TranceAddict Forums (www.tranceaddict.com/forums)
- Political Discussion / Debate
-- Report: Global warming approaching critical point
Report: Global warming approaching critical point
Report:
| quote: |
| Global warming approaching critical point 'An ecological time-bomb is ticking away' LONDON, England (AP) -- Global warming is approaching the critical point of no return, after which widespread drought, crop failure and rising sea-levels would be irreversible, an international climate change task force warned Monday. The report, "Meeting the Climate Challenge," called on the G-8 leading industrial nations to cut carbon emissions, double their research spending on green technology and work with India and China to build on the Kyoto Protocol. "An ecological time-bomb is ticking away," said Stephen Byers, who co-chaired the task force with U.S. Republican Senator Olympia Snowe, and is a close confidant of British Prime Minister Tony Blair. "World leaders need to recognize that climate change is the single most important long term issue that the planet faces." The independent report, by the Institute for Public Policy Research in Britain, the Center for American Progress in the United States and The Australia Institute, is timed to coincide with Blair's commitment to advance international climate change policy during Britain's G-8 presidency. Byers said it was vital Blair secured U.S. cooperation in tackling climate change. U.S. President George W. Bush has rejected the Kyoto accord, arguing that the carbon emission cuts it demands would damage the U.S. economy. "What we have got to do then is get the Americans as part of the G-8 to engage in international concerted effort to tackle global warming," said Byers. "If they refuse to do that then other countries will be reluctant to take any steps." According to the report, urgent action is needed to stop the global average temperature rising by 2 degrees Celsius above the level in 1750 -- the approximate start of the Industrial Revolution when mankind first started significantly polluting the atmosphere with carbon dioxide. Beyond a 2 degrees rise, "the risks to human societies and ecosystems grow significantly" the report said, adding there would be a risk of "abrupt, accelerated, or runaway climate change." It warned of "climatic tipping points" such as the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets melting and the Gulf Stream shutting down. No accurate temperature readings were available for 1750, the report said, but since 1860, global average temperature had risen by 0.8 percent to 15 degrees Celsius. The two degrees rise could be avoided by keeping the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere below 400 parts per million (ppm). Current concentrations of 379 ppm "are likely to rise above 400 ppm in coming decades and could rise far higher under a business-as-usual scenario," the report warned. The task force urges all G-8 countries to agree to generate a quarter of their electricity from renewable sources by 2025 and to shift agricultural subsidies from food crops to biofuels. The report recommends wider international use of emission trading schemes which are already in use in the European Union, under which unused carbon dioxide quotas are sold. The profit motive is expected to drive investment in new technology to cut emissions further. The task force of senior politicians, scientists and business figures was established in March 2004. Its chief scientific adviser is Dr. Rajendra K. Pachauri, chairman of the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The British government welcomed the report, which mirrors many of the suggestions already floated by Blair in the build up to Britain's G-8 presidency. Blair has acknowledged the importance of U.S. cooperation, but conceded Washington is unlikely to sign up to Kyoto. Instead he is pursuing international commitment to developing new environmentally friendly technology. Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Find this article at: http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/scienc...e.ap/index.html |
Man, did you see that crazy global warming shit in Boston today?!? 
From the article...
| quote: |
No accurate temperature readings were available for 1750, the report said, but since 1860, global average temperature had risen by 0.8 percent to 15 degrees Celsius. |
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Shakka Man, did you see that crazy global warming shit in Boston today?!? From the article... Maybe it's just me, but I find the above commentary to be just a little bit suspect as it does a lot to damage the critical content of the article. Hell, is 0.8% statistically significant? Let alone critically so? |
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Shakka Man, did you see that crazy global warming shit in Boston today?!? From the article... Maybe it's just me, but I find the above commentary to be just a little bit suspect as it does a lot to damage the critical content of the article. Hell, is 0.8% statistically significant? Let alone critically so? |
| quote: |
| Originally posted by St_Andrew i think this is what we have to be affraid of: obviously climate change is not a problem of today but of tomorrow... |
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Yoepus Good then lets not worry. We'll leave this one to the children. They get a whole bunch of stuff these days anyway, whats one more thing? |
I started only riding my bike to class instead of driving to school about 5 months ago. Since then i have driven my car twice for emergencies. I seriously feel better that im doing my part to cut unnatural distruction. I mean every .00001 percent counts. <-- Maybe more i dont know, i do feel better though.
Good topic Felipe.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/scienc...reut/index.html
To add more info's ..
everyone should start getting hybrid's heh.
This could turn out to be just like the things that happened in the movie, The Day After Tomorrow.
The problem with global warming is that no matter what evidence comes forth to prove it, there will always be other evidence that can be used to dissuade people about it. For every 0.8% rise in temperature some place, there is an equal decline somewhere else. The cooling in the south is offset by the warming in the north, etc. The theory of global warming has been around so long that there are climatologists that specialize in the field. No person in their right mind is ever going to be completely objective when that objectivity puts their career in jeopardy. No "global warmer" is going to ever be able to put a truly complete image of what our environment is really doing out there.
It's up to the lowly individual to base his judgment on as much credible information as possible. I personally do not believe in global warming, or at least to the degree many alarmists would have us believe. There is just too much hard data out there that leads me to believe this. Don't get me wrong, I believe in conservation and being intelligent with the environment, but I don't believe in the Kyoto protocol (based on admittedly false science anyway) and its outrageous requirements.
It's true that no one knows exactly the impact of global warming and how much humans are destroying the environment, but it's common sense that pollution needs to be cut down as much as possible. Proven cancer causing pollutants released into the environment are obviously a bad thing for our health, if not the ozone. People have killed themselves from leaving their car engines on after closing their garage doors, so it's not lke exhaust is something great to breathe in. The worst by far, which is reaching crisis level is the amount of mercury that is affecting lakes and other waterways. It's to the point where the fish from 1 out of 3 U.S. lakes are considered unsafe to eat. Surely more can be done than "Clean Skies" and "Healthy Forrests" that make environmental problems worse.
Powered by: vBulletin
Copyright © 2000-2021, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.