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Global warming shrinks sacred glacier in the Andes July 6, 2005 The melting of a glacier in the Peruvian Andes due to global climate change is impacting the religious practices of local people, according to an article run last month in The Wall Street Journal. According to a 1997 study by the Peruvian government, the harbinger of the end of the world to these Quechua indians may be coming soon. Already the country's glaciers have shrunk by more than 20% in the past 30 years and the National Commission on Climate Change in Lima projects that Peru will lose all its glaciers below 18,000 feet in elevation in the next decade and possibly all its glaciers within the next 40 years. While scientists do not believe that climate change will bring the apocalypse, many believe that it will have a significant impact on the world's weather patterns. It is likely that people living in extreme environments like the Andes and the Arctic will be the first to see the impacts of climate change as evidence from past climate shifts have shown rapid swings in local temperatures and precipitation patterns in such regions. Ice core studies in Greenland have found 18 degree F (10 degrees Celsius) changes within a decade. Such wild fluctuations could result in rapid melting of glaciers and ice in some areas. References This article used information from The Wall Street Journal, specifically:
It Could Portend World's End, So Mountain Worshipers Are Stewarding the Ice By ANTONIO REGALADO Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL June 17, 2005; Page A1 News index | RSS | Add to MyYahoo! Advertisements: Organic Apparel from Patagonia | Insect-repelling clothing |
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