IPCC Global Call for Action on Climate Change. By Joseph Coleman, The Associated Press, May 4, 2007. "Under the most stringent scenario, the report said the world must stabilize the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere by 2015 -- eight years from now -- to keep global temperatures from rising more than 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit over preindustrial levels.
Delegates said the approval of the report should conclusively debunk arguments by skeptics that combatting global warming was too costly, that it would stifle development in the world's poorer countries or that the temperature rise had gone too far for humankind to do anything about. 'If we continue doing what we are doing now, we are in deep trouble,' cautioned Ogunlade Davidson, the chair of one of the working groups at the weeklong conference in Bangkok, Thailand...
Coming out of the meeting early Friday, delegates said science appeared to have trumped politics -- especially opposition from booming China, which wanted language inserted allowing for a greater buildup of greenhouse gases in the environment before action would be taken... Delegates at the meeting had wrestled over how to share the burden of cutting emissions, how much such measures would cost, and how much weight to give certain policy measures, such as advanced nuclear power, an option supported by the United States.
'This is still an excellent report,' French delegate Michel Petit said, adding that China and the other developing countries ended up compromising on all major issues. 'Nothing important was removed during the process'... The report follows two studies by the IPCC earlier this year warning that unabated greenhouse gas emissions could drive global temperatures up as much as 11 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100, triggering a surge in ocean levels, destruction of vast numbers of species, economic devastation in tropical zones and mass human migrations.
Even the most stringent efforts outlined in the report, however, would not save the globe from suffering. An increase in temperatures to 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit could still subject up to 2 billion people to water shortages by 2050 and threaten extinction for 20 to 30 percent of the world's species, the IPCC said."
6 comments:
Oh boy, there is a lot to chew on in that article huh?
I don't even begin to imagine what else can be done to get people passionate about dealing with these issues.
I sometimes wonder if there isn't an attitude or idea just sitting there and we can't see it ya know? Reading this crazy diet book...and how simple his theory is Gardenai...I can't help but wonder if we make the effort of "solutions" so unappealing and complicated...that we are missing a simple concept right in front of us...I need to chew on this some more...
Great post!
One of my smartest friends honestly believes that global warming is just scare tactics propoganda. When I ask to what end, we end up in huge arguments. We had to stop talking about it to remain friends. I can't figure out why he's such a moron on this issue. It's mind-blowing.
Man, this is such a huge issue, but when are we going to get that we have to make sacrifices for the future of our planet? We won't be giving a crap about the money we save or the jobs we've created if we can't breathe the air or the ice cap melts or we're all dying of skin cancer in a few years. Jeez.
The largest contributor to most of the world's woes is overpopulation. Global warming is no exception.
We have the means to create alternative energy. We just need to take the power out of the hands of the oil cartel. They do everything in their means to defeat any new energy plan. :(
BUT - - - as we look around the world, there are massive areas that are non-populated - is it rather that we have grossly unequal distribution of resources - those that take, will and will take all of it if they can and become rich while others become poor. Just a thought. (Speaking of oil cartels.)
We're screwed
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