Show Date: March 23, 2005

HOW LONG CAN YOU TREAD WATER AND OIL VERSUS ENVIRONMENT
Pam Eastlick for the Marianas Variety

Greetings and welcome to The Deep column and the deepest radio show on Earth. The Deep is the science talk radio program that takes you from the depths of the ocean to the farthest reaches of the universe. This week on The Deep hosted by Jim Sullivan and aired at 6:00 this evening on K-57, we’ll revisit the effects of global warming on our neighbor to the far south. Then we’ll talk about the other end of the globe and the fate of the last great wildlife refuge in the United States. We’ll have several expedition calls including one from Peter Melyan at the Japan expo and of course, our science news updates. We’ll also be taking your phone calls. Tune in tonight! Don’t forget to log on to www.thedeepradioshow.com for all the latest and deepest news!

RISING SEA LEVELS AND STOPPING THE CAUSE
Although there are those who say global warming is a myth, there’s no getting around the fact that the average worldwide temperature has been climbing. Nine of the 10 hottest years on record have occurred since 1995 according to the U.N.'s World Meteorological Organization. Gardeners in Great Britain have seen many seasonal flowers start to bloom all year round and spring is coming earlier in the far north and south.

But the most immediate danger of this warming trend has to be what it’s doing to the great ice fields of Antarctica. You don’t really have to worry much about the ice that covers the North Pole. That ice is already in the water; at least nine-tenths of it is. But there’s a frozen continent at the South Pole covered with an ice sheet that's several miles thick. Antarctica is surrounded by great ice shelves that hold that ice cap in place.
Three years ago, the Larsen B ice shelf suddenly and dramatically collapsed and glaciers that were held in place by Larsen B are now sliding off into the sea. Two separate studies from climate researchers and NASA show the glaciers are flowing into Antarctica's Weddell Sea.

Large ice shelves in the Antarctic Peninsula disintegrated in 1995 and 2002 as a result of climate warming. But these floating ice shelves didn’t affect sea level as they melted. Glaciers, however, are another story. They rest on land and when they slide off into the water, they instantly affect sea level and can lead to rapid sea level rise.
"If anyone was waiting to find out whether Antarctica would respond quickly to climate warming, I think the answer is yes. We've seen 150 miles of coastline change drastically in just 15 years." said Theodore Scambos, a University of Colorado glacier expert who worked on one study.

Larsen B was at the far northern tip of the Antarctic, just south of Chile and Argentina. Temperatures there have risen by up to 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit (2.5 degrees C) in the past 60 years -- faster than almost any region in the world. In the past 30 years, more than 5,200 square MILES of ice has melted.

"The Larsen area can be looked at as a miniature experiment, showing how warming can dramatically change the ice sheets, and how fast it can happen," Scambos said in a statement. "At every step in the process, things have occurred more rapidly than we expected."

But not all Antarctic melting can be viewed as a "miniature experiment.” The Ross Ice Shelf, for example, is the main outlet for the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, with several large glaciers that could, if they melted completely, raise sea levels by 20-30 feet.

What would happen to Miami or New Orleans or Mumbai or New York City or most of the state of Florida if sea levels rise 30 feet in a short amount of time? What would happen to the port where the bulk of your food comes from?
Global warming could have serious consequences in the not-too-distant future. Can we stop it? Tune in tonight to The Deep, to discuss global warming. It’s heating up!

Larsen B Ice Shelf, Antarctica January 2002	Larsen B Ice Shelf, Antarctica March 2002

BIG OIL VERSUS BIG BEARS
Meanwhile, in news from the other end of the world, the US Senate voted last week to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling, delivering a major energy policy win for President Bush. The action, assuming Congress agrees on a budget, clears the way for approving drilling in the refuge later this year.
Drilling supporters acknowledged after the vote that for refuge development to get final approval, Congress must still pass a final budget with the Senate provision included, something Congress was unable to do last year.

Environmentalists and Native Americans have fought the oil companies on this for decades and argue that despite improved environmental controls, a web of pipelines and drilling platforms will harm calving caribou, polar bears and millions of migratory birds that use the coastal plain.

They say that even if oil is discovered in commercial quantities, it will take at least 10 years before that oil would hit the pipeline. In 2015, it will only make up 0.3% of world oil production. Even when production peaks (in 2025), Arctic Refuge oil will provide only make up only 7/10 of 1 percent (0.7%) of world oil production and only 3% of U.S. oil consumption. Production would diminish steadily after 2025.

Is that worth the harm the drilling companies will do? Are certain people thinking with their pocketbooks and not their brains? Gas prices are soaring. What do you think? Tune in to The Deep tonight and tell us!