UN: Glaciers Melting at Record Speed
Business Week (Europe), March 17, 2008
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) reports that glaciers across the world are melting at record rates.Here are key excerpts from the story:
- UNEP executive director Achim Steiner said glacial loss could have serious consequences for people who depend on them for water. Rivers in India, for instance, are fed by water from disappearing Himalayan glaciers.
- "Millions, if not billions, of people depend directly or indirectly on these natural water storage facilities for drinking water, agriculture, industry and power generation during key parts of the year," said Steiner.
- Glacial melt is the "canary in the climate change coal mine," said UNEP executive director Achim Steiner in a statement. "It is absolutely essential that everyone sits up and take notice," he said.
- In 2006, the 30 glaciers included in the study shrank an average of 1.5 meters (4.9 feet) -- more than double the rate of shrinkage in 2005.
BUSINESS WEEK
Europe March 17, 2008
UN: Glaciers Melting at Record Speed
The UN Environment Programme calls for swift action on climate change or rivers fed by glaciers will dry up, with global consequences
Glaciers across the globe are melting faster than at any point in the last century. Many could disappear within decades, and their decline could cause droughts and chaos for billions of people who depend on rivers fed by glaciers.
This was the sobering message delivered Sunday by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), along with a plea to international leaders to act swiftly and drastically to address climate change, which the UNEP says is to blame for the glacial melt.
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