B
Bushzilla
Guest
Or they WILL continue to destroy the Earth and the USA.
Climate Panel Warns of Dire Threats
Friday, Apr. 06, 2007 By AP/ARTHUR MAX
An international global warming conference approved a report Friday
warning of dire threats to the Earth and to mankind - from increased
hunger to the extinction of species - unless the world adapts to
climate change and halts its progress.
Agreement came after an all-night session during which key sections
were deleted from the draft and scientists angrily confronted
government negotiators who they feared were watering down their
findings. "It has been a complex exercise," said Rajendra Pachauri,
chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Several scientists objected to the editing of the final draft by
government negotiators but in the end agreed to compromises. However,
some scientists vowed never to take part in the process again.
The climax of five days of negotiations was reached when the delegates
removed parts of a key chart highlighting devastating effects of
climate change that kick in with every rise of 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit,
and in a tussle over the level of scientific reliability attached to
key statements.
There was little doubt about the science, which was based on 29,000
sets of data, much of it collected in the last five years. "For the
first time we are not just arm-waving with models," Martin Perry, who
conducted the grueling negotiations, told reporters.
The United States, China and Saudi Arabia raised the many of the
objections to the phrasing, often seeking to tone down the certainty
of some of the more dire projections. The final IPCC report is the
clearest and most comprehensive scientific statement to date on the
impact of global warming mainly caused by man-induced carbon dioxide
pollution.
It said up to 30 percent of the Earth's species face an increased risk
of vanishing if global temperatures rise 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit above
the average in the 1980s and '90s.
Areas that now suffer a shortage of rain will become even more dry,
adding to the risks of hunger and disease, it said. The world will
face heightened threats of flooding, severe storms and the erosion of
coastlines. "This is a glimpse into an apocalyptic future," the
Greenpeace environmental group said of the final report.
Negotiators pored over the 21-page draft meant to be a policy guide
for governments. The summary pares down the full 1,500-page scientific
assessment of the evidence of climate change so far, and the impact it
will have on the Earth's most vulnerable people and ecosystems.
More than 120 nations attended the meeting. Each word was approved by
consensus, and any change had to be approved by the scientists who
drew up that section of the report.
Though weakened by the deletion of some elements, the final report
"will send a very, very clear signal" to governments, said Yvo de
Boer, the U.N.'s top climate official.
The summary will be presented to the G8 summit of the world's richest
nations in June, when the European Union is expected to renew appeals
to President Bush to join in international efforts to control
emissions of fossil fuels.
This year's series of reports by the IPCC were the first in six years
from the prestigious body of some 2,500 scientists, formed in 1988.
Public awareness of climate change gave the IPCC's work unaccustomed
importance and fueled the intensity of the closed-door negotiations
during the five-day meeting.
"The urgency of this report prepared by the world's top scientists
should be matched by an equally urgent response from governments,"
said Hans Verolme, director of the global climate change program of
the World Wide Fund for Nature.
"Doing nothing is not an option," he said.
New Dust Bowl Coming in the US, Poor People and Children to Suffer
Environment
Avatar04:41 PM, April 6th 2007
by Dan Nicolae Alexa
With more than 50 square kilometers of polar ice cap melting every
single day, it's no wonder a new Dust Bowl is threatening the US. But
the accelerating greenhouse effect will hit children and poor people
most.
Global warming has been cited in numerous studies as the main cause
for the dramatic climate changes Earth is witnessing nowadays,
including the recent warm winter and the drought that affected
Australia.
Global warming is defined as the observed increase in the average
temperature of the Earth's near-surface air and oceans in recent
decades and its projected continuation. It is responsible for the
rapid melting of Earth's ice cap at the North Pole and for the
proliferation of fungi (among others), that leads to a faster
decomposition of leaves and dead tree-trunks.
A new study shows that global warming will also accelerate the
proportions of the drought that affects the Southwest of the US,
prompting for urgent measures to deal with the scanty water supplies
in the region.
"The bottom line message for the average person and also for the
states and federal government is that they'd better start planning for
a Southwest region in which the water resources are increasingly
stretched," said Richard Seager of Columbia University's Lamont
Doherty Earth Observatory.
Seager's study was published in this week's edition of Science. The
scientists in his team compared 19 computer models of the climate,
including data that went back to the first weather recordings, in
1860. The projection in the future showed that the continuous drying
of the Southwestern US and of some northern regions in Mexico-
observed in the late 20th century- will not stop and is likely to
continue at a faster pace.
The conclusions of Seager's study are in accordance with previous NASA
findings, which cautioned that global warming might increase droughts
across certain parts of the world, including the southwestern United
States.
NASA researchers compared historical records of the climate impact of
changes in the sun's output with model projections of how a warmer
climate driven by greenhouse gases would change rainfall patterns.
They found a warmer future climate likely will produce droughts in the
same areas as those observed during ancient times but potentially with
greater severity.
The reduction in rainfall could reach levels of the 1930s Dust Bowl
that ranged throughout the Midwestern United States, Seager said in a
telephone interview with AP.
Last winter, precipitation in the US was above average in the center,
while large sections of the East, Southeast and West were drier than
average. The global average temperature was the warmest on record for
the December-February period. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor,
25 percent of the continental U.S. was in moderate-to-exceptional
drought at the end of February. The most severe conditions were in
southwest Texas, northern Minnesota, Wyoming and the western High
Plains.
However, Seager cautioned that the dust storms reported in the '30 are
not likely to occur in our times, because back then poor agricultural
practices were involved too. But he added that the reduction in
rainfall could be equivalent to those times when thousands of farmers
abandoned their parched land and moved away in search of jobs.
Agriculture will still play a role in the 21st century Dust Bowl,
since most of the water in the Southwestern US is used for irrigation.
The problem gets bigger though when we consider the increasing urban
population that needs clean water resources.
"So, in a case where there is a reduced water supply, there will have
to be some reallocation between the users," Seager said. "The water
available is already fully allocated."
The scientist suggested that a solution would be a concerted effort to
reduce water consumption in agriculture (by withdrawing some land from
the agricultural circuit) and conserving water in urban areas.
"But it's something that needs to be planned for," Seager said. "It's
time to start thinking how to deal with that."
Jonathan T. Overpeck, director of the Institute for the Study of
Planet Earth at the University of Arizona, cited by CNN, said the
finding "agrees with what is already happening in the Southwest, and
will be further complicated by the already declining spring snowpack
due to warming."
"These are scary results, but scary in part because they are results
of well thought-out scientific work by a large number of strong
scientists," said Overpeck, who did not participate at the study.
The Chihuahua Desert straddling the U.S.-Mexican border is suffering
from drought and intensive farming and overgrazing. North America's
largest desert, the Chihuahua has 3,500 unique plant species,
including an array of cactus and yucca, that could be at risk.
In a previous study published in 1997 in Science magazine, Richard
Seager's team also showed that the eastern equatorial Pacific cooled
during the 20th century.
A new UN climate report released Friday in Brussels projects that one-
fifth of all animal and plant species are threatened with extinction
if warming continues at the current pace.
Another report, cited by Reuters, showed also that up to 175 million
children would be affected every year over the next decade by climate-
related disasters like droughts, floods and storms.
That is 50 million a year more than in the 10 years to 2005. Being
society's vulnerable members, children would be hurt
disproportionately, and millions more would be killed, forced from
their homes or hit by hunger and disease.
"The poorest of the poor in the world... are going to be the worst hit
and are the most vulnerable in terms of impact of climate change,"
said Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change chairman Rajendra
Pachauri.
Climate Panel Warns of Dire Threats
Friday, Apr. 06, 2007 By AP/ARTHUR MAX
An international global warming conference approved a report Friday
warning of dire threats to the Earth and to mankind - from increased
hunger to the extinction of species - unless the world adapts to
climate change and halts its progress.
Agreement came after an all-night session during which key sections
were deleted from the draft and scientists angrily confronted
government negotiators who they feared were watering down their
findings. "It has been a complex exercise," said Rajendra Pachauri,
chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Several scientists objected to the editing of the final draft by
government negotiators but in the end agreed to compromises. However,
some scientists vowed never to take part in the process again.
The climax of five days of negotiations was reached when the delegates
removed parts of a key chart highlighting devastating effects of
climate change that kick in with every rise of 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit,
and in a tussle over the level of scientific reliability attached to
key statements.
There was little doubt about the science, which was based on 29,000
sets of data, much of it collected in the last five years. "For the
first time we are not just arm-waving with models," Martin Perry, who
conducted the grueling negotiations, told reporters.
The United States, China and Saudi Arabia raised the many of the
objections to the phrasing, often seeking to tone down the certainty
of some of the more dire projections. The final IPCC report is the
clearest and most comprehensive scientific statement to date on the
impact of global warming mainly caused by man-induced carbon dioxide
pollution.
It said up to 30 percent of the Earth's species face an increased risk
of vanishing if global temperatures rise 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit above
the average in the 1980s and '90s.
Areas that now suffer a shortage of rain will become even more dry,
adding to the risks of hunger and disease, it said. The world will
face heightened threats of flooding, severe storms and the erosion of
coastlines. "This is a glimpse into an apocalyptic future," the
Greenpeace environmental group said of the final report.
Negotiators pored over the 21-page draft meant to be a policy guide
for governments. The summary pares down the full 1,500-page scientific
assessment of the evidence of climate change so far, and the impact it
will have on the Earth's most vulnerable people and ecosystems.
More than 120 nations attended the meeting. Each word was approved by
consensus, and any change had to be approved by the scientists who
drew up that section of the report.
Though weakened by the deletion of some elements, the final report
"will send a very, very clear signal" to governments, said Yvo de
Boer, the U.N.'s top climate official.
The summary will be presented to the G8 summit of the world's richest
nations in June, when the European Union is expected to renew appeals
to President Bush to join in international efforts to control
emissions of fossil fuels.
This year's series of reports by the IPCC were the first in six years
from the prestigious body of some 2,500 scientists, formed in 1988.
Public awareness of climate change gave the IPCC's work unaccustomed
importance and fueled the intensity of the closed-door negotiations
during the five-day meeting.
"The urgency of this report prepared by the world's top scientists
should be matched by an equally urgent response from governments,"
said Hans Verolme, director of the global climate change program of
the World Wide Fund for Nature.
"Doing nothing is not an option," he said.
New Dust Bowl Coming in the US, Poor People and Children to Suffer
Environment
Avatar04:41 PM, April 6th 2007
by Dan Nicolae Alexa
With more than 50 square kilometers of polar ice cap melting every
single day, it's no wonder a new Dust Bowl is threatening the US. But
the accelerating greenhouse effect will hit children and poor people
most.
Global warming has been cited in numerous studies as the main cause
for the dramatic climate changes Earth is witnessing nowadays,
including the recent warm winter and the drought that affected
Australia.
Global warming is defined as the observed increase in the average
temperature of the Earth's near-surface air and oceans in recent
decades and its projected continuation. It is responsible for the
rapid melting of Earth's ice cap at the North Pole and for the
proliferation of fungi (among others), that leads to a faster
decomposition of leaves and dead tree-trunks.
A new study shows that global warming will also accelerate the
proportions of the drought that affects the Southwest of the US,
prompting for urgent measures to deal with the scanty water supplies
in the region.
"The bottom line message for the average person and also for the
states and federal government is that they'd better start planning for
a Southwest region in which the water resources are increasingly
stretched," said Richard Seager of Columbia University's Lamont
Doherty Earth Observatory.
Seager's study was published in this week's edition of Science. The
scientists in his team compared 19 computer models of the climate,
including data that went back to the first weather recordings, in
1860. The projection in the future showed that the continuous drying
of the Southwestern US and of some northern regions in Mexico-
observed in the late 20th century- will not stop and is likely to
continue at a faster pace.
The conclusions of Seager's study are in accordance with previous NASA
findings, which cautioned that global warming might increase droughts
across certain parts of the world, including the southwestern United
States.
NASA researchers compared historical records of the climate impact of
changes in the sun's output with model projections of how a warmer
climate driven by greenhouse gases would change rainfall patterns.
They found a warmer future climate likely will produce droughts in the
same areas as those observed during ancient times but potentially with
greater severity.
The reduction in rainfall could reach levels of the 1930s Dust Bowl
that ranged throughout the Midwestern United States, Seager said in a
telephone interview with AP.
Last winter, precipitation in the US was above average in the center,
while large sections of the East, Southeast and West were drier than
average. The global average temperature was the warmest on record for
the December-February period. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor,
25 percent of the continental U.S. was in moderate-to-exceptional
drought at the end of February. The most severe conditions were in
southwest Texas, northern Minnesota, Wyoming and the western High
Plains.
However, Seager cautioned that the dust storms reported in the '30 are
not likely to occur in our times, because back then poor agricultural
practices were involved too. But he added that the reduction in
rainfall could be equivalent to those times when thousands of farmers
abandoned their parched land and moved away in search of jobs.
Agriculture will still play a role in the 21st century Dust Bowl,
since most of the water in the Southwestern US is used for irrigation.
The problem gets bigger though when we consider the increasing urban
population that needs clean water resources.
"So, in a case where there is a reduced water supply, there will have
to be some reallocation between the users," Seager said. "The water
available is already fully allocated."
The scientist suggested that a solution would be a concerted effort to
reduce water consumption in agriculture (by withdrawing some land from
the agricultural circuit) and conserving water in urban areas.
"But it's something that needs to be planned for," Seager said. "It's
time to start thinking how to deal with that."
Jonathan T. Overpeck, director of the Institute for the Study of
Planet Earth at the University of Arizona, cited by CNN, said the
finding "agrees with what is already happening in the Southwest, and
will be further complicated by the already declining spring snowpack
due to warming."
"These are scary results, but scary in part because they are results
of well thought-out scientific work by a large number of strong
scientists," said Overpeck, who did not participate at the study.
The Chihuahua Desert straddling the U.S.-Mexican border is suffering
from drought and intensive farming and overgrazing. North America's
largest desert, the Chihuahua has 3,500 unique plant species,
including an array of cactus and yucca, that could be at risk.
In a previous study published in 1997 in Science magazine, Richard
Seager's team also showed that the eastern equatorial Pacific cooled
during the 20th century.
A new UN climate report released Friday in Brussels projects that one-
fifth of all animal and plant species are threatened with extinction
if warming continues at the current pace.
Another report, cited by Reuters, showed also that up to 175 million
children would be affected every year over the next decade by climate-
related disasters like droughts, floods and storms.
That is 50 million a year more than in the 10 years to 2005. Being
society's vulnerable members, children would be hurt
disproportionately, and millions more would be killed, forced from
their homes or hit by hunger and disease.
"The poorest of the poor in the world... are going to be the worst hit
and are the most vulnerable in terms of impact of climate change,"
said Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change chairman Rajendra
Pachauri.