated "This is a process

that unfortunately is now irreversible".(2)

US Gov't. Action

These discoveries are coming at a time that the Bush

administration has drastically reduced the budget of

NASA which will greatly hamper US scientists from

learning the extent of the glaciers and ice sheets

melting. ".....they will face major gaps in data that can

be collected only from satellites about ice caps and

sheets, surface levels of seas and lakes, sizes of

glaciers, surface radiation, water vapor, snow cover

and atmospheric carbon dioxide."(3)

‘’We’re going to start being blinded in our ability to

observe the planet,’’ said Rick Piltz, whose group

provided the AP with a previously undisclosed

report. ‘’It’s criminal negligence, and the leaders in

the climate science community are ringing the alarm

bells on this crisis.’’…

********

1) In Antarctica, proof that action on climate change is more urgent than ever

http://environment.independent.co.uk/climate_change/article2617440.ece

2) Global warming melts Andean glaciers toward oblivion

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N07255128.htm

3) Key points in NASA-NOAA report to White House science office on NPOESS de-scoping

http://www.climatesciencewatch.org/index.php/csw/details/npoess_report_key_points/