98 The Antarctic Peninsula

We have selected 100 unique places on Earth that are projected to
undergo profound changes within the next few generations.


We based our selection of the 100 places on the 4th Assessment
Report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Simply by drawing attention to the beauty of these places, 100 Places to
Remember Before they Disappear creates an argument to preserve
them.

The 100 Places we have chosen to highlight, and the people who
live in them, are in serious danger because of rising sea levels, rising
temperatures and extreme weather events triggered by climate change.

Among ambassadors are Joss Stone, Desmund Tutu for more info visit http://www.100places.com -


98. The Antarctic Peninsula · Antarctica

Where Penguins Fly in the Sea

Antarctica has no permanent human settlements; instead this vast land, which is covered with ice and surrounded by sea ice, is the domain of another two-legged creature. Millions of penguins, that great icon of the continent, inhabit Antarctica, many of them on the Antarctic Peninsula at the northern-most tip.

The Emperor Penguin, the largest of all the species, is endemic to Antarctica. Every year, the Emperor Penguins make an amazing journey. Coupled in mating pairs, they trek 50-120 kilometres across the Antarctic wasteland to their ancestral breeding grounds. Here, each female lays a single egg.

The penguins look somewhat awkward on land, where they either waddle or toboggan, sliding over the ice on their bellies, but they are agile and elegant underwater. Early Antarctic explorers actually mistook them for fish, and classified them accordingly. With their streamlined bodies and wings that have evolved into strong, stiff flippers, penguins are perfectly shaped to fly through the water. The Emperor Penguin can dive for up to 22 minutes at a time, and to a depth of more than 500 metres.

Like its smaller cousin, the Adélie Penguin, the Emperor depends on sea ice to breed. The amount of sea ice also influences the abundance of krill, a shrimp-like crustacean that is a vital food source for the penguins and for the fish they eat.

Studies show that in the Antarctic Peninsula, temperatures are rising at one of the fastest rates anywhere on Earth. It has probably been 10,000 years since the ice shelves in this area have been as small as they are today. When the sea ice disappears, so will the colonies of penguins. The rapid rate of warming is expected to continue, and large numbers of Emperor and Adélie Penguins will be under threat by 2050, making the penguin an ominous symbol of global warming.

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[1clinttorris]

@wjfox2006 Al Gore's " An Inconvenient Lie" is based on Bad Science and over 30,000 Scientist worldwide disagree with it. PLEASE google " intergovernmental panel on climate change scandal ". "The corruption within the IPCC, the Climategate scandal, doctoring of data and the refusal to admit mistakes, have so severely tainted the IPCC that it is no longer a credible agency," Don Easterbrook, a professor of geology at Western Washington University, declared in an interview with FoxNews.com.

[ringer1ca]

You do realize that the government doesn't need to make up a vast conspiracy to increase taxes, right? Believe it or not, taxes have gone up and down several times in my life without any apocalyptic reasons.

[FanOfStephenKing]

First of all, Global warming is a myth. Second, the Antarctic Peninsula is in fact melting, as it has been for the last SIX THOUSAND years. And third, Other than the Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica is actually getting colder, and the ice is getting thicker.

[wjfox2006]

@1clinttorris

lol. I can't believe there are still people like you who mention these 30,000 scientists. It's been debunked a million times. Google "The 30,000 Global Warming Petition Is Easily-Debunked Propaganda".

Oh, and quoting the extremely biased Fox News = FAIL

Fact remains, the overwhelming majority of scientists agree that humans ARE influencing the climate. 2010 was the joint warmest year on record, btw. Carry on enjoying your ignorance.

[calzagheisthebest]

@1clinttorris thank you sir, it took a while before anybody answered my question. your response was a feel good one too because let's be honest, we all worry about the future

[1clinttorris]

@1clinttorris PLEASE, research for yourself and you will see the Video Description that "100 places to remember" added below the video is nearly all incorrect about the Antarctic disappearing and it being uninhabited. Having studied Meteorology and Solar-Heliospheric Physics (Space Weather), I can't honestly comment on the Penguins, but I plan to google and learn about them to see if "100Places" is incorrect on them too.

[1clinttorris]

@calzagheisthebest VERY GOOD to question everything you see and hear on the web since over 90% of all comments come from Media Brainwashed or Under-Educated People. Most Scientist agree (except NASA or Govt Funded Organizations) that temperature swings have been going on forever and will continue. Also, the Hockey stick graph in Gore's movie is Bad Science. Temp rises are Not a result of CO2 rise, just the opposite. All thru history Co2 levels have risen but only years after Temp increases.

[1clinttorris]

@seroeth You are 100% CORRECT. It was the Arctic that had been shrinking between the 1940's and recently, now it is starting to grow in ice coverage again. The Antarctic is now at record levels of ice and glacial growth. Google Antarctic increasing in size and see that most scientists (with exception of NASA and Govt Funded Orgs) all agree with this.

[arabhorseband]

@SpirtualSuzie ; yeah, let's just speed up the end of the world...that's smart. Things that takes thousands of yrs now take hundreds; things that take tens of thousands now accelerate exponentially. Really smart, the human species. Some perfect examples right here on YT.

[elgranto7]

Global warming has never happened.. the definition of global warming is mans effect on the climate. Silly billy. And indeed everyone know the climate constantly changes.