WE'LL HAVE TO COME BACK IN 200 YEARS TIME TO SEE IF HE'S RIGHT?

Ah! The green , green grass of Antarctica - I hope there's time for the penguins to change out of their tuxedoes and get into their khaki chinos.

Maybe we'll have to bring back the Mammoth to keep the vegetation under control

Antarctic will melt as carbon dioxide levels rise: scientists. 13/07/2006. ABC News Online


A gathering of leading Antarctic scientists in Hobart has heard alarming predictions about the rate at which the frozen continent will melt as the earth warms.
Experts predict changes on the Antarctic as atmospheric carbon dioxide levels rise.
Stanford University Professor Robert Dunbar has told the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research it is inevitable atmospheric carbon dioxide levels will double in the next few centuries.
Professor Dunbar says ice sheets in western Antarctica will be particularly vulnerable under these conditions.
"The ice sheet is grounded way below sea level and that's the part of Antarctica that that is most sensitive to global warming over the next few centuries," he said.
"When that part melts, and many people think that we are going to see that melt over the next several centuries, sea levels will rise about six to seven metres."
Some 20 million years ago there was very little ice in Antarctica, and drill cores show evidence of vegetation.
New Zealand Antarctic Research Centre's Professor Peter Barrett says that is where we are headed.
"The cause is the burning of fossil fuels, we need to find alternative energies, we need to lower our footprint," he said.
The conference also heard climate change increases the risk of non-native species surviving in Antarctica.
Today the conference will hear from Dr Ali Bakhtiari, who will speak about the global oil situation in a keynote address.
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