Comments on: Emperor Penguins May Be Marching to Extinction by 2100

By: Susy

Susy — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 18:13:41 +0000

Could someone please explain why the penguins need the ice. Why can’t they breed on land? Is this not possible for some reason?

Also, penguins won’t simply die from the fact that the air is warmer will they? They seem to be OK in zoos in warmer countries.

Sorry if these are silly questions! Thanks for any responses!

By: Lisette Root

Lisette Root — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 05:57:41 +0000

I personally believe that the “best thing to do is nothing”, approach is outdated, and ignorant as well. I would also like to point out that if the penguins were selfish, they would not be alive. Their co-operative society is why they are here for us to marvel at.

By: P.D.

P.D. — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 20:09:02 +0000

Steve: Don’t forget that fresh water freezes at a higher temperature than salt water, and also floats on top of salt water. So, if there is a lot of freshwater icemelt running off into the ocean, it will lead to a short-term increase in winter sea ice. On the flip side, it also should (in theory) melt later (has to get warmer before melting), but isn’t. Which means temperatures are in fact warmer than before, since the ice is actually melting earlier in the season.

By: Steve

Steve — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 18:53:45 +0000

Considering that Antarctic sea ice is at its all-time greatest extent on record, if there is any worrying to be done, it would be lack of access to the ocean.

By: nick

nick — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 17:32:27 +0000

Good news everybody! The emperor penguin lived in Antarctica the first time it was a warm, balmy tropic paradise. They have those old genes for the tropics built into their make-up.

NOT that I’m saying it will be easy for them. In fact, it’ll probably be one of the bigger challenges they’ve faced in their long evolution. But we know they can do it, because they have done it before. Maybe they’ll need our help. Maybe at some day there won’t be any life left on this planet that hasn’t felt the scalpel of a genegineer, since we’ve unbalanced the climate cycle, assuming we can get on top of things and don’t ourselves become dinosaurs.

But in the meantime, awareness of the present and past are the ONLY thing that can prepare us for the future. We ignore this awareness at our own peril.