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Dramatic evidence of global warming

By Eric Ruder | March 29, 2002 | Page 2

A MASSIVE chunk of ice the size of Rhode Island fell off an ice shelf in Antarctica last week--a signal that global warming is accelerating rapidly, according to scientists.

The Larsen B ice shelf had existed for 12,000 years before it broke up, releasing 720 billion tons of ice into the ocean. That's enough ice to supply every man, woman and child on the planet with a 5-pound bag of ice--each and every day for the next 24 years.

During the last five years, the ice shelf has deteriorated rapidly and is now 40 percent of its former size. "We knew what was left of the Larsen B ice shelf would collapse eventually, but this is staggering," said Dr. David Vaughan.

The event is only the most dramatic evidence of an ongoing trend of global warming–with disastrous consequences for the environment.

But George W. Bush doesn't seem to care. The U.S. pulled out of the global Kyoto treaty to reduce greenhouse gas emissions--on the grounds that global warming might not be happening.

Bush did set a date for reconsidering whether action might be necessary. Ten years from now.

The White House did address the global warming issue in February--with a proposal for $4.6 billion in corporate tax breaks as incentives for "voluntary" reductions by pollution-producing industries.

Not wanting to be left out in the cold, the Democrat-controlled Senate voted 62-38 in mid-March to postpone increasing fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks--a sop to big automakers who lobbied aggressively against such standards.

Democrats and Republicans alike will do whatever it takes to serve their corporate masters--even if it means wrecking the planet.

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