[MothBalls]

Originally Posted by SUBMAN1

Ice floating displaces the exact same amount of water that it is in itself water - something the media can't figure out as well as some others that I see. From a shelf however, if that shelf is land based, then you have something displacing water that was once not of that water, so in effect, you are adding water to water and it will rise.

This is not happening in the last year in either Antarctica or Alaska since both land masses are increasing their glacier ice like never before recorded. Alaska in particular has added more ice than it lost to its most famous glaciers for the first time in recorded history.

-S

Here's a visual of what whatshisname just said:
http://www.teachersdomain.org/resour...c.icesimulate/

If you read the [ENTIRE] article with this link, you'll also notice:

However, although the melting of floating ice doesn't significantly affect sea level, there are other consequences. Variations in salinity and temperature drive global ocean circulation because of density differences; fresh water is less dense than salt water and warm water is less dense than cold water. This thermohaline circulation is sometimes referred to as the great ocean "conveyor belt" because it is one of Earth's main mechanisms for transporting energy.

Now you have to factor in the Global Ocean Conveyor:
http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/lin....html&edu=high


The problem [I see] with the whole global warming debate is that there's so many inter-related systems at work, so many data points to consider, and so many variables that change every time you change any one data point, it's easy to extrapolate data to prove your point. For or against, you can always come up with "proof" you are correct.

Nobody knows for sure. If you think you're right, you're full of chit.

That always leads me back to, we should just change the things that we can. If there is a possibility that we are having a negative impact on the environment we should do what we can to mitigate those affects.

Stop burning fossil fuels and start developing renewable energy would be a good starting point.