2007 the year of the Bond

One more reason to celebrate the new year as we are a few years from total destruction. The dudes in delhi would remark " aapa ko ki pharak penda heh!! "

TORONTO, december 29: A giant ice shelf has snapped free from an island south of the North Pole, scientists said on Thursday, citing climate change as a “major” reason for the event.
The Ayles Ice Shelf—66 sq km of it—broke clear 16 months ago from the coast of Ellesmere Island, about 800 km south of the North Pole in the Canadian Arctic. Scientists discovered the event by using satellite imagery. Within one hour of breaking free, the shelf had formed as a new ice island, leaving a trail of icy boulders floating in its wake.
Warwick Vincent of Laval University, who studies Arctic conditions, travelled to the newly formed ice island and was amazed at the sight. “This is a dramatic and disturbing event. It shows that we are losing remarkable features of the Canadian north that have been in place for many thousands of years,” Vincent said. “We are crossing climate thresholds, and these may signal the onset of accelerated change ahead.”
The ice shelf was one of six major shelves remaining in Canada’s Arctic. They are packed with ancient ice that is more than 3,000 years old. Some scientists say it is the largest event of its kind in Canada in 30 years and that climate change was a major element.
“It is consistent with climate change,” Vincent said, adding that the remaining ice shelves are 90 per cent smaller than when they were first discovered in 1906. Derek Mueller, a polar researcher with Vincent’s team, said the ice shelves get weaker as temperatures rise. He visited Ellesmere Island in 2002 and noticed that another ice shelf had cracked in half. “We’re losing our ice shelves and this a feature of the landscape that is in danger of disappearing altogether from Canada,” Mueller said.
—ROB GILLIES