> Thank you for all your responses. I am quite intrigued by the variety > of thoughts and opinions, and it partly reconfirms my impression that we as >scientists are trained to be critical to a degree that might sometimes >make us forget our responsibility and wisdom. > >Even if we do not fully understand all the implications of human-caused >climate change, the signs are screamingly loud that we are getting close to >serious danger of destroying the life as we know it today. Just to respond >to one argument that came up: The sun clearly is NOT the cause of the >recent warming trends. Please see the webpage of the Max-Planck Institute >for solar system research at http://www.mps.mpg.de/en/forschung/sonne/, > and scroll down to the figure under The sun a life-giving star.
>If you feel there is not enough evidence that climate change is >human-caused and is severly challenging our lifes, then please inform >yourself on any of these webpages: >United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate >Change. http://www.usgcrp.gov/ipcc/ >U.S. Global Change Research Program. http://www.usgcrp.gov/ >U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Global Warming Page >http://www.epa.gov/globalwarming/ >University Corporation for Atmospheric Research. http://www.ucar.edu/ucar/ >National Corporation for Atmospheric >Research.http://www.ncar.ucar.edu/ncar/index.html >U.S. Long Term Ecological Research Network, Global Change Research. >http://www.lternet.edu/global_change/ >Union of Concerned Scientists. http://www.ucsusa.org >Pew Center on Global Climate Change. http://www.pewclimate.org/ >Pacific Institute, Global Change Program. http://pacinst.org/global.html >RealClimate: <http://www.realclimate.org>www.realclimate.org >World Resource Institute: www.wri.org/climate/ > >Please keep in mind, that you can NOT trust the public media, because a >lot of it is influenced by interest groups such as Exxon Mobile >(exxonmobilesecrets.org). So, if you are under the impression that there >is any doubt about human-caused climate change, please double-check your >sources. >Also, please also remember that even if people in the US might not be as >dramatically affected as other people in the world where do you think >climate refugees will go? Clearly to those places that are less >affected. And if those millions of people are not let in, they will try >to come in by force. That is why climate change is considered to be the >worlds largest security risk by UN General Secretary Ban Ki Moon. >I believe it is our responsibility as researchers and citizens of the >earth to be well-enough informed to better judge the crisis ahead. Arguing >about who makes what sort of money is completely beside the point. I dont >care what kind of money people are making. If it helps us reduce the >impact of the crisis, I am happy with whatever people get, even when I >don't receive money myself. It is wonderful that funding agencies are >realizing the need for more research in the area of climate change. I did >sometimes wonder, too, if people just jump on this new source of funding, >just because there is a potential for money, and not out of a fundamental >understanding of the urgent need for such research. But at the end, it >does not matter what the motivation is, as long as we get the job done. >So, arguing about those matters seems like an utter waste of time, >distracting from the much more important question: > > What can we as scientists do TOGETHER to help promote an awareness in > the public and a sense of urgency to act NOW? After Al Gore and the IPCC > team received the peace nobel price, we should use the public attention > and energy to help promote education and active steps towards reducing > all of our greenhouse gas emissions. > > Maiken
