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Antarctic climate is directly affected by tropical changes.

Ice core analysis performed by US researchers Eric Steig and David Schneider have found for the first time a direct link between changes in tropical climates and the sometimes huge temperature swings seen in the Antarctic. Estimating that the West Antarctic in particular has warmed approximately 0.9 degrees Celsius over the past century, which is higher than the global average, the scientists found that this temperature change is a direct response to phenomena in the Pacific such as the El Niño effect. Dr. Schneider stated, “As the tropics warm, so too will West Antarctica.” With ice that averages over a mile in depth, a melting of Antarctica would cause sea levels to rise by a disastrous 8 to 16 feet.

Drs. Steig, Schneider and colleagues, we thank you for sharing this understanding of the Antarctic’s warming cycles. We pray for these insights to generate even more urgency in our efforts to live sustainably and halt the effects of climate change.

Flora and fauna “speak” of climate change.

While they might not use human language, plants and animal are migrating and in some cases perishing in their attempts to stay cool. A recently completed census of birds in the US state of New York was compared to one conducted 20 years earlier and found that many species, including the Nashville warbler, the pine siskin, and the red-bellied woodpecker, had extended their range boundaries northward, some by as many as 40 miles.
 
A similar comparative census of trees and plants in California’s Santa Rosa Mountains showed that 9 out of 10 species had migrated upward over 200 feet, with a loss of the plants at lower elevations. Ecologist Dr. Travis Huxman of the University of Arizona said, “The speed (of the plant movement) is alarming. It means that we'll likely see vegetation shift a lot faster than we might think.”

Our gratitude, Dr. Huxman and all whose detailed observations over time have contributed this vital message from our fellow co-inhabitants, which we pray all will heed and act quickly to save their lives and ours on Earth.
http://www.fresnobee.com/384/story/790104.html,
http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20080812/sc_livescience/
plantsandanimalsmoveasclimatewarms;_ylt=AjBoxCgmzqVUrOmy706PJ0Bpl88F
, http://eebweb.arizona.edu/faculty/huxman/ 
http://www.enn.com/sci-tech/article/37898

Oceanic dead zones pose a global threat. 

A study just published by US and Swedish scientists reports the startling discovery of over 400 oceanic dead zones, which is twice as many as the United Nations identified two years ago. Dead zones can vary in size but share the characteristics of being populated with algae that dies and in decaying removes all the oxygen from the water, rendering the affected area incapable of supporting life. Dead zones are caused by such human activities as fossil fuel burning, fertilizer runoff and overfishing. Study co-author, Dr. Robert J. Diaz of the USA’s Virginia Institute of Marine Science stated, “It is a global problem and it has severe consequences for ecosystems… We could end up with no crabs, no shrimp, no fish. That is where these dead zones are heading unless we stop their growth.”

Dr. Diaz and colleagues, we thank you for alerting us to this alarming trend. We pray that humanity joins together in finding ways to reverse these harmful effects and restore our oceans to their original life-sustaining beauty.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/08/14/dead.zones.ap/index.html?iref=newssearch, http://daily.sightline.org/daily_score/archive/2004/11/30/pass_the_sardin/?searchterm=dioxide