From The Independent: The big thaw
Research to be published in a few days’ time shows how glaciers that have been stable for centuries have started to shrink dramatically as temperatures in the Arctic have soared with global warming. On top of this, record amounts of the ice cap’s surface turned to water this summer.
The two developments – the most alarming manifestations of climate change to date – suggest that the ice cap is melting far more rapidly than scientists had thought, with immense consequences for civilisation and the planet. Its complete disappearance would raise the levels of the world’s seas by 20 feet, spelling inundation for London and other coastal cities around the globe, along with much of low-lying countries such as Bangladesh.
Don’t worry, Web 2.0 will save us.
LOL – Tim O’Reilly will build us a raft.
Wait for the upcoming marketing hype:
Climate 2.0 will allow for greater interactivity between users and the climate. In Climate 1.0, the interaction was primarily one way as the climate acted upon the user. Now, thanks to a series of cunning APIs (that’s Absolutely Polluted Inputs) developed over the past 200 years, we have the chance to act upon the climate. Think of it as the two-way climate!
Rob – that Web 2.0 bit was one of my stupid throwaway lines. At least till you got hold of it. Yikes, that’s good.