Scientists Discover New Global Warming Threat: ‘Methane Time Bomb’ Under Arctic Seabed
Scientists have today warned that global warming could rapidly accelerate as millions of tons of methane escape from the arctic seabed. According to preliminary findings, as the Arctic region gets warmer massive deposits of the greenhouse gas - 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide - are rising to the surface.
Orjan Gustafsson of Stockholm University, one of the expedition’s leaders, said in an email from their Russian research ship that, for the first time, the team had discovered an extensive area of methane release so intense that “the methane did not have time to dissolve into the seawater but was rising as methane bubbles to the sea surface.” The team believe that the accelerated release is connected to rising temperatures throughout the Arctic region.
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Gustafsson went on to report that “the conventional thought has been that the permafrost ‘lid’ on the sub-sea sediments on the Siberian shelf should cap and hold the massive reservoirs of shallow methane deposits in place.” However, extensive research across thousands of square miles of the Arctic seabed had revealed growing evidence “that the permafrost lid is starting to get perforated and thus leak methane.”
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Image Credit - Nick_Russill via Flickr on a Creative Commons License
Here we live in a world deficient in energy yet thousands of tonnes of clean fuel is escaping into the atmosphere to do more damage into our earth. This only shows our selfishness. Instead of spending millions of dollars trying to recreate the big-bang theory why not re-direct this technology and resources to creating inventions that would minimise the costs of fuel?
Nice thought bobby, make it cost effective and you have a winner. A trend toward warming should make this a more productive and human friendly world. Why the sad faces? For protests try hitting the marlboro smokers or queers, everyone hates them.
Right on man…Certain scientists have known about this,but the public remains ignorant…Thanks for bringing it into attention ….something must be done and knowing about it ….is a giant first step…Keep saving the planet …….Mr.Williams …i salute you dude…
Mr Responder, that is a good video it is refreshing to hear another view on global warming. I tend to agree with it. To me there is a lot of data supporting this theory and it’s logical.
There is a great book on this subject and about how groups, governments, and organizations will use fear to control people. Read “State of Fear” by Michael Crichton. I read it prior to Al Gore’s film and the craze that followed. So when all the histeria hit I thought it sounded a lot like what I just read a year or two before.
Interesting site “Rightalk.” I am a republican and in my opinion, I find that site a little extreme. If you go to the webpage http://www.rightalk.com there is a message that I swear was written on a 5th grade reading and comprehension level.
I watched the whole video ‘responder,’ and I have to admit that I usually am a staunch environmentalist. However, I also am a strong advocate for addressing other global issues and am often willing to look at another point of view.
I’d like to start with the good points: the video appears well-made and well-done. Bravo for quality. I imagine some would call it invalid right from the beginning when RightTalk appears at the bottom of the screen, but of course, basic psychology has taught us about confirmation bias. So environmentalists who share Sierra Club and Greenpeace videos overlook the underlying agenda there too (because they are searching for information that supports the belief that they AlREADY hold.) It happens on both sides. This phenomenon is inevitable. I applaud the use of many experts and dissidents of the same groups who largely propel the other viewpoint. More perspectives is always better than a single, forced one. And, historically our studies of movements tend to assume absolute unification where in reality, there are dissidents of every movement.
A more general fault is that it doesn’t address future action enough. The video appears a strong condemnation of the environmental movement and a claim that ‘there is no problem.’ Still, it does a VERY narrow job of dissecting issues with African development and how MANY more factors intersect to create the human rights, labor, and environmental (I’m talking hard or substance pollution)quandaries and abuses that constantly hamper the continent. Simply put, a coal plant will not solve their problems. China has lots of those, and yet they are experiencing a world of political, social, and environmental problems. They are developing! But is the wealth shared? Is the population growth rate sustainable? Are the lives of sweatshop workers improving? I admit freely that I am no expert, but I am skeptical that mere energy development is the answer.
So, though I may rethink the theory that human industry is the sole and most significant source of global warming, it doesn’t mean that I support IRRESPONSIBLE development/growth (I still believe we need better urban planning that doesn’t irrationally favor any industry over another. I’m specifically talking about reviving the American car industry and building more highways rather than promoting more effective and efficient Mass Transit systems. And this is only one issue. I think urban planning needs a dire overhaul!) or that I support it at all. I have a major quandary with development in general and many more especially concerning governmental policies of HOW it is accomplished (consider the world financial crisis. we boomed on unfounded and irrational speculation, and now waking from that dream we’ve busted harder than ever! The market and big business NEED BIG REFORMS to ensure this doesn’t happen again and again and again.) The main problem is that earth does indeed have a limit of resources, even fundamental ones like space and water. So, eternal growth (Industry and particularly Population growth) will eventually cause scarcity and resource wars if we don’t plan sustainably. I’m not necessarily correlating industry growth and population growth. I’m admit I’m not completely sure of their relationship, but I do know that we live in a consumer economy as the globe increasingly does as well, which means that there need be an unending growth of people to buy all of the products we produce. This trend tends to push population growth. Even Industrialized nations that have noticed population decline will actively try to boost it with incentives (Australia offered big tax breaks for having children, for instance, (I’m sorry I don’t have a source for this, but I swear it can be verified in public policy records.)) Essentially, we must address population growth. That’s the bottom line. Unfortunately, I’ve heard no great ideas yet… (The philosophical equivalent of this argument is the lifeboat scenario where the boat represents earth’s limited capacity, and there are those inside and outside the life boat. It seems up to those inside to decide who can or can’t be saved from drowning on the outside, but know that not all those on the outside can be included else the boat will sink! And everyone will drown.) Some have suggested building another lifeboat. Interesting idea. But how? Mars or Moon colonies? I guess. But I’m hesitant.
Another notable analogy is the cancer one where eternal growth is likened to cancer on a human body which has an obvious optimal stopping point for growth, and anything beyond that is usually a tumor, particularly one that could be or will be fatal to the whole body.
I’m sorry this is so long-winded, but I truly enjoyed a different perspective from your video as much as I enjoy engaging in healthy debate about such issues. I hope these posts spark a continued discussion. I’d be open to continue it.
HELLO FIRST OF ALL I THINK HONESTLY THAT THE REASON THAT WE ARE HAVING SO MUCH GLOBAL WARMING IS ON THE BEHALF OF THE PEOPLE AND THE GOVERMENT BECUS I THINK THAT IF WE THE PEOPLE HAVE SO MUCH WORRIE ON WERE NOT ONLY US BUT ARE KIDS ARE GOING TO BE IN THIS WORLD 20 30 YEARS FROM NOW AND THE GOVERMENT IS SO WORRIED I THINK THAT THEY SHOULD TRY TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT AND HAVE WE THE PEOPLE JOIN IN AS FAST AND POSSIBLE AS WE CAN CAUSE YOU HAVE TO REMBER THIS IS ARE HOME AND THIS WILL BE ARE KIDS HOME AND THERE KIDS HOME AND SO ON AND SO FORTH SO AS I THINK WE ALL SHOULD AMKE A EFFORT IN PITCHING IN TO MAKE ARE HOME AND EATH A BETTER PLACE AND AS FOR THE METHANE GAS COMING FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA BED THAT RIGHT THERE SHOULD SHOW YOU ALL THAT WE ARE REALLY HAVING A BIG PROBLEM BECAUSE WE ARE HAVING THINGS HAPPEN NOW IN ARE ENVIORMENT THAT WAS NOT THERE BEFOR AND OR IF THEY WERE THERE THEY WERENT A PROBLEM AS SO MUCH NOW SO THAT SHOULD TELL US IF NOT ANYTHING ELSE DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT AND OR JUST SIT BACK AND WAIT TO DIE AND ARE THINK IF IT IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN TO YOU SO YOU DONT HAVE TO WORRY THEN THINK OF IT FOR YOUR KIDS AND THERE KIDS SOME WERE ALONG THE LINE IT WILL HAPPEN SO DO SOMETHING AND DO IT FAST CUS IF YOU WAIT TO LONG IT MIGHT BE TO LATE
Most people do not seem to know their history. “We came from an Ice Age”. In plain English, that means that we have been warming for over a million years. It’s like if I start saying that the Earth is slowly moving away from the Sun. Although true, the Solar System has been expanding and it always has. Therefore, for those doomsayers, you need to stop the stupidity and find productive things to do with your knowledge…Idiots.
Global warming is a farse. It all started with Gore’s forged movie (scenes copied from the computer generated scenes from “The Day After Tomorrow”. Nobel Prize for plagerism and fraud…goes to show the state of the world we’re in. Here’s a thought…has anyone stopped to think that maybe the methane is responsible for the ice melting in the first place???? I didn’t think so, it too scientific.
It’s always difficult to accept something if it means we must fundamentally rethink the way we live and the things we take for granted. Having said that, “It’s time to shit or get off the pot.”
Global warming is really alarming!
All of us knew how serious this problem is, hence, all must participate to prevent this kind of problem. This is not a problem of each one of us but rather a problem of each individual living on earth. The problem comes from the people so the solution lies among them.
God made us not to destroy His creation but rather to preserve it as much as possible.
That’s all thank You…u