The Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Forest Service, Department of Energy, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and National Science Foundation contributed to a recent report indicating that small climate change moves may well have devastating impacts. To view the full report, Synthesis and Assessment Product 4.2: Thresholds of Climate Change in Ecosystems, visit http://climatescience.gov.
The main finding of this report is that once a threshold is passed the system may go beyond recovery. It seems possible to argue against global warming, but it really is not. Yet I still feel the real case has not be made properly, in a really understandable manner. On 18 Jan, 21:15, archytas <[email protected]> wrote: > We have given up our coal powered Aga in the kitchen Orn. Used to > see that as rather "green", but we could leave three patio heaters > pointed at the sun on 365/24/7 and cause less carbon loading! We > still have a PM talking up a doubling in the global economy as a good > thing. It is almost impossible to be enthusiastic as a UKdian these > days. Time for a whole new economy - maybe "god" dropped a big hint > in collapsing the banks? I really do think something like this kind > of catastrophe is coming - in any case more local, greener economies > would do us all good, except a few super rich. > On 18 Jan, 19:31, ornamentalmind <[email protected]> wrote: > > > guardian.co.uk > > > President 'has four years to save Earth' > > > US must take the lead to avert eco-disaster > > Robin McKie in New York The Observer, Sunday 18 January 2009 > > > Barack Obama has only four years to save the world. That is the stark > > assessment of Nasa scientist and leading climate expert Jim Hansen > > who > > last week warned only urgent action by the new president could halt > > the devastating climate change that now threatens Earth. Crucially, > > that action will have to be taken within Obama's first > > administration, > > he added. > > > Soaring carbon emissions are already causing ice-cap melting and > > threaten to trigger global flooding, widespread species loss and > > major > > disruptions of weather patterns in the near future. "We cannot afford > > to put off change any longer," said Hansen. "We have to get on a new > > path within this new administration. We have only four years left for > > Obama to set an example to the rest of the world. America must take > > the lead." > > > Hansen said current carbon levels in the atmosphere were already too > > high to prevent runaway greenhouse warming. Yet the levels are still > > rising despite all the efforts of politicians and scientists. > > > Only the US now had the political muscle to lead the world and halt > > the rise, Hansen said. Having refused to recognise that global > > warming > > posed any risk at all over the past eight years, the US now had to > > take a lead as the world's greatest carbon emitter and the planet's > > largest economy. Cap-and-trade schemes, in which emission permits are > > bought and sold, have failed, he said, and must now be replaced by a > > carbon tax that will imposed on all producers of fossil fuels. At the > > same time, there must be a moratorium on new power plants that burn > > coal - the world's worst carbon emitter. > > > Hansen - head of the Goddard Institute of Space Studies and winner of > > the WWF's top conservation award - first warned Earth was in danger > > from climate change in 1988 and has been the victim of several > > unsuccessful attempts by the White House administration of George > > Bush > > to silence his views. > > > Hansen's institute monitors temperature fluctuations at thousands of > > sites round the world, data that has led him to conclude that most > > estimates of sea level rises triggered by rising atmospheric > > temperatures are too low and too conservative. For example, the > > Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says a rise of between 20cm > > and 60cm can be expected by the end of the century. > > > However, Hansen said feedbacks in the climate system are already > > accelerating ice melt and are threatening to lead to the collapse of > > ice sheets. Sea-level rises will therefore be far greater - a claim > > backed last week by a group of British, Danish and Finnish scientists > > who said studies of past variations in climate indicate that a far > > more likely figure for sea-level rise will be about 1.4 metres, > > enough > > to cause devastating flooding of many of the world's major cities and > > of low-lying areas of Holland, Bangladesh and other nations. > > > As a result of his fears about sea-level rise, Hansen said he had > > pressed both Britain's Royal Society and the US National Academy of > > Sciences to carry out an urgent investigation of the state of the > > planet's ice-caps. However, nothing had come of his proposals. The > > first task of Obama's new climate office should therefore be to order > > such a probe "as a matter of urgency", Hansen added. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Minds-Eye?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
