Last week’s discussion, “Climate Change and Global Warming Uncovered Myth?,” centered around Randolph E. Schmid’s column “Global warming continues as greenhouse gas grows,” published by Associated Press on Jun 28, 2011.

In the article, Randolf states “….. a report from the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado at Boulder said the Earth is getting thicker around the middle due to ice loss from the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. "If you imagine the Earth is like a soccer ball and you push down on the North Pole, it would bulge out at its 'equator,'" said CIRES fellow Steve Nerem, co-author of the study.”

This finding was rather surprising. Sure, there is nothing new with the fact that climate change is causing glacial ice to melt, the seas to rise and the topography of the earth to change. But for climate change to impact the shape of the earth, that’s a horse of a different color.

As a progression in nomenclature, originally the global climatic change attributed to increased levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere was called “Global Warming.” Soon Global Warming became too narrow in scope. The scientific community then adopted the more inclusive phrase Climate Change. Now, even Climate Change, seems too passé. It seems that “Global Distortion” would be more appropriate.

Before going on, it is scientifically sound to find out if mother earth’s recent “bulging” phenomenon has been reported by other reputable sources.

On December 5, 2002, John Roach for National Geographic News reported:

• “Scientists of the Royal Observatory of Belgium in Brussels have identified a few suspects behind the Earth's sudden weight gain around the Equator: glacial melt and shifting ocean mass.”

• “Christopher Cox and Benjamin Chao, research scientists at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, reported in the August 2 issue of Science that the Earth's girth is bulging at a rate of one millimeter (.04 inch) per year, a subtle rate of change.”

• “Dickey's team concluded that rapid melting of the Earth's glaciers coupled with a dramatic redistribution of ocean mass is causing Earth's bulging girth.”

On January 7, 2005, NASA reported:

• “….. Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin using NASA satellite data found that significant changes in the Earth's shape in the past 28 years may be linked to climate events such as the El Nino weather pattern.

• “The long-term history of these measurements (Satellite Laser Ranging “SLR” data) makes it possible for scientists to see how the large-scale mass was moved around the world. The data also provide an immediate and historical record of melting glaciers and polar ice sheets, and the associated sea level change.

Google Earth prepared a time animation of the Arctic ice melting. The animation shows the melting is very dramatic and is getting worse.
http://www.gearthblog.com/blog/archives/2007/11/arctic_ice_melting_animation_in_goo.html

The number of citations about the bulging earth and its relationship to glacial melting is rather vast. The primary reason for all these geodetic studies has little to do with climate change. The need to understand the shape of the earth is critical to obtaining precise gravity measurements, which is one of the most influential factors in determining near-Earth orbits of artificial satellites.

To underscore these points, Huffpost recently reported, “Warming Ocean Could Melt Ice Faster Than Thought.” With so many years spent in talking about reducing oil imports and finding cleaner sources of energy, with little noticeable progress, Ladies and gentleman, it is time to wake up. Seems we been asleep way too long.

In closing, some may say that this is just another example of the scientific community’s premature call to action. Others may consider scientists make these fallacious claims to scare people into thinking fossil fuels and its greenhouse gas emissions are nature’s devil. Without a doubt there can be other contributing factors to “Global Distortion.” However, one thing that can be eliminated with a high degree of certainty is that earth’s new rotund profile is not the result of McDonalds and fast foods.  .

As data keeps rolling in, all indicators point to our reliance on fossil fuels. The situation is changing rather fast. Not in eons, but in a few years. Yes, during earth’s +3 billion year history it has fallen to almost every celestial event the universe can conjure up.  Even its birth is the result of some unimaginable solar cataclysm. The earth has survived all. It can be argued, after each event the earth seemed to recover for the better. Let’s hope that man will still be around to witness the next event.

Not to be too pedantic, I will repeat my closing statement once again. “Knowledge comes from finding the answers, but understanding the meaning of those answers brings wisdom." No matter the degree to which fossil fuels impact climate change, failing to take immediate steps to control what we can control may rank as one of the biggest blunders in the history of the human race. Simple undisputable fact is, the combustion of fossil fuels generates CO2, which “IS” a greenhouse gas that will do just that - heat up the earth.

WHY GAMBLE ON THE FUTURE OF THE HUMAN RACE!

To read my other discussions, please visit: http://tinyurl.com/barry-stevens277