Because It’s There, Just Less of It Than There Was
Chalk up another victory for the Great Climate Change Hoax, and all those greedy scientists who invented it so they can get rich on grant money while they force oil company executives to sell apples on the sidewalk and sleep on steam grates.
Mount Everest is melting.
A warming climate is melting the glaciers of Mount Everest, shrinking the frozen cloak of Earth’s highest peak by 13% in the last 50 years, researchers have found. Rocks and natural debris previously covered by snow are appearing now as the snow line has retreated 590 feet, according to Sudeep Thakuri, a University of Milan scientist who led the research. The pessimistic view of Earth’s tallest peak was presented during a meeting Tuesday of the American Geophysical Union in Cancun, Mexico. Researchers said they believe the observed changes could be due to human-generated greenhouse gases altering global climate, although their research has not established a firm connection.
Of course, nobody really cares about a whole mess of ice on some obscure mountain in Asia. Amirite?
“The Himalayan glaciers and ice caps are considered a water tower for Asia since they store and supply water downstream during the dry season,” said Thakuri. “Downstream populations are dependent on the melt water for agriculture, drinking and power production.” The topic of glacial melt in the Himalayas has been controversial. Initial reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicted glaciers in the region would disappear by 2035. Subsequent analysis by the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite mission showed that the melt was one-tenth the reported rate, and that some areas were experiencing growth, particularly in the Tibetan plateau. Research published last year, however, showed that glaciers have been retreating over a 30-year period on the Tibetan plateau. It also showed that areas that depend on snow during regional monsoon seasons are particularly vulnerable to small rises in temperature. The plateau is of concern because it is the ultimate source of drinking and irrigation water for more than 1 billion people in Asia.
A billion people.
Sure am glad Jim Inhofe is on the case. Inhofe: God Says Global Warming Is A Hoax - http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/03/09/441515/inhofe-god-says-global-warming-is-a-hoax/
Eleven centuries from now, nobody in the universe is going to believe this happened.