…Or Wally wins by a landslide… err iceslide.

The ice around Antarctica is constantly changing, in winter the waters around it freeze and then when summer comes the ice starts to crack apart and break away, that’s where we get iceburgs. The freezing has formed large ice shelves around the continent, many of them are permanent having been there thousands of years. It is natural for them to grow and shrink with the seasons, but with global warming these days, scientists are seeing more of these ice shelves starting to permanently dissapear and the largest chunks of it on record are breaking away. Like the size of Rhode Island and Delaware.

Apparently there is not an immediate concern for the global effect of the loss of these gigantic shelves of ice but it does affect Antarctica’s own ecosystem. Less ice means less krill which is at the bottom of it’s food chain. Also, if Antarctica continues to produce less ice, Scientists believe it will and is already effecting the world’s deep ocean circulation system, that Antarctica provides it with dense oxygen-rich seawater. This could lead to the production of less phytoplankton, which is important to the ocean’s ecosystem. This could affect more than just Antarctic wildlife but all marine life.

The biggest concern, if the ice shelves continue to permanently dissapear, then next to go will be the enormous ice sheets that sit on the land of Antarctica. The melting of ice shelves do not contribute to the sea level as they are already in the ocean, but if the Western ice sheet starts to go, it could actually raise the sea level 20 feet and have adverse effects on the Earth’s climate. Don’t worry, this is not all going to happen tomorrow, scientists say we should be good for another 100 years, however some smaller changes may be seen in as few as 30 from the loss of the ice shelves.

The hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica has actually been getting better the last few years with more control over air pollution. However scientists that formerly said it could possibly repair itself by 2050 are now thinking maybe 2065.

Shop On the Rocks

If you haven’t visited it yet, last Friday I set up an online store for On the Rocks. The store is US based but will ship all over. If you’re over on the other side of the world you might wait as I’m setting up another store that ships from Europe, so it will be a bit cheaper for you on the shipping. Currently there is just a black Osbourne shirt and a blue Wally shirt. I just wanted to start with a couple basic designs. I’ll be adding more, I know some of you have suggested designs from specific comics and I’ll start workin on those soon and get more shirts on there for you to choose from.

Also it was mentioned about putting the name or URL on the shirts. I appreciate the suggestion, but I chose not to because I didn’t want you to be walking billboards, I want the shirt design to look the best it can (plus printing on back of shirt drives up the cost). And if someone asks about it, I’m sure you’ll tell them about the comic. Although maybe if I put the URL on there then I can pay you guys to wear the shirts. 😉

So I’ll get working on some more designs to choose from. If you have something you’d like to see then be sure to leave a comment. For those purchasing shirts I really appreciate the support. It’s rewarding to think of Wally and Osbourne being warn on people out there in the real world.

Dang I was wordy today. 🙂