Climate change warms Arctic, cools Antarctica

The Arctic and Antarctica are poles apart when it comes to the effects of human-fueled climate change, scientists said on Friday. 'In the north, it is melting sea ice, but in the south, it powers winds that chill things down.'
The North and South poles are both subject to solar radiation and rising levels of climate-warming greenhouse gases, the researchers said in a telephone briefing. But Antarctica is also affected by an ozone hole hovering high above it during the austral summer.
"All the evidence points toward human-made effects playing a major role in the changes that we see at both poles and evidence that contradicts this is very hard to find," said Jennifer Francis, an atmospheric scientist at Rutgers University in New Jersey. An examination of many previous studies about polar climate, to be published on May 6 in the journal Eos, "further depletes the arsenal of those who insist that human-caused climate change is nothing to worry about," Francis said in a telephone briefing.
In the Arctic, Francis and co-authors of the research said, warming spurred by human-generated carbon dioxide emissions has combined with natural climate variations to create a "perfect Arctic storm" that caused a dramatic disappearance of sea ice last year, a trend likely to continue.
"Natural climate variability and global warming were actually working together and they've sent the Arctic into a new state for the climate that has much less sea ice," said James Overland, an oceanographer at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "There's very little chance for the climate to return to the conditions of 20 years ago."
In Antarctica, the ozone hole adds a new factor to an already complicated set of weather patterns, according to Gareth Marshall of the British Antarctic Survey.
The changes in air pressure that go along with depleted stratospheric ozone are responsible for an increase in the westerly winds that whip around the Southern Ocean, at latitudes a bit north of most of Antarctica.
These winds isolate much of the southern continent from some of the impact of global warming, Marshall said. The exception is the Antarctic Peninsula, which reaches northward toward South America. There, the effects of warming have been dramatic, he said, because the winds that protect the rest of Antarctica do not insulate the peninsula.
The stratospheric ozone hole, caused by the ozone-depleting release of chemicals found in refrigerants and hair sprays, is likely to fully recover by 2070 as less of these chemicals are in use, as a result of international agreements.
The ozone layer shields Earth from harmful solar radiation, but its recovery is likely to open the way for warming in central Antarctica, the scientists said.

Everest turning into world's highest cesspool

A deadly peril lurks on Mt Everest, the highest summit in the world, which is far more dangerous than the freezing cold, gale winds and recently posted security forces who are empowered to shoot at the sight of political activities. The new hazard comes from human waste scattered along the mountain slopes, which could run into hundreds of tonnes.
"Toilet paper and human excreta litter the Everest base camp (at an altitude of 6,400 metres), the slopes, and even the summit (8,848 metres) itself," says Ang Tshering Sherpa, chief of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, which is entrusted with promoting mountaineering in this country.
"In summer, when the snow melts, the frozen human waste comes into sight and starts raising a stink. The grave health and environmental hazard the untreated excreta pose is a matter of great concern," Sherpa added.
While conscious mountaineers have been trying to clear the garbage left on the mountains, nothing has been done so far to treat the human waste lying there.
In the past, expeditions have collected used oxygen cans, tents, food tins and other litter and brought much of it down but the human waste remains.
"As it remains frozen during the expeditions, it is very difficult to remove it and bring it down," Sherpa said.
In a bid to prevent the world's tallest mountain from turning into the highest cesspool, an expedition is now introducing, for the first time in the history of the Everest, bio-degradable toilets.
Sherpa's son Dawa Steven Sherpa is leading the 24-member Eco Everest 2008 expedition to the summit in memory of the peak's greatest benefactor, Edmund Hillary, to try and clean the garbage.
The team is carrying three "Clean Mountain Cans" with them, a portable toilet manufactured by an American company. The bins are lined with bio-degradable bags that decompose the human waste deposited in them.
The expedition is armed with 200 such bags. Besides using them, the team members will also try to remove the frozen waste on the summit, put it in the bags and bring it down to the base camp.
The cans, which can be bought for $75 a piece in the US, cost a thumping $150 when brought to Nepal, one of the poorest countries in the world.
"The cans were gifted by the American Alpine Club, while some of the bags were donated by the factories that made them," Sherpa said.
Sherpa, who runs Asian Trekking, one of the leading trekking agencies in Nepal, said his company would henceforth use the cans and urge other agencies to employ them too.
The expedition, that is also highlighting the dangers of climate change in the Himalayan slopes, is tying to put into action a banner in Kathmandu that urges citizens to use garbage wisely and turn it into money.
It is offering each climber who brings down human or other waste down from the peak to the base camp $1 for each kg of junk.

Meet JJ and Jake

Meet Jake -- a 14 year-old Chihuahua who is making his way to the World's Ugliest Dog Contest -- or at least trying! Adopted by JJ about four years ago, Jake survived many struggles, including a nine year stint as a stud dog at a puppy mill.

Read about Jake's adventures in a weekly blog written by JJ.

Come back soon for more blogs -- and find out if Jake makes it to the Competition!

Top 10 Secluded Beaches

Seeking out sun, surf, and sand is an easy enough task, but is it possible to stir seclusion into the mix, too? Our editors say “shore”!

We’ve dug deep into our arsenal of secret sands to present our top picks for secluded beaches around the globe, where quiet coasts invite in-the-know sunbathers to savor their relative solitude. Sure, some of these destinations are downright remote, and require off-the-path travel to far-flung locales in Thailand, Spain, and Down Under, but some of the most isolated shores are right under beachgoers’ noses, in popular stateside spots like Florida, California, and Hawaii. We’ve also included some secluded beaches in hotpots like the Caribbean, Brazil, and the Greek Isles for good measure. You’ll just have to plan a visit soon — while these semi-private sands remain undiscovered for the moment, the cat’s officially out of the bag.

Ao Phra Nang Beach, Thailand
Often cited as “Phuket 10 years ago,” the beach resorts surrounding the Thai port town of Krabi remain, for the time being, far less trodden than those of its famous island neighbor, some 100 miles to the west. Accessible only by long-tail boat from Krabi or from the more frequented beach resort of Ao Nang, the far-flung headland of Laem Phra Nang, or Railay (also called Rai Leh) Beach, is our preferred destination, thanks to its stunning surroundings of karst cliffs (making it popular with rock climbers), lush jungle and the warm waters of the emerald Andaman Sea. Here, four neighboring white-sand beaches unfold, of which Ao Phra Nang Beach is the most secluded with its snorkeling-friendly reefs, soft sands and singular luxury hotel. Visitors are free to relax in relative solitude, or to seek out adventure with a swim to “Happy Island,” just offshore, or by poking about in Tham Prah Nang Cave at the cliff’s base. Go now before it’s discovered by the masses.

Baía de Sancho, Brazil
Red-tinged sands and turquoise-trimmed shores define this pristine bay, which unfolds on the main and only inhabited island of Fernando de Noronha, an Atlantic archipelago off of Brazil’s northeastern coast. Protected as a UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site and a national marine park, the ecological sanctuary of the beach and its environs can be explored in near solitude, thanks to strict restrictions on commercial development and controlled visitation. The few visitors that do access the isle are thinned out even further by the precarious approach to the remote Baía de Sancho, which entails climbing down a cliff face along a series of ladders (although the faint of heart can arrange to arrive by boat on snorkeling or diving excursions). The waters here thrive with an array of marine life, from live coral to manta rays and sea turtles to dolphins. Just be sure to pack provisions, as there’ll be no bars, peddlers, or the like on these isolated shores.

Bowman's Beach, Florida
The secret’s out about the beauty of Sanibel Island’s linen-white sand beaches — situated about 25 miles southwest of Fort Myers— so you won’t be alone in searching for a stretch of sand to call your own. But that’s just what you’ll get when you leave your car and make the quarter-mile walk to Bowman’s Beach, Sanibel’s most peaceful place. The island is well-known as one of the best shelling spots in the country, but you’ll find little competition here. There’s minimal development and ditto for amenities — though Bowman’s does have one perk not found on any other beach on Sanibel: barbecue grills. Enjoy the pristine sand at Casa Ybel Resort (www.casaybelresort.com) and slurp down briny oysters at The Lazy Flamingo (www.lazyflamingo.com), where staff let you bring a glass of wine to the beach to watch the sunset.

Beyond the forest veil

Little by little a rainforest island was persuaded to share some of its innermost secrets, revealing a richness and beauty worth waiting for.

Hidden treasures
A tropical rainforest is really good at hiding its treasures. I already knew this, as I had spent a year on Barro Colorado Island studying for a Masters degree. But when I returned to capture the essence of the forest on film, I was faced with a new set of challenges. Barro Colorado was once the top of a large hill in Central Panama. When the Chagres River was dammed during construction of the Panama Canal between 1911 and 1914, the hilltop was isolated, forming the largest island in the artificial water body now known as Lake Gatun. Covered with lush rainforest, the island has been studied and protected since the 1920s. Today, it is home to a modern research station run by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, which attracts scientists from around the globe and makes the island a Mecca for tropical ecology.

Stunning diversity
Within the forest live tens of thousands of different organisms, variations of life, each with its own individual qualities and role in the system. It is this stunning diversity, interwoven in a vivid and complex web, that makes the forest function as a whole. Most of this life happens secretly and quietly, hidden behind a thick, green curtain of vegetation or concealed by its miniature scale. My aim, working with tropical ecologist Egbert Leigh, was to lift this curtain for brief moments, to reveal the layers of the forest, to unravel its complex ecology and to convey its beauty.

In the dark

We decided to focus on certain animals and plants as ambassadors of the ecosystem, examples to represent the multitude of creatures playing a similar role. But the sheer number of species present made any particular one hard to track down, and even when I spotted what I was looking for, there were a thousand ways to miss the crucial moment. Only about 1 per cent of the light that hits the tree canopy ever reaches the ground, resulting in permanently low light levels, and the extreme climate - constant heat and moisture - was an ever-present threat to my camera equipment.

Waiting and watching
I spent 15 months in the forest, hours and days of waiting for the right animal or sufficient light, often in pouring rain. At times, I felt like giving up. But then there were single moments of magic, short windows in time and space when the forest was willing to share one of its secrets. Suddenly a bird would fly by, the sun would shine on just the right spot and I would grab one or two images before the forest closed in once again.

A quick look at the largest and smallest River

Longest River, the Nile and the Amazon can both be called the longest river in the world depending on how you define longest. With several mouths, the exact point at which the Amazon ends continues to be uncertain. Counting the Para's estuary (the most distant mouth), the Amazon's length is approximately 4,190 miles. Once officially recorded as having a length of 4,145 miles, the Nile has since lost a few miles due to the formation of Lake Nasser behind the Aswan High Dam.
Deepest Lake, is Lake Baikal in Siberia, Russia. The Olkhon Crevice, the deepest point of the lake, has a depth of 5,370 ft, of which 3,875 are below sea level.
Biggest Lake, is the Caspian Sea, an inland sea which covers parts of Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Iran. It is 760 miles long, with a surface area of 143,560 miles and an estimated volume of 21,500 cubic miles.
Biggest Ocean Covering 32.6% of the Earth's surface or 64,186,300 miles, the Pacific Ocean is officially the world's biggest ocean.
Smallest Ocean, more than ten times smaller than the Pacific Ocean, the Arctic Ocean, which has a surface area of 5,105,700 miles, is the world's smallest ocean.
Biggest Lake Shrinkage Due almost entirely to the extraction of water for irrigation purposes, the Aral Sea has shrunk the most in recent times having lost almost two-thirds of its original size. By 1994 (with 10,500 miles left compared to 26,300 miles in 1950) it had divided into two smaller bodies of water.

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