Monday, October 30, 2006

The Sky Isn't Falling, But the Gulf Stream is Slowing Down

Faced with a dire report of economic calamity if Global Warming goes on unabated, the British government has hired (who else?) Al Gore to preach the climate change gospel to his skeptical fellow Americans. Scientists have established that the Gulf Stream has slowed down 30% in the last 12 years which will affect the weather patterns of northern Europe. The flowing stream of warm water keeps Europe's winters mild. But increasing temperatures due to the greenhouse effect and consequent melting of fresh water ice in the arctic are interfering with the function of the North Atlantic Drift of which the Gulf Stream is a part. If the Greenland ice sheet melts completely, sea levels will rise by 20 feet. The good news is that the problem of New Orleans' inadequate levees will be permanently solved. View this interesting graphic at the Guardian.

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