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Global
Warming Linked to Humans, New Report Says |
Posted:
02.05.07
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Using the strongest language yet, the world's top climate scientists
released a report last week blaming humans for global warming.
Printer-friendly version: PDF
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 The
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), made up of more
than 2,500 scientists from over 130 nations, said it is "very
likely" -- or more than 90 percent probable -- that human
activity, such as the burning of fossil fuels, has caused the
Earth's temperature to rise.
"Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, as is now
evident from observations of increases in global average air and
ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice, and rising
global mean sea level," the scientists said in the report.
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Projected
global changes |
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Burning fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas and crude oil
creates carbon dioxide gas, a "greenhouse gas" that
traps heat below the Earth's atmosphere, warming the planet like
a plant hothouse.
According to the report, the temperature on the Earth will likely
increase about 3.5 degrees to 8 degrees Fahrenheit by 2050 if
the concentration of carbon dioxide doubles pre-industrial levels,
as expected.
Even moderate increases in global temperatures would likely greatly
impact ecosystems, water supplies and agricultural production.
 Northern
areas will see more precipitation while semi-arid, subtropical
regions will see even more drought and less rain, the New York
Times reported.
With this climate change will come increasingly extreme weather
events, such as heat waves, droughts and floods, the report predicted.
According to the report, sea levels are expected to rise between
7 inches and 23 inches in the 21st century -- and could be higher
if ice sheets in Antarctica and Greenland melt.
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Impact on
humans |
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More water could immerse low-lying islands, and flood the coastal
zones of countries like Bangladesh and cities such as Shanghai,
China, and Buenos Aires, Argentina.
And changing weather patterns could cause droughts and floods
in Africa and Asia.
"If you're living in parts of tropics and they're getting
drier and you're a farmer there are some acute issues associated
with even small changes in rainfall -- changes we're already seeing
are significant," Susan Solomon, the co-leader of the team
that wrote the report's summary and an atmospheric scientist for
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told the
New York Times.
 "If
you're an Inuit and you're seeing your sea ice retreating already
that's affecting your lifestyle and culture."
And those impacted most greatly will be the poorest of the poor.
"But it is the poor, in Africa and developing small island
states and elsewhere, who will suffer the most, even though they
are the least responsible for global warming," UN Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon told world environmental ministers meeting in Kenya
Monday.
The UN leader has been charged with finding a replacement for
the Kyoto Protocol, a treaty aimed at cutting greenhouse gases,
which expires in 2012.
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Reducing
emissions |
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Scientists believe that global warming will increase even if
humans reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions. But reducing emissions
is essential to minimizing the impact.
 "If
we don't bring the emissions under control, we can expect potentially
very, very much greater changes than what we have already seen.
So to use maybe an unfortunate metaphor, this is just the tip
of the iceberg compared to what may be in store for us in the
future," Michael Oppenheimer, a member of the UN climate
change panel and a contributor to the report, told the NewsHour.
This initial report is expected to be followed by three others,
including one that will provide recommendations on how to mitigate
the impact of the expected climate change.
--Compiled
by Annie Schleicher for NewsHour Extra
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