Kilimanjaro?

Source

I find this funny:

A photo of Mount Kilimanjaro stripped of its snowcap for the first time in 11,000 years will be used as dramatic testimony for action against global warming as ministers from the world's biggest polluters meet Tuesday.

Because Kilimanjaro's snow has been melting since the mountain was discovered.

Its a flashpoint, propaganda, politicing, image, advertising, marketing. Not science. Not rational discussion and action.

[edit on 14-3-2005 by Nygdan]

www.wwwalkers.com...
The first time a westerner climbed to the summit was in the late 1800's

Evidence of this retreat was first observed by Hans Meyer, the first Westerner to make the summit, who reported in 1898 that the ice limit had withdrawn by over 328 feet since his first ascent 8 years earlier. This rapid change is therefore not entirely due to recent global warming but rather a result of a longer term cycle of climatic events. Studies by Sheffield University during the 1950's reported that Kilimanjaro has had a long history of glacial advance and retreat coinciding with a sequence of eight glaciations. The present ice cap is probably the result of the world wide drop in temperature experienced between 1400AD and 1700AD and suggests that there have been several long periods when Kilimanjaro was devoid of ice.

It would seem that the melting here is pretty irrelevant to the Climate Change meeting. Who ever arranged the location most likely didn't do their research on the history of Mount Kilimanjaro. I bet that these facts will be throw in their face and will look like fools.
Thats too bad because the cause is really important.

umbrax
Who ever arranged the location most likely didn't do their research on the history of Mount Kilimanjaro.

the article notes

Steve Howard of the Climate Group charity which organized the book and an associated exhibition.

Why think that he is uniformed? THe choice of kilimanjaro is because its something well known amoung the english, its a symbol of some sort to them, so it has impact.

Well if he is not uniformed then he is setting himself up for ridicule. I'm sure it will come up in the meeting that the melting on Kilimanjaro has little or nothing to do with man made global warming. Using Kilimanjaro is going to make Howard look like a fool, at it will go against his cause.

well I don't care if the anyone thinks it's sensationalism to use the pic or not, but pictures sometimes speaks volumes for words and in this case, the point can be made that there is an obvious lack of snow on Kilimanjaro

Click link for image, too large to post directly in the thread
www.unep-wcmc.org...

and


[edit on 3-15-2005 by worldwatcher]

Originally posted by worldwatcher
well I don't care if the anyone thinks it's sensationalism to use the pic or not, but pictures sometimes speaks volumes for words and in this case, the point can be made that there is an obvious lack of snow on Kilimanjaro

Why should there be snow on it? Its in the middle of africa, it was already meltign when the victorians first discovered it. If global warming exists, and we stop it completely, Kilimanjaro's snow cap is still going to dissapear. Preserving it would be against nature.

The issue is, how many other melting glaciers and snowcaps are melting because of nature? How far back do our records of these melts go?

The issue is, how many other melting glaciers and snowcaps are melting because of nature? How far back do our records of these melts go?

You say because of nature, exactly what is it in nature that is causing this to happen now when it hasn't happened for 11000 years ?

The thing about the melting of the snow on the peark of Kilimanjaro is that anthropogenic causes are to blame. Its a well established fact Kilimanjaro has been rapidly melting since the 1800s. Therefore, Global Warming is not the culprit, even though this is certainly one of the major icons for that misguideded theory. The reason Kilimanjaro is melting is most likely because of deforestation. Temperatures at the summit have not decreased according to satellite measurements, however, with the loss of natural ecosystems at the base are preventing moist air from blowing up the mountain.

"Although it's tempting to blame the ice loss on global warming, researchers think that deforestation of the mountains foothills is the more likely culprit,"
www.nature.com...
Sorry if you don't have a subscription.
www.heartland.org...
(the above link will give you more information on the Nature paper)
www.umsl.edu...&%20Scheuerlein%20IAHR%20Arusha.pdf
My suggestion is to do a google search on Kilimanjaro and Deforestation. Then ignore anything from major media outlets. University, government, science journal, or websites of that type will give you good information on this stuff.

Originally posted by Eye Of Ra
when it hasn't happened for 11000 years ?

Kilimanjaro has been melting for a long time, and glaciers all over the world have been melting for a long time too, why are you saying it hasn't happened in 11ka?

all the melting u are seeing today is the tail end of ice melting as the last ice age ended, the earth is still coming out of the last ice age

Originally posted by Nygdan
Why should there be snow on it? Its in the middle of africa...

Temperature decreases while you rise to higher altitude.
So if you rise to high enough ice and snow are possible... even in equator.

snow cap is still going to dissapear. Preserving it would be against nature.

Just like mankind which is spewing huge amounts of excess carbon to atmosphere!

Originally posted by E_T
So if you rise to high enough ice and snow are possible... even in equator.

Yes, i understand that. But why does kilimanjaro have to have snow on it? If the snow starts melting, and it was melting before industrialization could even have effected it, then why say 'we have to take action to preserve the snow cap on kilimanjaro'?

Just like mankind which is spewing huge amounts of excess carbon to atmosphere!

Its not 'huge' relative to the atmosphere however. I agree tho, that steps should be taken. However, using kilimajaro as a graphic to say 'cripes, Global Warming is Real" is nonsense. Its like saying 'look, this winter's snow is melting, global warming is terrible'.