Antarctic Ice Sheet Is Melting Rapidly, New Study Warns Of Rising Sea Levels

The Antarctic ice sheet is losing mass at a significant rate, which can be linked to global warming, reports the journal Science. At the same time, two other scientists from South Africa warn that climate change could seriously deplete the water supply in the southern and western regions of Africa by the year 2100. Satellites supplied data on the ice sheet and the global sea level, which is rising by 0.4 millimeters a year. Even researchers who express reservations on global warming concede that the report is startling, given earlier predictions that the ice sheet would actually increase in mass this century. So far the Bush administration has resisted curbing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions, noting that any limits could hurt the economy. Critics counter that US policy must focus on cooperating with other governments to prevent global warming, arguing that rising temperatures, vanishing species and shrinking water supplies will also devastate the economy. – YaleGlobal