Global Warming

Global Warming(cause)

2005-12-30T00:04:00.000+05:30

Global Warming(Encyclopedia)

global warming, the gradual increase of the temperature of the earth's lower atmosphere as a result of the increase in greenhouse gases since the Industrial Revolution.
The temperature of the atmosphere near the earth's surface is warmed through a natural process called the greenhouse effect. Visible, shortwave light comes from the sun to the earth, passing unimpeded through a blanket of thermal, or greenhouse, gases composed largely of water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone. Infrared radiation reflects off the planet's surface toward space but does not easily pass through the thermal blanket. Some of it is trapped and reflected downward, keeping the planet at an average temperature suitable to life, about 60°F (16°C).
Growth in industry, agriculture, and transportation since the Industrial Revolution has produced additional quantities of the natural greenhouse gases plus chlorofluorocarbons and other gases, augmenting the thermal blanket. It is generally accepted that this increase in the quantity of greenhouse gases is trapping more heat and increasing global temperatures, making a process that has been beneficial to life potentially disruptive and harmful. During the past century, the atmospheric temperature has risen 1.1°F (0.6°C), and sea level has risen several inches. Some projected, longer-term results of global warming include melting of polar ice, with a resulting rise in sea level and coastal flooding; disruption of drinking water supplies dependent on snow melts; profound changes in agriculture due to climate change; extinction of species as ecological niches disappear; more frequent tropical storms; and an increased incidence of tropical diseases.
Among factors that may be contributing to global warming are the burning of coal and petroleum products (sources of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone); deforestation, which increases the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere; methane gas released in animal waste; and increased cattle production, which contributes to deforestation, methane production, and use of fossil fuels.
Much of the debate surrounding global warming has centered on the accuracy of scientific predictions concerning future warming. To predict global climatic trends, climatologists accumulate large historical databases and use them to create computerized models that simulate the earth's climate. The validity of these models has been a subject of controversy. Skeptics say that the climate is too complicated to be accurately modeled, and that there are too many unknowns. Some also question whether the observed climate changes might simply represent normal fluctuations in global temperature. Nonetheless, for some time there has been general agreement that at least part of the observed warming is the result of human activity, and that the problem needs to be addressed. In 1992, at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, over 150 nations signed a binding declaration on the need to reduce global warming.
In 1994, however, a UN scientific advisory panel, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, concluded that reductions beyond those envisioned by the treaty would be needed to avoid global warming. The following year, the advisory panel forecast a rise in global temperature of from 1.44 to 6.3°F (0.8–3.5°C) by 2100 if no action is taken to cut down on the production of greenhouse gases, and a rise of from 1 to 3.6°F (0.5–2°C) even if action is taken (because of already released gases that will persist in the atmosphere).
A UN Conference on Climate Change, held in Kyoto, Japan, in 1997 resulted in an international agreement to fight global warming, which called for reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases by industrialized nations. Not all industrial countries, however, immediately signed or ratified the accord. In 2001 the G. W. Bush administration announced it would abandon the Kyoto Protocol; because the United States produces about one quarter of the world's greenhouse gases, this was regarded as a severe blow to the effort to slow global warming. Despite the American move, most other nations agreed later in the year (in Bonn, Germany, and in Marrakech, Morocco) on the details necessary to convert the agreement into a binding international treaty, which came into force in 2005 after ratification by more than 125 nations.
Improved automobile mileage, reforestation projects, energy efficiency in construction, and national support for mass transit are among relatively simpler adjustments that could significantly lower U.S. production of greenhouse gases. More aggressive adjustments include a gradual worldwide shift away from the use of fossil fuels, the elimination of chlorofluorocarbons, and the slowing of deforestation by restructuring the economies of developing nations. In 2002 the Bush administration proposed several voluntary measures for slowing the increase in, instead of reducing, emissions of greenhouses gases.
Bibliography
See P. Brown, Global Warming: Can Civilization Survive? (1997); T. G. Moore, Climate of Fear: Why We Shouldn't Worry about Global Warming (1998); S. G. Philander, Is the Temperature Rising?: The Uncertain Science of Global Warming (1998); K. E. Ready, GAIA Weeps: The Crisis of Global Warming (1998); G. E. Christianson, Greenhouse: The 200-Year Story of Global Warming (1999).
Global WarmingResearch, Policy and Education The Earth Institute at Columbia U.www.earthinstitute.columbia.edu
ancient astronomy & mythnew views on ancient science read: Origin of Culturewww.crimsonbird.com

Science
global warming
The term attached to the notion that the Earth's temperature is increasing due to the greenhouse effect.
Whether global warming is actually happening is a subject of scientific debate.

Potential effects
Many public policy organizations, governments, and individuals are concerned that global warming could harm the environment in various ways. As well as the intrinsic value attached by them to the preservation of the environment, there are wide range of possible consequences for humans. These include rising sea levels, declining output of global agriculture, increased extreme weather, and the spread of disease.
The extent and likelihood of these consequences is a matter of considerable controversy, with environmentalist groups typically emphasizing the possible dangers and groups close to industry questioning the climate models and consequences of global warming — and funding scientists to do so. A summary of possible effects and our current understanding can be found in the report of the IPCC Working Group II. Much remains to be learned, however.

Effects on ecosystems
Secondary evidence of global warming — lessened snow cover, rising sea levels, weather changes — provides examples of consequences of global warming that may influence not only human activities but also the ecosystems. Increasing global temperature means that ecosystems may change; some species may be forced out of their habitats (possibly to extinction) because of changing conditions, while others may flourish. Few of the terrestrial ecoregions on Earth could expect to be unaffected.

Sea level rise
Main article: sea level rise
Another effect of great concern is a sea level rise. Sea levels appear to be rising 1 to 2 mm/y this century, although satellite data show a rate of 3 mm/y since 1992. Some Pacific Ocean island nations, such as Tuvalu, are concerned about the possibility of an eventual evacuation. For historical reasons to do with trade, many of the world's largest and most prosperous cities are on the coast, and the cost of building better coastal defenses is likely to be considerable. Some countries will be more affected than others - low-lying countries such as Bangladesh and the Netherlands will be worst hit by any sea level rise, in terms of floods or the cost of preventing them.

More extreme weather

Increasing water vapor at Boulder, Colorado.
As the climate grows warmer, evaporation will increase. This will cause heavier rainfall and more erosion. Many scientists think that it could result in more extreme weather as global warming progresses. The IPCC TAR says: "...global average water vapour concentration and precipitation are projected to increase during the 21st century. By the second half of the 21st century, it is likely that precipitation will have increased over northern mid- to high latitudes and Antarctica in winter. At low latitudes there are both regional increases and decreases over land areas. Larger year to year variations in precipitation are very likely over most areas where an increase in mean precipitation is projected" .

Decline of agriculture
Main article: Global warming and agriculture
For some time it was hoped that a positive effect of global warming would be increased agricultural yields, because of the role of CO2 in photosynthesis. This may still be true in some regions (such as Siberia), but recent evidence is that global yields will be negatively affected. "Rising atmospheric temperatures, longer droughts and side-effects of both, such as higher levels of ground-level ozone gas, are likely to bring about a substantial reduction in crop yields in the coming decades, large-scale experiments have shown."

Spread of disease
It has been claimed that global warming will probably extend the favourable zones for vectors conveying infectious disease such as malaria. However, it has been pointed out that despite the disappearance of infectious disease most temperate regions, the indigenous mosquitoes that transmitted it were never eliminated and remain common in some areas. Thus, although temperature is important in the transmission dynamics of malaria, many other variables are of equal or greater importance. (http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol6no1/reiter.htm)

Destabilisation of local climates
Global warming might also have other, less obvious effects. The North Atlantic drift, for instance, is affected by salinity changes. It seems that it is diminishing as the climate grows warmer, and there has been speculation that areas like Scandinavia and Britain that are warmed by the drift might face a colder climate in spite of the general global warming. Some even fear that global warming may be able to trigger the type of abrupt massive temperature shifts which bracketed the Younger Dryas period. (See the discussion of chaos theory for related ideas.). However, in coupled AOGCMs the warming effects outweigh the cooling, even locally: the IPCC TAR notes that even in models where the THC weakens, there is still a warming over Europe. (http://www.grida.no/climate/ipcc_tar/wg1/357.htm). See also (http://www.realclimate.org/index.php?p=159).
A study (published in Science) of changes to Siberia's permafrost suggests that it is gradually disappearing in the southern regions, leading to the loss of nearly 11% of Siberia's nearly 11,000 lakes since 1971.[41] (http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1503170,00.html)

Reducing ozone layer
One of the lesser-known effects of global warming is a reduction in the thickness of the ozone layer, which protects life on Earth from harmful radiation. Global warming appears to be partially countering the improvements in the ozone layer caused by the reduction in the use of ozone-destroying chemicals achieved through the Montreal Protocol. "What appears to have caused the further loss of ozone is the increasing number of stratospheric clouds in the winter, 15 miles above the earth. These clouds, in the middle of the ozone layer, provide a platform which makes it easier for rapid chemical reactions which destroy ozone to take place." (http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1470944,00.html) A reduced ozone layer has negative impacts on human health (notably skin cancer and eye problems such as cataracts) and on ecosystems. However, the net effect of the thinning of the ozone layer on human health may be positive. Research by Dr. Edward Giovannucci, a Harvard University professor of medicine and nutrition who gave a keynote lecture at a recent American Association for Cancer Research, suggests that vitamin D might help prevent 30 deaths for each one caused by skin cancer. Vitamin D is nicknamed the "sunshine vitamin" because the skin makes it from ultraviolet rays. (http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/13995.htmlAP) (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/02/01/health/main670995.shtml) The ecological impact may have further knock-on effects, as it reduces photosynthesis in plants (with potential impacts on agriculture) and damages the DNA of plankton, which play a significant role in the world's carbon cycle. On the technical details of the two-way interaction between the ozone layer and global warming, see the relation of global warming and ozone depletion, below.

Possible positive effects
However, global warming may also have positive effects, since higher temperatures and higher CO2 concentrations may improve ecosystems' productivity. Satellite data shows that the productivity of the Northern Hemisphere has increased since 1982. On the other hand, an increase in the total amount of biomass produced is not necessarily all good, since biodiversity can still decrease even though a smaller number of species are flourishing. Similarly, from the human economic viewpoint, an increase in total biomass but a decrease in crop harvests would be a net disadvantage. In addition, IPCC models predict that higher CO2 concentrations would only spur growth of flora up to a point, because in many regions the limiting factors are water or nutrients, not temperature or CO2; after that, though greenhouse effects and warming would continue there would be no compensatory increase in growth.
A possible counter-argument to this is the claim that suppression of plant growth is caused by a shortage of atmospheric carbon dioxide, which is rare in comparison to oxygen (21%). This carbon dioxide starvation becomes apparent in photorespiration, where there is so little carbon dioxide, that oxygen can enter a plant's chloroplasts and takes the place where carbon dioxide normally would be in the Calvin Cycle. This causes the sugars being made to be destroyed, badly suppressing growth.

The relation between global warming and ozone depletion
Main article: ozone depletion
Although they are often interlinked in the popular press, the connection between global warming and ozone depletion is not strong. There are four areas of linkage:
Global warming from CO2 radiative forcing is expected (perhaps somewhat surprisingly) to cool the stratosphere. This, in turn, would lead to a relative increase in ozone depletion and the frequency of ozone holes.
Conversely, ozone depletion represents a radiative forcing of the climate system. There are two opposed effects: reduced ozone allows more solar radiation to penetrate, thus warming the troposphere. But a colder stratosphere emits less long-wave radiation, tending to cool the troposphere. Overall, the cooling dominates: the IPCC concludes that observed stratospheric O3 losses over the past two decades have caused a negative forcing of the surface-troposphere system of about –0.15 ± 0.10 W m–2 .
One of the strongest predictions of the GW theory is that the stratosphere should cool. However, although this is observed, it is difficult to use it for attribution (for example, warming induced by increased solar radiation would not have this upper cooling effect) because similar cooling is caused by ozone depletion.
Ozone depleting chemicals are also greenhouse gases, representing 0.34 ± 0.03 W/m2, or about 14% of the total radiative forcing from well-mixed GHG's .

The relation between global warming and global dimming
Main article: global dimming
Some scientists now consider that the effects of the recently recognized phenomenon of global dimming (the reduction in sunlight reaching the surface of the planet, possibly due to aerosols) may have masked some of the effect of global warming. If this is so, the indirect aerosol effect is stronger than previously believed, which would imply that the climate sensitivity to CO2 is also stronger. Concerns about the effect of aerosol on the global climate were first researched as part of concerns over global cooling in the 1970s.

Attempts to combat global warming

Mitigating temperature rise
Kyoto Protocol
Carbon sequestration / Carbon tax
Future energy development
Soft energy path
United Kingdom Climate Change Programme

Mitigating the effects of global warming

Precautions To Avoid Global Warming

2005-12-12T05:03:00.000+05:30

What Can We Do?????

Vote for Candidates for President and Congress Who Demand Action to Fight Climate Change One of the most vital responsibilities our representatives in public office have is to protect our children, grand-children and future generations from damage to the environment they will inherit. Currently, the United States is derelict in addressing those responsibilities. If candidates for public office do not perform as showing concern for the environment, we must vote against their candidacy. Vote for those who care about this planet.

Tips on Cutting Energy Use:
Use compact fluorescent bulbs in our homes, stores and offices. Fluorescent bulbs last 10,000 hours longer than incandescent bulbs, keeping more than half a ton of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere over the course of their lifetime.
When replacing home appliances, use energy efficient models. For example, replacing an old refrigerator using 320 watts with a new one using 85 watts could make a big difference. When buying appliances, look for the EPA/Department of Energy’s new Energy Star label.
Use cars and light trucks that get good gas mileage. In fact tell your friends that driving a sports utility vehicle adds to global warming and pollution. SUVs emit 43% more global-warming pollutants (28 pounds of carbon dioxide per gallon) and 47% more air pollution than the average car. An SUV is 4 times as likely to rollover in an accident. If car manufacturers were to increase their fleets' average gas mileage about 3 miles per gallon, this country could save a million barrels of oil every day, while US drivers would save $25 billion in fuel costs annually.
Choose a company that offers for homes electricity generated by renewable energy sources.
If possible, ask employer if your work could be done at home. Even if some of the work could be completed at your residence, this would help relieve traffic congestion, which adds to ordinary car emissions.
Help promote community carpooling.
Promote the construction of bike lanes, especially bike lanes that have an outside curb separating auto traffic and bikes. Establish numerous bike routes into center of city, limiting auto speed on these routes to 10 miles per hour, during commuting hours only. Companies could provide showering facilities, together with bike stands to encourage biking employees.
Place an insulating cover around water heater.
Insulate walls and ceilings, and lower heating bills.
When replacing windows, choose those that are the best energy saving models, such as double pane windows.
A car needs only about 2 minutes to warm up. Taking more time only wastes fuel and contributes to global warming.
Keep the door shut to any room that is not being used, saving the energy to heat that room.
Take public transit whenever possible.
Send e-mail to both your U.S. Senators in support of renewable energy legislation . It's quick and easy.
Mobilization of Renewable Resources Will Work and Here's How Writing in the August 24, 2001 issue of the journal "Science," associate professor Mark Jacobson and teaching professor Gilbert Masters, two energy experts from Stanford's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, conclude that wind power is an abundant, clean and affordable alternative to coal and other fossil fuels. These researchers note in the article, “Much of the recent U.S. energy debate has focused on increasing coal use. However, the cost of wind energy is now less than that of coal." The direct cost of energy from large wind turbines has dropped to three to four cents per kilowatt-hour, comparable with that from new pulverized coal power plants. Given that "health and environmental costs (of coal) bring the total costs coal-generating electricity to 5.5 cents to 8.3 cents/per kilowatt hour," wind energy is unequivocally less expensive than is coal energy. Jacobson and Masters cite statistics from the Centers for Disease Control showing that coal dust kills some 2,000 U.S. mineworkers each year and has cost taxpayers about $35 billion in monetary and medical benefits to former miners since 1973.
If we are going to solve this country's energy problem and address the threat of climate change seriously, the U.S. needs to undertake the large scale program this article is talking about. The federal government could either go into the energy business for itself (TVA style), or it could foster wind energy through tax incentives that would utilize private investment. The scientists mention that the U.S. "could displace 10 % of U.S. coal at a cost of $61 to $80 billion......This could be supported at no net federal cost by investing 3% to 4% of one year's $2.02 trillion budget in turbines and selling the electricity over 20 years. California (example of a state taking the initiative) could provide 10% of its 1999 electricity by buying 4500 to 5000 turbines at 7.5% to 9.9% of one year's $101 billion budget and selling the electricity over 20 years." Furthermore, they calculate, by building from 214,000 to 236,000 turbines, America could eliminate almost two-thirds of its coal generated electricity, reducing its 1999 greenhouse gas emissions to seven percent below 1990 levels, thereby meeting the U.S target goal under the Kyoto Protocol.
Dr. Jacobsen has informed EcoBridge that subject wind turbines are the 1.5 megawatt (1000 kilowatts) kind, costing $1,000 per kilowatt or $1.5 million per 1.5 megawatt (MW) wind turbine. Actual turbine costs are about 80% of $1.5 million or $1.2 million, the remainder being primarily installation costs, specifically: grid connection (9%), foundation (4%), land (2%), electrical installation (2%), financing (1%), roads (1%), and consulting sessions (1%). If the U.S government produced the electricity, it could recoup its costs in 20 years in revenue from electricity generation, similar to its government-run TVA program. Annual maintenance of individual wind turbines would cost on average 1.5% - 2.5% of the cost of the wind turbine, running approximately about $18,000 to $30,000 annually.
The article states that one of the disadvantages of wind turbines is that they have been linked to the accidental deaths of migratory birds that get caught inside the powerful turbine blades. However, compared to the devastation that a full-blown climate change could cause bird species , these turbine blades pose a fraction of the threat. And that can be overcome by placing the wind turbines out of migratory routes.
The authors end the Science article, saying, “By 2000, Germany had 6113 MW of installed turbines, more than the United States (2554 MW) or Denmark (2300 MW). Sweden and Denmark have wind parks offshore, where winds are faster than over land. Clearly, the United States has not maximized its wind potential.” Suggested Safety Precautions In the Event of a Severe Heat Wave
Wear loose, preferably light cotton clothing. Wear a hat to protect the head from the sun.
Eat light, cool, easily digested foods - avoid hot, heavy, greasy meals. Avoid using ovens.
Drink lots of water and natural juices.
Avoid alcoholic beverages, coffee and cola.
Take a cool bath or shower periodically; use cool towels.
Keep electric lights down low or turned off.
Keep shades drawn and blinds closed, but windows slightly open.
Protect against sunburn. A sunburn will reduce the body's ability to cool itself.
Don't ever use a fan in a closed room without windows or doors open to the outside.** Increased air movement (i.e, with fans) is associated with increased heat stress when the ambient temperature exceeds approximately 100 degrees Fahrenheit (the exact temperature varies with the humidity). Therefore, fans are not protective at temperatures higher than 90 degrees Fahrenheit, with humidity greater than 35%.
Remember, children under 5 years old are especially sensitive to high temperatures.
Do not leave children in a car. Babies are especially vulnerable.
If you are elderly and feel unusually weak, dizzy or confused, call 911 immediately.
Call your family and friends. Check on elderly or incapacitated persons as frequently as possible.
Take advantage of air-conditioning. The use of air-conditioning reduces the risk for heatstroke and heat-related illness, even if it is available for only part of the day.
Persons without home air conditioning should be encouraged and assisted in taking advantage of air-conditioned environments in private or public places such as libraries, shopping malls, theaters.
This city will monitor nursing homes and other similar facilities serving senior citizens, making sure air-conditioners are in working order; that there are plenty of fans in the nursing facility; that outside concrete walks and patios, perhaps radiating heat inside the facility, were cooled off with water. All nursing homes should have independent electricity-generating equipment on hand in case of long-term power outages.
Avoid physical activity, especially outside work and recreational activity
* Most of these safety procedures are taken from heat plans of Kansas City, Chicago and St. Louis. ** This warning taken from Journal of the American Medical Association, July 20, 1994, Vol. 272, No.3, p.197. The following project ended on May 21, 2002 with a press conference that took place in Venice, Italy, making public a letter to President George W. Bush, asking him to reconsider his position on the Kyoto Protocol. Participants were Venice Mayor Paolo Costa, Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown, Barcelona Mayor Joan Clos and members of the Italian Senate and Parliament.
Coastal City Mayors Letter to President Bush and Signatories
Mr. George W. Bush President of the United States of America The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 United States of America Fax +1.202.456-2461 president@whitehouse.gov
Dear Mr. President,
As Mayors, we would like to underline the dangers that our local communities, all located on delicate coastal areas, are facing due to global climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions. Our cities will be heavily affected, not only by the raising of the sea level, but also by the probable intensification of extreme climatic conditions. The case of Venice and its lagoon is a prime example. A world cultural and environmental heritage of mankind is destined to suffer tremendously, because of the intensification of periodical flooding, by the effects of global climate changes. Consequently, international support that Venice is receiving for its ordinary maintenance, much of it coming also from private donors from the United States, is bound to be rendered useless.
We are convinced that the role of National governments must be supported by the voice of local governments in order to tackle the task of reducing the dramatic effects on climate forecast by international experts. We are aware of the important responsibilities that cities will have to face in order to contribute to this task, and we are committed to take rapid and cogent actions by orienting our urban policies towards reducing greenhouse emission, specifically in the fields of energy, transport and waste treatment.
But we need to feel that we are part of a global plan which cannot pretend to be successful without the essential role of your Country. This is why we feel that we have to express our deepest concern about the position that your administration has recently assumed towards the Kyoto Protocol. We are convinced that the Kyoto Protocol should not be discarded but reviewed and improved by exploiting its globality and flexibility.
We urge you to reconsider your position. We are confident that you are going to assume a leading and proactive role in fighting against global warming by contributing to create the reference framework within which we, as mayors of some of the more important coastal cities in the world, are going to concentrate the efforts of our local policies.
Sincerely,
1. Paolo Costa, Mayor of Venice, Italy
2. Cesar Maia, Mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
3. Abdel Mounim Ariss, Mayor of Beirut, Lebanon
4. Kari Nenonen, Mayor of Oulu, Finland
5. Ormir Rusi, Mayor of Shkodra, Albania
6. Tarso Genro, Mayor of Porto Alegre, Brazil
7. Alan Lloyd, Mayor of Swansea Wales, UK
8. Vido Boddanovic, Mayor of Dubrovnik, Croatia
9. Joan Miquel Nadal I Male, Mayor of Tarragona, Spain
10. Joan Clos, Mayor of Barcelona, Spain
11. Inaki Azkuna, Mayor of Bilbao, Spain
12. Hirotaro Yamasaki, Mayor of Fukuoka, Japan
13. Mamadou Diop, Mayor of Dakar, Senegal
14. Fabio Sturani, Mayor of Ancona, Italy
15. Giuseppe Pericu, Mayor of Genoa, Italy
16. Simeone di Cagno Abbrescia, Mayor of Bari, Italy
17. Miri Hoti, Mayor of Durres, Albania
18. Sarlis Chryssanthos, Mayor of Corfu, Greence
19. W.J Deetman, Mayor to the Hague, The Netherlands
20. Mohammad Hanif, Mayor of Dhaka, Bangladesh
21. Jacques Peyrat, Mayor of Nice, France
22. Russell Goodway, Lord Mayor of Cardiff, Wales, UK
23. Mary Jane C. Ortega, Mayor of San Fernando, Philippines
24. Ivan Skaric, Mayor of Split, Croatia
25. Leona Detiege, Mayor of Antwerp, Belgium
26. Omar El Bahraoui, Mayor of Rabat, Morocco
27. Job Cohen, Mayor of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
28. Paul Schell & Greg Nickels, Former and current Mayors, Seattle,Washington, USA
29. Dimitris Z. Archondakis, Mayor of Rethymnon, Greece
30. Eric Milligan, Lord Provost of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
31. Walter Veltroni, Mayor of Rome, Italy
32. Joao Barroso Soares, Mayor of Lisboa, Portugal
33. Anibal Ibarra, Mayor of Buenos Aires, Argentina
34. Andreas Dais, Mayor of Igoumenitsa, Greece
35. Mariano Arana, Mayor of Montevideo, Uruguay
36. Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London, England
37. Qassim Sultan, Director General of Dubai Muncipality, United Arab Emirates
38. Michael Mulcahy, Lord Mayor of Dublin, Ireland
39. Vojko Obersnel, Mayor of Rijeka, Croatia
40. Jens Kramer Mikkelsen, Lord Mayor of Copenhagen, Denmark
41. Rosa Russo Jervolino, Mayor of Naples, Italy
42. Umberto Scapagnini, Mayor of Catania, Italy
43. Per Ditlev Simonsen, Mayor of Oslo, Norway
44. Richard Leese, Leader of Manchester City Council
45. Alderman Peter Marais, Mayor of Cape Town, South Africa
46. Marc H. Morial, *Former Mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
47. Blas Aprile, Mayor of Mar del Plata, Argentina
48. Jerry Brown, Mayor of Oakland, California, USA
49. Tonis Palts, Mayor of Tallinn – Estonia
50. Jean – Paul L’Allier, Mayor of Quebec – Canada
51. Jim Soorley Mayor of Brisbane, Queensland – Australia
52. Michael Feinstein, Mayor of Santa Monica, California, USA
53. Shirley Dean, Mayor of Berkeley, California, USA
54. Moti Lal, Mayor of Nausori, Fiji Islands,
55. Josephine M. Williams, J.P.Mayor of Nadi - Fiji Islands
56. Tadatoshi Akiba, Mayor of Hiroshima – Japan
57. Ying – jeou Ma, Mayor of Taipei – Taiwan
58. Cr. Lakshman Prasad Maharaj, Mayor of Lautoka - Fiji Islands
59. Pradeep Singh, Mayor of Labasa - Fiji Islands,
60. Frank Chang-ting Hsieh, Mayor of Kaohsiung – Taiwan
61. Kazutoshi Sasayama, Mayor of Kobe - Japan
62. Kevin Byrne, Mayor of Cairns, Queensland – Australia
63. Dannel P. Malloy, Mayor of Stamford, Connecticut, USA
64. Willie L. Brown, Jr., Mayor of San Francisco, California, USA
65. Mara Giulianti, Mayor of Hollywood, Florida, USA
66. Joel T. Daves, Mayor of West Palm Beach, Florida, USA
67. Joe Schreiber Mayor of Tamarac, Florida, USA
68. Jeremy Harris Mayor of Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
69. Thomas M. Menino, Mayor of Boston, Massachusetts, USA
70. Christopher Krohn, Mayor of Santa Cruz, California, USA
71. Mary Jane Carr, Lord Mayor of Newcastle, England (February 6, 2002)
72. Marty Blum, Mayor of Santa Barbara, California (February 13, 2002)
73. Lee B. Brown, Mayor of Houston, Texas ( March 14, 2002)
74. Paul D. Novack, Mayor of Surfside, Florida (April 19, 2002)
75. David Dermer, Mayor of Miami Beach, Florida (May 17, 2002)

Global Warming-News

2005-12-03T22:36:00.000+05:30

CREATE-ing energy awareness

CHILDREN at Crimond and St Fergus primary schools are embarking on a programme of activities to help them learn how energy efficiency and renewable energy can reduce the potentially harmful effects of global warming and changes to climates.
ExxonMobil has commissioned CREATE, a national charity for promoting and co-ordinating energy education, to carry out a range of energy activities in the company's Link schools in the North-east.
Using resources funded by the petroleum and petrochemicals company, children will discover the benefits of renewable energy sources by investigating how the sun and wind can be used to generate electricity.
Some pupils will carry out heating and lighting surveys in their schools to identify areas where energy is wasted whilst others will carry out a neighbourhood energy trail to find out how energy efficient their local community is.
These activities are part of the ExxonMobil Link School Programme for schools that has been operating in the North East for a number of years. Specialist training has been provided to the schools by CREATE, with the aims of developing greater awareness of energy issues and improved energy efficiency within the school buildings.
The programme is enhanced by children preparing presentations for their parents, informing them of how they can save energy in their homes.
Mike Wolfe, CREATE chief executive, said: "We welcome ExxonMobil's continued support to enable us to sustain our energy activities in Link schools in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire. It is so important that children are made aware of how they and their families can do their bit to save energy and help prevent the potentially damaging effects of climate change."
Ian Hackers, ExxonMobil's community affairs manager for Scotland, commented "As an energy producer ExxonMobil is aware of the need to educate the next generation in energy efficiency and we are delighted to support CREATE in its work with young people".
In addition to financing CREATE's on site support for the schools, ExxonMobil has also provided each school with £1,000 to purchase science and technology equipment.
Activists Plan Climate Change Protests By PHIL COUVRETTE, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 39 minutes ago

Activists Plan Climate Change Protests

MONTREAL - The Arctic Inuit who are losing their ice caps and activists demanding urgent action on global warming are among thousands hitting the streets around the world Saturday to raise awareness of climate change.

The demonstrations are planned to coincide with the 10-day U.N. Climate Change Conference under way in Montreal to review and update the Kyoto Protocol, the global accord that binds the top 35 industrialized nations to lower greenhouse gas emissions.

The largest march was expected in downtown Montreal, though others are planned in more than 30 countries and in about 40 cities in the United States.

In Washington, drivers of hybrid cars plan to rally around the White House. In New Orleans, residents intend to hold a "Save New Orleans, Stop Global Warming" party in the French Quarter. Other events will be held from Boston to Los Angeles.

In Montreal, activists promised a family friendly atmosphere with hot air balloons, theatrical and music acts as they take the streets in numbers they hope will top 15,000.

"Time is of the essence with regard to climate change! Let's mobilize to tell world leaders gathered in Montreal that we urge them to battle efficiently against climate change," said organizer Florent Vollant.

Five environmental groups, including Greenpeace and the Climate Crisis Coalition, intend to deliver a petition signed by 600,000 Americans to the U.S. Consulate in Montreal urging the Bush administration and the U.S. Congress to help slow global warming.

President George W. Bush has been widely criticized for pulling out of the Kyoto Treaty, instead calling for an 18 percent reduction in the U.S. growth rate of greenhouse gases by 2012 and committing US$5 billion (euro4.27 billion) a year to global warming science and technology.

The United States — which spews out nearly 25 percent of the world's carbon emissions — will likely be the focus of the demonstrations and marches worldwide.

Health experts at the U.N. conference said Friday that global warming is responsible for as many as 150,000 deaths annually around the world.

Canadian Inuit of the isolated Arctic north have traveled to Montreal to join the protest. Indian leader Jose Kusugak told The Associated Press that he brought along hunters, trappers and elders to reassure them that people from the south were not indifferent to their plight.

"It was important to show there are a lot of people in the world who care," he said.

____

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2005-12-02T14:10:00.000+05:30

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GLOBAL WARMING

2005-11-24T02:39:00.000+05:30

UPDATES(For The Threat)

EUPolitix.com, November 22, 2005
Brussels has signalled that it is set to water down EU demands compelling developing countries to comply with strict climate change rules. EU environment chief Stavros Dimas hinted at a shift in EU climate change policy during a speech in London on Monday ahead of global climate change talks in Montreal next week. "The EU will adopt a constructive approach to the post-2012 debate," said Dimas.

The Times, November 21, 2005
In the light of Tony Blair's go-ahead for the development of new nuclear plants to reduce greenhouse emissions, the head of a major European electricity generating firm says new nuclear plants would not require government subsidy. Believing otherwise is "an old-fashioned view," he says.

The Times, November 21, 2005
Less than two years after a government paper called nuclear power an unattractive option, the Prime Minister has become convinced that building nuclear power stations is the only way to secure energy needs and meet obligations to reduce carbon emissions. Blair wants planning procedures to be quickened so that the first stations could be under construction within ten years, far earlier than expected

National Business Review, November 21, 2005
Margaret Beckett, Prime Minster Tony Blair's Environment Secretary, told The Observer that future work on climate change could involve "voluntary" targets rather than the compulsory targets that are Kyoto's engine. Interest groups are calling her remarks the death of the protocol.

EUObserver, November 21, 2005
British environment secretary, Margaret Beckett, has suggested a u-turn in climate policies, suggesting voluntary targets for cutting emissions when the Kyoto climate agreement ends in 2012. Instead of compulsory national targets, future agreements could set targets for "sectors" - potentially transport, domestic energy use or industry, or even individual commercial sectors. Another idea is voluntary targets.

Tech Central Station, November 18, 2005
The European Parliament this week adopted a resolution on a report authored by one of its MEPs. Entitled, "Winning the Battle Against Global Climate Change," it offers a new example of the institutionalized scare-mongering so characteristic of the current climate debate.

San Francisco Chronicle, November 17, 2005
THERE IS A MYTH in the American media. It goes like this: The good scientists agree that global warming is human induced and would be addressed if America ratified the Kyoto global warming pact, while bad heretical scientists question climate models that predict Armageddon because they are venal and corrupted by oil money.

BBC News, November 17, 2005
Worldwide interest in the threat from greenhouse gases has undergone a "massive change", the government's chief scientific adviser has said. Sir David King told the Commons Environmental Audit Committee he had noticed a "culture change" in attitudes to pollution in the last two years.

Tech Central Station, November 16, 2005
Writing in The Observer, British Prime Minister Tony Blair acknowledged that "even if the US did sign up to Kyoto, it wouldn't affect the huge growth in energy consumption we will see in India and China." He also urged for the creation of "the right market conditions to increase the necessary investment to develop and install new low carbon energy generation -- and to ensure it is shared with emerging economies." Alas, Blair's European colleagues keep playing with fire; they still insist that the 1997 climate treaty is a first, key step towards the mitigation of global warming.

Directgov, November 16, 2005
Tony Blair has said he remains keen to see 'binding agreements' put in place to deal with the problems the world faces from climate change.Speaking to MPs today during PMQs, he refuted suggestions that his 'resolve was weakening' on the issue, but said that any framework on emission targets needed to be agreed by everyone.

CO2 Science, November 16, 2005
An international team of researchers reports that the main glacial retreat "ended during the late 1950s to early 1960s," and that "after some years with more or less stationary glacier front positions, [the glaciers] began to advance, accelerating in the late 1980s." Around 2000, a portion of the glaciers began to slow, while some even ceased moving; but they say that "most of the larger outlets with longer reaction times are continuing to advance." In fact, they report that "the distances regained and the duration of this recent advance episode are both far greater than any previous readvance since the Little Ice Age maximum, making the recent resurgence a significant event."

CO2 Science, November 16, 2005
Five Chinese scientists argue that climate plays a key role in civil strife, suggesting that wars and unrest often occur in cold phases.

Wall Street Journal, November 16, 2005
An international panel including corporate and government officials who have been involved in climate-treaty negotiations has called for a broader version of the Kyoto Protocol, one that might include the Bush administration's voluntary approach to combating global warming.

Science Direct, November 14, 2005
Climate is often attributed to three main factors: greenhouse gases (GHGs), aerosols, and solar activity changes. However, these factors are not all-independent. Furthermore, contributions of the above-mentioned factors are still disputed. We sought whether a parallelism between the solar activity variations and the changes in the Earth's climate can be established. Our results indicate marked influence of solar activity variations on the Earth's climate.

Reuters, November 14, 2005
According to some academics, global warming could cause the spread of plague, saying warmer conditions create better conditions for bacteria to flourish. This analysis claimed to solve the dispute about whether warmer conditions encouraged the bacteria, fleas and rats to grow or killed them off. Plague bacteria are often carried by fleas on rats.

Spiked, November 14, 2005
This morning, Greenpeace protested Tony Blair's decision to talk the Kyoto agreement down by dumping tonnes of coal outside Downing Street. 'We've blockaded Downing Street with coal because Tony Blair has failed on climate change', said executive director Stephen Tindale. 'They told us things can only get better, but Blair's burning more coal than ever, our CO2 emissions have gone up, he's set to miss his own global warming targets and now it seems he's trying to kill off the Kyoto Protocol.'

Directgov, November 14, 2005
Prime Minister Tony Blair sets out his agenda for the problems the world faces, saying the most pressing problem is global terrorism. On climate change, Mr. Blair believes progress can "only happen if the US, China and India join with Europe, Japan and others to create...a framework. Failure will mean not only increasing the damage to the environment but in a world of greater competition for carbon fuel, real pressure on energy supply and energy prices. Yet such an agreement cannot materialize without the major nations of the world agreeing an approach that is fair and balanced, sharing the most advanced science and technology to tackle carbon emissions. In other words, a just settlement as well as an effective one."

Scotsman, November 14, 2005
Sir David defended Mr Blair's comments that targets for reducing emissions made countries nervous about the consequences for economic growth."The message needs to be got across that this isn't at the expense of growing economies. I don't think that any country is going to manage a process where the suspicion is that they will need to reduce their GDP growth," he said.

The Telegraph, November 13, 2005
The cost of flying could soar as early as next year under plans being proposed by the Government to include aviation in a controversial emissions trading scheme. If agreed, passengers will have to pay an extra charge to help offset the damage to the environment caused by the pollutants produced during flight. The charge, which could more than double the cost of many low-cost flights, will be used to pay for schemes elsewhere in the world that reduce carbon use such as tree planting.

The Guardian, November 14, 2005
Ministers are planning to crack down on motorists who speed on motorways in an attempt to meet government targets aimed at reducing Britain's emissions of greenhouse gases.Officials acknowledge that any move to force the 15 million motorists who currently exceed the 70 mph speed limit to slow down would be "politically sensitive", but they say it would save significant amounts of carbon dioxide pollution. Engine efficiency falls quickly beyond 70 mph.

PressZoom, November 14, 2005
The high-impact hurricanes that have hit the United States over the past couple years are, at least for now, more a function of bad luck than of climate change, said MIT Professor Kerry Emanuel during an Oct. 31 symposium. "On a 50-year time scale from a U.S. point of view, it probably doesn't mean anything at all," he said. Only about one third of the storms over the Atlantic even make landfall. "The last two years have been more or less bad luck," he said.

The Age, November 14, 2005
In 2004, 8.6 million Australians, or 57 per cent of the population, indicated they were concerned about the environment problem, he said. "Concern about the environmental problem has steadily declined since 1992 when 75 per cent of Australians expressed concern," Maj Gen Jeffery said in his opening address to Greenhouse 2005, an international climate change conference.

Reuters, November 11, 2005
China is unlikely to commit to cutting emissions in the next phase of the Kyoto Protocol, fearing it would retard economic growth, but analysts say the government is waking up to the threat of climate change.

London Telegraph, November 11, 2005
The destruction of the world's rainforests will be hastened by a Government pledge to ensure that five per cent of fuel should come from "green" sources, conservationists said yesterday.

World Climate Report, November 10, 2005
Forget “Fair and Balanced” on global warming. Fox News has gone native, airing a “documentary” more one-sided than anything I have seen in the entire sad history of climate change journalism. How on earth did this happen? Apparently Fox’s Roger Ailes has been captured by—hope you are sitting down—Robert F Kennedy Jr., Al Gore, and eco-activist Laurie David.

NewsWise, November 10, 2005
Palmettos in Pennsylvania? Magnolias in Minnesota? The migration of subtropical plants to northern climates may not be too far-fetched if future global warming patterns mirror a monumental shift that took place in the past, new research by an international team of scientists suggests.

Penn State, November 10, 2005
Fossil leaves buried 55 million years ago show, for the first time, that rapid warming not only changed animal communities, but plant communities as well; and that the ancient warm spell may be representative of global warming's effects in Earth's future, according to an international team of researchers.

Nature, November 10, 2005
Many palaeoclimate records from the North Atlantic region show a pattern of rapid climate oscillations, the so-called Dansgaard–Oeschger events, with a quasi-periodicity of 1,470 years for the late glacial period. Various hypotheses have been suggested to explain these rapid temperature shifts, including internal oscillations in the climate system and external forcing, possibly from the Sun. But whereas pronounced solar cycles of 87 and 210 years are well known, a 1,470-year solar cycle has not been detected. Here we show that an intermediate-complexity climate model with glacial climate conditions simulates rapid climate shifts similar to the Dansgaard–Oeschger events with a spacing of 1,470 years when forced by periodic freshwater input into the North Atlantic Ocean in cycles of 87 and 210 years. We attribute the robust 1,470-year response time to the superposition of the two shorter cycles, together with strongly nonlinear dynamics and the long characteristic timescale of the thermohaline circulation. For Holocene conditions, similar events do not occur. We conclude that the glacial 1,470-year climate cycles could have been triggered by solar forcing despite the absence of a 1,470-year solar cycle.

Canada: Appointment of Climate Fund President Designate Marks Launch of New Agency
The Green Lane, November 10, 2005
The Honourable Stéphane Dion, Minister of the Environment today praised the appointment of Allan F. Amey to be the first President Designate of the Climate Fund Agency as of November 14. Mr. Amey’s appointment was announced earlier by Prime Minister Paul Martin. Mr. Amey will assume the role of President as of January 1st, 2006.

The New Atlantis, Fall 2005
Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the Gulf Coast and led to the flooding of New Orleans, was a natural disaster made worse by human failings: mismanagement, misreporting, and missed opportunities. All the facts about the disaster have not yet come to light; as we go to press, but sufficient information is already available to allow us to form some preliminary conclusions and make some commonsense recommendations.

Europa.com, November 8, 2005
A Norwegian-led team of scientists reports on an 11-year study of ice sheet growth in Greenland's vast interior. An international team of climatologists and oceanographers, led by the Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center (NERSC) in Norway, estimates that Greenland’s interior ice sheet has grown, on average, 6cm per year in areas above 1 500m between 1992 and 2003. This contradicts earlier reports of high-elevation balance.

Spiked, November 4, 2005
Is the Kyoto treaty dead in the water? That was the suggestion underlying Tony Blair's speech this week to a conference on climate change in London. But while Blair's speech provided little encouragement for those demanding massive cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, there is little sign that the hysteria about global warming will subside any time soon.

Reuters UK, November 7, 2005
Europe's push to meet pollution targets agreed under the Kyoto Protocol on climate change could dent its economies and cost hundreds of thousands of jobs by 2010, according to research published on Monday.Compliance with Kyoto's greenhouse gas reduction targets could hit gross domestic product in Germany, Britain, Spain and Italy as energy energy bills soar

New York Times, November 7, 2005
In the United States, an unusual alliance between environmentalists and evangelical groups is forming to urge Congress to pass legislation on global warming. But some lawmakers, such as Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), oppose the efforts. Inhofe, who is chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and an evangelical himself, does not believe it is a certainty that climate change is caused by human activities. "You can always find in Scriptures a passage to misquote for almost anything," Inhofe said.

Edie.Net, November 4, 2005
Concluding the meeting of G8 energy and environment ministers in London this week, Mr Blair said that incentives should be given for private sector investment in low carbon technology, and that partnerships needed to be developed that allowed technology transfer between developed and developing nations for emissions reduction. However, these partnerships should develop on an informal basis, he said, "so that people don't feel that pressure of international negotiation that sometimes can be helpful, sometimes frankly can be unhelpful, but nonetheless they are able in a frank and open way to explore what the possibilities are for action."

NewScientist.com, November 5, 2005
The near doubling in the rate of sea level rise during the 1990s was probably due in part to the delayed effects of the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines - and not runaway melting of ice caps.

Bankok Post, November 4, 2005
Britain's international meeting on clean energy this week is surrounded by catastrophic predictions of climate change, but no ideas at all for saving the poor from the real and present threats from the normal climate. The anti-growth tenor of the debate threatens to consign the poorest nations in the world to permanent suffering.

National Post, November 3, 2005
Ottawa's climate strategy is by far the biggest and most dangerous economic policy in Canadian history.

Reuters, November 3, 2005
A U.N. climate change summit is not expected to agree new targets for the reduction of global greenhouse gas emissions when it convenes later this month in Canada, the European Union's environment chief said on Thursday.

Financial Times, November 1, 2005
British companies could take advantage of an opt-out clause in the European Union's emissions trading scheme if fears are realised of a harsh winter in the UK.

Gaurdian Unlimited, November 2, 2005
Tony Blair appeared last night to undermine more than 15 years of climate change negotiations when he signalled a shift away from a target-based approach to cutting greenhouse emissions. Speaking at the end of the first day of a summit in London of environment and energy ministers, the prime minister said that legally binding targets to reduce pollution made people "very nervous and very worried". He said when the Kyoto protocol expires in 2012, the world would need a more sensitive framework for tackling global warming. "People fear some external force is going to impose some internal target on you ... to restrict your economic growth," he said. "I think in the world after 2012 we need to find a better, more sensitive set of mechanisms to deal with this problem. The blunt truth about the politics of climate change is that no country will want to sacrifice its economy in order to meet this challenge," he said.

BBC News, November 1, 2005
Technology and science will provide at least part of the solution to global warming, Tony Blair said as 20 nations held talks in London. The focus is on curbing climate change through technology, not binding deals. Mr Blair said there were divisions over the Kyoto climate agreement. But he said economic growth could be combined with helping the environment.

JunkScience.com, October 27, 2005
The gas price roller-coaster is proving to be a little too much for some to handle. While gas prices drop precipitously – I paid $3.39/gallon in the immediate aftermath of Katrina but $2.59/gallon this week in the Washington, DC area – the New York Times wants Congress to raise gas taxes. Anticipating a week full of announcements of higher oil company profits, Congressional Republicans want to tell oil companies how to spend their profits. Congressional Democrats want simply to confiscate oil company profits in the form of a “windfall profits” tax. None of these ideas will help consumers or lower gas prices.

BBC News, October 27, 2005
Prince Charles, heir to the throne of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in an unbroken line sice 1066, expresses his belief that it is foolish to assume things will always remain the way they are. He calls for British citizens to fight global warming by spending more on food, but is criticized by environmental campaigner George Monbiot for maintaining two palaces that consume as much energy as a small town.

CNews Canada, October 26, 2005
A long-simmering dispute over how to share the costs of Kyoto compliance burst into the open Wednesday, with Quebec Environment Minister Thomas Mulcair saying Quebec won't pay for cutting emissions in Alberta. Stephane Dion, the federal environment minister, insisted that negotiations on how to implement the climate treaty are going well, but Mulcair said they are totally blocked.

Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, December 2005
Several hurricane experts have combined to summarize the state of the scientific literature on hurricanes and their relation to global warming. A preprint is available at the Prometheus web site, together with links to follow-up correspondence here and here.

Envirospin Watch, October 27 2005
Biogeographer Professor Philip Stott examines what is meant by the idea of "tackling Climate Change" and suggests that the concept is fatuous, misguided and very dangerous. He concludes that maintaining strong economies is the only answer to whatever climate may have in store for us.

Associated Press, June 23 2005
The US Senate rejected the amendment to the energy bill offered by Sens. McCain (R.-AZ) and Lieberman (D.-CT) by 60 votes to 38. The amendment would have imposed a "cap and trade" system on the US energy industry in an effort to restrict greenhouse gas emissions. The vote represented a reverse to Sen. McCain, whose amendment received 43 votes the last time it was offered.

European Environment Agency, June 21 2005
This report is the annual submission of the greenhouse gas inventory of the European Community to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. It presents greenhouse gas emissions between 1990 and 2003 by individual Member State and by economic sector. The report shows that, between 2002 and 2003, emissions in the 15 old member states increased by 53 million tonnes, or 1.3% and total EU emissions increased by 1.5%.

The Scotsman, June 19 2005
The likely result of the G8 summit in July is a declaration that supersedes the Kyoto command-and-control approach to dealing with greenhouse gas emissions and instead puts forward a practical agenda based on technology and growth.

Competitive Enterprise Institute, June 20 2005
A new analysis suggests that the "Bingaman amendment" to the US Senate energy bill would have minimal effect on global termperatures, averting only 0.002 degrees Celsius of global warming by 2050.

Washington Post, June 21 2005
The US Senate is considering several amendments to the energy bill that provide competing approaches to the global warming issue. Intense lobbying over the amendments concentrates on their likely effects on the US economy.

GlobalWarming.org Live Chat with the Experts
David Henderson
Prof. David Henderson of Westminster Business School in the United Kingdom joined us at 2pm ET on Friday, Jan. 7 to discuss his analysis of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's emissions projections and the role of the "corporate social responsibility" movement in the global warming debate.

GlobalWarming.org, Oct 28 2004
Green has critiqued the new California auto-emission regulations for the Orange County Register. If you have any questions about the environmental, political, or economic ramifications of this move by California, this will be a very enlightening hour.

GlobalWarming.org, Sept 9, 2004
Jonathan H. Adler is a Associate Professor of Law and Associate Director, Center for Business Law & Regulation at Case Western Reserve University School of Law. Adler has critiqued the legal basis for the suit filed by New York AG Eliot Spitzer and his compatriots for TechCentralStation.com. If you have any questions about the legal or political ramifications of the lawsuit, this will be a very enlightening hour.

GlobalWarming.org, June 30 2004
Dr. Margo Thorning is senior vice president and chief economist with the American Council for Capital Formation and director of research for its public policy think tank. Thorning is an internationally recognized expert on tax, environmental, and competitiveness issues.

The science (or lack thereof) in The Day After Tomorrow'
GlobalWarming.org, June 3 2004
Dr. O’Brien is the Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor of Meteorology & Oceanography and Director of Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida. He was appointed as State of Florida Climatologist in 1999.

'The Kyoto Protocol and its future'
GlobalWarming.org, May 27, 2004
Iain Murray is a Senior Fellow at CEI, specializing in global climate change and environmental science. Mr. Murray edits Cooler Heads, the biweekly newsletter of the Cooler Heads Coalition, and writes regularly on scientific and statistical issues in public policy.

GLOBAL WARMING-early warnings

2005-11-19T03:02:00.000+05:30

"An increasing body of observations gives
a collective picture of a warming world
and other changes in the climate system."

This map illustrates the local consequences of global warming.

FINGERPRINTS: Direct manifestations of a widespread and long-term trend toward warmer global temperatures

Heat waves and periods of unusually warm weather
Ocean warming, sea-level rise and coastal flooding
Glaciers melting
Arctic and Antarctic warming

HARBINGERS: Events that foreshadow the types of impacts likely to become more frequent and widespread with continued warming.

Spreading disease
Earlier spring arrival
Plant and animal range shifts and population changes
Coral reef bleaching
Downpours, heavy snowfalls, and flooding
Droughts and fires

The map of early warning signs clearly illustrates the global nature of climate changes. In its 2001 assessment, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concluded that, ?an increasing body of observations gives a collective picture of a warming world and other changes in the climate system."

While North America and Europe—where the science is strongest—exhibit the highest density of indicators, scientists have made a great effort in recent years to document the early impacts of global warming on other continents. Our map update reflects this emerging knowledge from all parts of the world.

Although factors other than climate may have intensified the severity of some of the events on the map, scientists predict such problems will increase if emissions of heat-trapping gases are not brought under control.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cooler Heads Coalition

2005-10-30T04:37:00.000+05:30

COOLER HEADS COALITION

This site is a project of the Cooler Heads CoalitionUpdates by the Competitive Enterprise Institute
NEWS:

Gas Price Madness JunkScience.com, October 27, 2005The gas price roller-coaster is proving to be a little too much for some to handle. While gas prices drop precipitously – I paid $3.39/gallon in the immediate aftermath of Katrina but $2.59/gallon this week in the Washington, DC area – the New York Times wants Congress to raise gas taxes. Anticipating a week full of announcements of higher oil company profits, Congressional Republicans want to tell oil companies how to spend their profits. Congressional Democrats want simply to confiscate oil company profits in the form of a “windfall profits” tax. None of these ideas will help consumers or lower gas prices.

Global warming: help or hindrance? BBC News, October 27, 2005Prince Charles, heir to the throne of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in an unbroken line sice 1066, expresses his belief that it is foolish to assume things will always remain the way they are. He calls for British citizens to fight global warming by spending more on food, but is criticized by environmental campaigner George Monbiot for maintaining two palaces that consume as much energy as a small town.

Quebec's frustration over Kyoto compliance fuels personal attack on Dion CNews

Canada, October 26, 2005A long-simmering dispute over how to share the costs of Kyoto compliance burst into the open Wednesday, with Quebec Environment Minister Thomas Mulcair saying Quebec won't pay for cutting emissions in Alberta. Stephane Dion, the federal environment minister, insisted that negotiations on how to implement the climate treaty are going well, but Mulcair said they are totally blocked.

Hurricanes and Global Warming

Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, December 2005Several hurricane experts have combined to summarize the state of the scientific literature on hurricanes and their relation to global warming. A preprint is available at the Prometheus web site, together with links to follow-up correspondence here and here.What does it mean to "tackle climate change"?Envirospin Watch, October 27 2005 Biogeographer Professor Philip Stott examines what is meant by the idea of "tackling Climate Change" and suggests that the concept is fatuous, misguided and very dangerous. He concludes that maintaining strong economies is the only answer to whatever climate may have in store for us.
APOLOGIES for the lack of updates. We hope to resume regular posting today.Site admin, October 27 2005

US Senate Rejects Greenhouse Gas Limits

Associated Press, June 23 2005The US Senate rejected the amendment to the energy bill offered by Sens. McCain (R.-AZ) and Lieberman (D.-CT) by 60 votes to 38. The amendment would have imposed a "cap and trade" system on the US energy industry in an effort to restrict greenhouse gas emissions. The vote represented a reverse to Sen. McCain, whose amendment received 43 votes the last time it was offered.

European Emissions Increase Despite Kyoto Measures

European Environment Agency, June 21 2005This report is the annual submission of the greenhouse gas inventory of the European Community to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. It presents greenhouse gas emissions between 1990 and 2003 by individual Member State and by economic sector. The report shows that, between 2002 and 2003, emissions in the 15 old member states increased by 53 million tonnes, or 1.3% and total EU emissions increased by 1.5%.G8 Summit Offers Chance for New ThinkingThe Scotsman, June 19 2005The likely result of the G8 summit in July is a declaration that supersedes the Kyoto command-and-control approach to dealing with greenhouse gas emissions and instead puts forward a practical agenda based on technology and growth.

Bingaman Amendment Would Have Minimal Temperature Impact

Competitive Enterprise Institute, June 20 2005A new analysis suggests that the "Bingaman amendment" to the US Senate energy bill would have minimal effect on global termperatures, averting only 0.002 degrees Celsius of global warming by 2050.US Senate Considers Global Warming AmendmentsWashington Post, June 21 2005The US Senate is considering several amendments to the energy bill that provide competing approaches to the global warming issue. Intense lobbying over the amendments concentrates on their likely effects on the US economy.
GlobalWarming.org science archives:

Solar variations and climate
Satellite temperature data archive
Carbon sequestration archive

Transcripts: GlobalWarming.org Live Chat with the Experts
David Henderson Prof. David Henderson of Westminster Business School in the United Kingdom joined us at 2pm ET on Friday, Jan. 7 to discuss his analysis of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's emissions projections and the role of the "corporate social responsibility" movement in the global warming debate.

Chat transcript: Implications of new California auto emissions regulations with Dr. Kenneth Green

GlobalWarming.org, Oct 28 2004Green has critiqued the new California auto-emission regulations for the Orange County Register. If you have any questions about the environmental, political, or economic ramifications of this move by California, this will be a very enlightening hour.
Legal and economic implications of state Attorneys General lawsuit with Jonathan H. Adler GlobalWarming.org, Sept 9, 2004Jonathan H. Adler is a Associate Professor of Law and Associate Director, Center for Business Law & Regulation at Case Western Reserve University School of Law. Adler has critiqued the legal basis for the suit filed by New York AG Eliot Spitzer and his compatriots for TechCentralStation.com. If you have any questions about the legal or political ramifications of the lawsuit, this will be a very enlightening hour.

Economics of McCain-Lieberman Climate Stewardship Act with Dr. Margo Thorning

GlobalWarming.org, June 30 2004Dr. Margo Thorning is senior vice president and chief economist with the American Council for Capital Formation and director of research for its public policy think tank. Thorning is an internationally recognized expert on tax, environmental, and competitiveness issues.
The science (or lack thereof) in The Day After Tomorrow'

(Transcript of chat with Dr. James J. O'Brien.)

GlobalWarming.org, June 3 2004
Dr. O’Brien is the Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor of Meteorology & Oceanography and Director of Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida. He was appointed as State of Florida Climatologist in 1999.
'The Kyoto Protocol and its future'

(Transcript of chat with Iain Murray )

GlobalWarming.org, May 27, 2004 Iain Murray is a Senior Fellow at CEI, specializing in global climate change and environmental science. Mr. Murray edits Cooler Heads, the biweekly newsletter of the Cooler Heads Coalition, and writes regularly on scientific and statistical issues in public policy.