Whilst it’s true that some glaciers are growing, the overwhelming majority of them are shrinking. Half of the world’s glaciers outside the Polar regions have already gone, 90% of those that remain are melting.
The people who live within sight of the glaciers or who depend on them for drinking water, irrigation etc would laugh at those who say they’re not melting.
People are now taking unusual steps to prevent glaciers from melting. For example, high in the Andes there are people paining the tops of mountains white in an attempt to reflect sunlight and cool the surrounding areas enough to allow glaciers to return.
By and large people tend to be aware of, and perhaps concerned about, factors that they can see are affecting them; this is human nature. If for example, the authorities stated their intention to put a sewage farm next door, then pretty much everyone would react. But if the sewage farm were a hundred miles away they won’t be at all concerned.
Given that glacial melting is something that few people actually observe then it’s very easy to dismiss it. After all, if you live in Miami and Glacier National Park is melting then it’s hardly going to be considered an issue. Similarly, why would a Londoner be concerned about ice melting in Greenland.
The fact that this melting is contributing to sea-level rise, which does directly affect Miami, London and many other places, is something that many people should perhaps be concerned about.
Given that the rise in sea-levels is only 3.2mm a year then many people won’t even notice it, even if they live on the coast. It’s therefore very easy to ignore.
The changes that do occur because of melting glaciers are gradual, there’s no sudden rise in sea-levels or changes to weather patterns. Because the changes take time they often go un-noticed, it’s only when you compare the present with some point in the past that the changes are obvious.
It’s rather like a person you see regularly, they look the same every time you see them but when you look at a photo of them from 20 years ago you realise just how much they have changed.
Some people are genuinely unaware that the cryosphere is melting, it’s not a subject which interests them so they don’t pay it any heed.
Others would prefer to pretend that there’s no melting and that global warming isn’t happening and there are several psychological reasons or this.
One such reason is that an acknowledgement of warming means accepting being a part of the problem.
Another is denial psychosis, a condition in which the brain constructs a mental filter that prohibits the flow of information which contradicts a pre-conceived notion. This is common, most people do it to some extent.
One simple example would be sports fans. They’ll be adamant that their team will win the upcoming game even though they’ve not beaten the opposition for years and the other side has an unbeaten record all season. Rationally speaking, they haven’t got a chance but the supporters want to believe they’ll win and so that’s what they believe.
Then there’s the influential power of public figures and those we respect. For example, if Obama says that global warming is happening then Democrats are far more likely to accept this than Republicans. If Rush Limbaugh says that global warming isn’t happening then those who respect him will accept what he says without questioning it. Whether any such claims are based on real world evidence or have any scientific credibility is often inconsequential.
What tends to happen is that when a person has formed an opinion, whether it’s right or wrong, they’ll subconsciously seek out other people and sources that share the same opinion, thus reinforcing their own belief whilst excluding anything that could undermine that belief.
Take for example someone who is sceptical of global warming. They may watch a report on Fox News that says it’s not happening and another one on ABC News which says it is. They are likely to believe the report on Fox without questioning it and without requiring any citations or verification, the ABC report on the other hand is likely to be summarily dismissed. The reality is that both reports could be as right or as wrong as each other but only one will be accepted.
I will tell you why I don't care. Because the glaciers have been melting since the Little Ice Age and there is no statistical analysis suggesting this melting is unprecedented. This is just another thing the warmers like to frighten people wiith.
Here is a little hint. Warmer is better than colder. You know the tree ring data the warmers use to talk about past temperatures??? They assume that warming = more tree growth.
And its not really that I don't care, it is that I can't fix it. Lets look at our options:
Hydropower - the enviros protest this to save the spotted horny toad
Nuclear power - The enviros really protest this one
geothermal - The enviros protest
wind power - the enviros protest due to birk strikes.
Coal power - the enviros protest
natural gas power - the enviros protest.
The only one they don't protest is solar, and that is only because they are blissfully unaware of all of the chemicals used in making solar panels.
Fact is that the environmentalists are the biggest road block to any plan. This is why the warmers do not even have a plan.
THEY DON'T EVEN HAVE A PLAN!!!
Their plan is to... wait for it ....
TAX YOU. That's it. Tax you and the CO2 is magically going to go away.
Edit:
Look at Dooks, before and after for glacial retreat. You notice something about the retreat? Here is a hint... the after shot has far more trees. Why? Because plants don't like ice.
"The data on global glacial history and ice mass balance do not support the claims made by the
IPCC that CO2 emissions are causing most glaciers today to retreat and melt.
Glaciers around the world are continuously advancing and retreating, with a general pattern of
retreat since the end of the Little Ice Age. There is no evidence of an increased rate of melting overall
since CO2 levels rose above their pre-industrial levels, suggesting CO2 is not responsible for glaciers melting.
By themselves such facts as melting glaciers and Arctic sea ice, while interesting, tell one nothing
about causation. Any significant warming, whether anthropogenic or natural, will melt ice. To claim
anthropogenic global warming (AGW) is occurring based on such information is to confuse the
consequences of warming with its cause, constituting an error in logic. Similar arguments apply also to
fluctuations in glacier mass, sea ice, precipitation, and sea level, all of which can be forced by many factors
other than temperature change. It is entirely inappropriate to use this type of circumstantial evidence to
claim allegedly dangerous human-caused warming is occurring.
Global sea-ice cover remains similar in area to that at the start of satellite observations in 1979, with
ice shrinkage in the Arctic Ocean since then being offset by growth around Antarctica."
http://www.nipccreport.org/reports/ccr2a...
The warmunist deniers forgot to tell you that Muir glacier has been retreating for more than 200 years.
I was leaning more towards the rapid rate of glacier melting, thanks for catching that btw! Melting is a natural process but at the rate that it is currently happening due to anthropological forces (like global warming), they are melting way faster than ever in history.
Some people are small minded. If they can't see it, if it is not in their neighborhood, if they are not personally and directly effected by it, then they don't care.
Get your question right first, your talking about receding glaciers, glaciers always melt in summer and grow in winter, and they flow downhill by gravity, temperature is not the only factor, snowfall is also a reason on whether they are growing or receding.
Not all glaciers are receding some are growing, and some are receding because of land use changes, deforestation can cause reduced atmosperic moisture and reduced snowfall.
Some people do, but too many people don't.
A lot of people are afraid that if we cut back on greenhouse gas emissions, that they won't be able to drive, or to heat or light their homes. But all these things can be done with clean energy.
And if the denialists who have responded cared about the recession of the glaciers, they would not be denying that they are receding..
they are simply naive and don't understand science
Because they cannot change the melting rate.
what melting glaciers? Glaciers melt and expand ice all the time.
Or also, why do people not care about the melting of the cryosphere?
I've already got some ideas:
1. Many people that don't live near glaciers realize the consequences, simply because it doesn't directly affect them
2. Because people don't even realize it is a problem
I'm writing this for a report so they need to be more on the scientific route/psychological not like random answers like "because people have better things to do". Thank you all! :)
Because they are too busy repeating idiotic lies about science.
they refreeze in winter
