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Russian researchers abandon shrinking ice floe

Posted at 3:33 PM on 15 Jul 2008

Russian scientists are evacuating early from their research base on a shrinking Arctic ice floe. Last April, the floe was sturdy enough to build an air strip on. In September, 21 researchers and two dogs arrived, at which point their ice abode measured 1.2 by 2.5 miles. The researchers meant to leave in late August, but will evacuate this week from a floe that has shrunk to a mere 1,000 by 2,000 feet. Researcher Sergei Balyasnikov explains matter-of-factly, "The evacuation is ahead of schedule because of global warming."

source: MSNBC

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Comments: (6 comments)

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Russia goes with the floe

Researcher Sergei Balyasnikov explains matter-of-factly, "The evacuation is ahead of schedule because of global warming."

Once again Russia is ahead of us. It recognizes global warming.

by seashell at 3:53 PM on 15 Jul 2008

Causing The Problem

"Researcher Sergei Balyasnikov explains matter-of-factly, 'The evacuation is ahead of schedule because of global warming'" of which we were a part due to flying here and building a landing strip.

by Wolverine at 5:41 PM on 15 Jul 2008

No study allowed

Wolverine implies we shouldn't go there and study the problem if we make it worse, even just a tiny little impossible-to-measure bit. No study allowed.

by Boyscientist at 11:24 AM on 16 Jul 2008

The Russians aren't ahead

The Russians and the rest of the technological world know about the threat of global warming.

They're not ahead, we are behind.

by catman at 12:54 PM on 16 Jul 2008

No Study Needed

As Catman said, there is no need to study global warming. The only need is to change our lifestyles to use much less energy while changing the sources of energy from environmentally destructive ones like oil, coal, and nuclear to ones like locally generated solar and wind power. Consuming and burning oil while destroying an ice floe by building and airstrip on it actually increases global warming and does nothing to alleviate it.

by Wolverine at 4:01 PM on 16 Jul 2008

No Study Needed

I agree with Wolverine. No further determination of the reality of Global Warming is required. What is needed urgently is reducing the amount of heat we humans generate needlessly.

We must acknowledge that there is a huge differential between transferring existing heat (like solar, geothermal and similar types) from permanent sources into energy, and in producing more heat (the internal combustion engine) from already stored sources (petroleum, coal, natural gas) in converting that heat into energy.

Now we are considering 'sequestering' the carbon that was stored over a period of millions of years, millions of years ago, by pumping CO2 back into the Earth in empty oilwells.

All we have to do is reduce our easy use of carbon by finding our energy somewhere else, like electricity from fission, or fusion, on Earth or from the Sun.

Des Emery

by Des Emery at 5:41 PM on 16 Jul 2008

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