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| Dr Karl Kruszelnicki - he discusses the changes we are making to the Earth. |
We are only a
little way into the 21st century, and the signs of global warming are clear. Even
so, the latest finding really surprised me. By burning huge quantities of
fossil fuels, we humans have actually tipped the Earth off its axis by a tiny
amount.
Each year since 2005, our global warming activities have
shifted the spin axis from its previous path (by centimetres).
We humans now shift as much dirt as all the rivers on Earth
added together. It comes to about 20 billion tonnes a year – mostly coal, followed
by iron ore. This is a huge amount – but by using carbon dioxide, we moved an
amount of water 30 times greater. We melted ice on land to water, which then
relocated all over the entire planet.
Read the Melbourne Age
story - “Dr Karl Kruszelnicki's science conundrums: Why is the world's spin axis shifting?”
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