Ice,Ice,Maybe?
Here we go again. Another problem caused by global warming. Instead thinking of the effects it will have in the future, the Dutch are feeling it now. The Eleven Towns Tour, a marathon skating race held in Holland, may not take place this year due to the mild winter.
The event was last held ten years ago, and is in danger of not being held again because it is not cold enough for the canals to freeze. Dutch meteorologists reported that 2006 has been the warmest year in 300 years, since they began recording. In order for the event to take place, the ice on the canals must be 15cm thick, which has occurred fifteen times in the past 100 years.
Image Credit: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/Tour_skate_ice1.jpg
The race goes through 11 towns within the province of Friesland, Holland, and is a whopping 124 miles(200 km) long!
Meteorologists predicted that the event will only be able to be held four times within the 21st century. Even though this event is not life an enironmental issue, the problem that caused it is an issue. As time is going on we are seeing the effects of global warming, and the problems are only going to go from bad to worse if we don’t put a stop to it.
Source for article: http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=11970
lschneider said,
January 6, 2007 at 6:14 am
The mild winters and record-breaking stuff seems to be a popular blogging topic. I was shocked enough with all the worldwide record-breaking mild winters. But to read that the issue is penetrating aspects of life is kind of scary. The fact that the mild winter is preventing the Holland skating marathon is probably angering/annoying many of the Dutch. I wonder what else is going to be affected by all this?