Wonder what the Boss will say about this article issuing from govt scientists,
No Doubts Global Warming
Is Real Say US Experts
12-5-3
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - There can be no doubt that global warming is real and is being caused by people, two top U.S. government climate experts said.
Industrial emissions are a leading cause, they say -- contradicting critics, already in the minority, who argue that climate change could be caused by mostly natural forces.
"There is no doubt that the composition of the atmosphere is changing because of human activities, and today greenhouse gases are the largest human influence on global climate," wrote Thomas Karl, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Climatic Data Center, and Kevin Trenberth, head of the Climate Analysis Section at the National Center for Atmospheric Research.
"The likely result is more frequent heat waves, droughts, extreme precipitation events, and related impacts, e.g., wildfires, heat stress, vegetation changes, and sea-level rise," they added in a commentary to be published in Friday's issue of the journal Science.
Karl and Trenberth estimate that, between 1990 and 2100, there is a 90 percent probability that average global temperatures will rise by between 3.1 and 8.9 degrees Fahrenheit (1.7 and 4.9 degrees Celsius) because of human influences on climate.
Such dramatic warming will further melt already crumbling glaciers, inundating coastal areas. Many other groups have already shown that ice in Greenland, the Arctic and Antarctica is melting quickly.
Karl and Trenberth noted that carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have risen by 31 percent since preindustrial times.
Carbon dioxide is the No. 1 greenhouse gas, causing warming temperatures by trapping the Sun's energy in the atmosphere.
Emissions of sulfate and soot particles have significant effects too, but more localized, they said.
"Given what has happened to date and is projected in the future, significant further climate change is guaranteed," they wrote.
The United States has balked at signing international treaties to reduce climate-changing emissions, but the two experts said global cooperation is key.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
In their journal paper, the authors conclude:
"We are entering the unknown with our climate. We need a global climate observing system, but only parts of it exist. We must not only take the vital signs of the planet but also assess why they are fluctuating and changing. Consequently, the system must embrace comprehensive analysis and assessment as integral components on an ongoing basis, as well as innovative research to better interpret results and improve our diagnostic capabilities. Projections into the future are part of such activity, and all aspects of an Earth information system feed into planning for the future, whether by planned adaptation or mitigation. Climate change is truly a global issue, one that may prove to be humanity's greatest challenge. It is very unlikely to be adequately addressed without greatly improved international cooperation and action."
SEE HYPERLINK BELOW
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SEE ALSO:
CLIMATE: Northern High-Latitude Warming
---------------------------------------------------------------------------H.
Jesse Smith
The high latitudes are particularly sensitive to climate change and are
thus good regions in which to look for early signs of global warming.
Comiso presents measurements of surface temperature for the whole Arctic
from 1981 to 2001, made using satellite thermal infrared data. Large
warming anomalies were seen over sea ice, Eurasia, and North America, but
no change or a slight cooling was observed over Greenland. Temperature
increases were steeper during the 1990s than during the 1980s. This warming
increased the melt season by 10 to 17 days per decade and was eight times
more rapid than the average for the previous 100 years. The substantial
increase in the rate of warming in the Arctic may be associated with the
recent change in the phase of the Arctic Oscillation or the increase of
greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. -- HJS
J. Clim.16, 3498 (2003).
Here is a link that might be useful: Modern Global Climate Change
spewey
wayne_5 zone 6a Central Indiana
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