This
is part of the divide and obfuscate approach to climate denialism and
the trick is not to vociferously defend glacial melt as proof of
anything as that falls into the trap of promoting one single piece of
evidence to a "make the case or break the case" status.
Instead, let's put these findings in context with other similar
findings which when viewed as a whole are impossible to ignore.
Answer:
No
one claims that a few melting glaciers is proof of Global Warming.
Proof is a mathematical concept. In climate science one needs to look
at the balance of evidence and this is just more evidence on one side
of that balance. Widespread and rapid retreat of glaciers is merely
yet another observation consistent with all the other kinds of
"melting" evidence.
Here is some of that
evidence:
Sea ice reaches new record declines:
http://nsidc.org/news/press/20050928
_trendscontinue.html
Glaciers in Greenland are receding and calving at record rates:
http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/lookingatearth/ grace-20051220.html
This
is a global
phenomenon:
http://www.realclimate.org/index.php?p=129
http://nsidc.org/sotc/glacier_balance.html
http://www.worldviewofglobalwarming.org/pages/glaciers.html
Ancient
permafrost is also
thawing:
http://www.newscientist.com/channel/earth/
mg18725124.500
http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF15/
1523.html
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/1215-24.htm
Clearly,
we are dealing with much more than a few receding glaciers.
A3d_d1