Profound climate changes in store, experts say

[Pale Blue Dot]

Scientists from across the world gathered Monday to hammer out the final details of an authoritative report on climate change that is expected to project centuries of rising temperatures and sea levels unless curbs in emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases that trap heat in the atmosphere are put in place.

According to scientists involved in writing and reviewing the report, the fourth since 1990 from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a body overseen by the United Nations, the paper is nearly certain to conclude that there is at least a 90 percent chance that human-caused emissions are the main cause of warming since 1950.

The report, according to several authors, who spoke on condition of anonymity because details could still change, will describe growing evidence that warming is likely to profoundly transform the planet.

Three large sections of the report will be forthcoming during the year, with the summary for policy makers and sections on basic climate science coming Friday.

Among findings in recent drafts are that the Arctic Ocean could largely be devoid of sea ice in summers in this century; the Mediterranean shores of Europe could become barely habitable in summers while the Alps shift from snowy winter destinations to summer havens from the heat; growing seasons in temperate regions will expand, while droughts will further ravage semi-arid regions of Africa and southern Asia.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/01/29/news/climate.php

[Ecumenist]

1. This probably explains the absolute lack of any measureable

precipitation in California. Yesterday, you could see the plumes of smoke that signal the beginning of forest fires in the eastern slope of the Mendocino National forest....in JANUARY, FOR CHRIST'S SAKE!!

[shanti]

9. scary, isn't it?

:scared: i don't remember a january with little to no rain such as this.

[Ecumenist]

18. Yes, indeed. I put down some erosion cover on my

land to try to mitigate the damage a guy I laughingly refer to as a "general contractor", about 3.5 weeks ago and there's been such a lack of moisture that most of it hasn't germinated yet. This ain't good, I have to say.

[hogwyld]

13. It's even worse here in normally rainy Portland

I went out to my backyard yesterday, and there was no squishing sound of saturated earth when I walked. I've never had that before in the winter.

[lovuian]

26. Houston was cooler than Missouri in 2006 in the Summer

Houston never broke 100 degrees and the hurricanes we were suppose to get nothing Missouri was over 100's for days and got a Wind Vortex which wiped out peoples electricity for weeks

Houston is having a cooler winter with ice this year
Its been cooler on somedays than Missouri during the winter

Houston has had cloud cover for days...

Theres obviously climate changes are definitely going on now

IS like South Dakota Canada Alaska New York in the summer going to be hotter when all of the Artic ice is gone and Houston cooler from cloud cover

itslike the Earth is topsy turvey

[slackmaster]

15. It's raining in San Diego right now

We are way behind a normal winter rain total, but at least we are getting some now.

[kestrel91316]

24. In my part of SoCal i think we have finally topped 2.5" of rain for the

season (that would be since July). We have had very little rain this month, which is our rainiest.

[NickB79]

25. Yeah, the snowcover here in Minnesota is crap

There's still a lot of exposed ground and lawn everywhere, and the farm fields outside of town are looking pretty bad. Farmers rely on the snow to replenish soil moisture in spring, and I fear we're gonna have another bad drought this year if we don't get a few FEET of snow in the next two months.

[Bhaisahab]

29. We've had an unusually short winter here in New Delhi

Normally winter begins in late October and ends early March. This year it began in fucking DECEMBER, and it's only 1st February here and people are already throwing off their coats and jackets. Looks like we're in for a long and blistering summer.

[tanyev]

2. This is why Bush needs to set up a belief tank at his future library.

Gotta keep fighting the wild claims all these silly scientists are making.

[zonkers]

11. And this is why he is consolidating Federal authority, for martial law in the

face of dwindling resources and national calamity. The moneyed will survive.

[Tesha]

3. Ultimately, we'll get what we deserve. (NT)

[soothsayer]

4. Not only that, but the solar system is entering the 'galactic plain'

(aka the 'dark rift'), a part of the galaxy where we'll be subject to extreme gravitation. This is part of a cycle that's occured before, always bringing lots and lots of lovely catastrophes (think tidal waves, earthquakes, disease). I can only hope it wipes out the neocons.

[redqueen]

12. Interesting...

thanks for mentioning that! I don't recall reading about it before, but I will now.

:hi:

[Sin]

16. Unfortunately

cockroaches usually live through these things :(

[muriel_volestrangler]

20. You've got documentation on those earthquakes, tidal waves and diseases

I presume? Any links? In what sense will gravitation be 'extreme'? How many years until the peak gravitation? What the period of this phenomenon?

[Thor_MN]

5. Hey, man, it's not the heat, it's the humidity

What they are really saying is there's a 10% chance that it's not caused by humans, so it's just a theory. Probably just excess heat welling up the elevator shaft as the antichrist gets here to start the apocolypse. That Jack Van Shit guy on TV keeps saying that it's exciting times.


Damn, now I have go floss my brain after shoveling that shit for four sentences

[YankeyMCC]

6. k n r

And this report is expected to be conservative in the sense that it will present essentially the "best case" scenario.

[halobeam]

7. Chilling.

I'm raising two boys, both naturally strong in science. Although it can seem hopeless and frightening to them (especially the younger of the two), I assure them there is hope. I let them know that their generation is charged with fixing this crisis. They are the generation charged with saving our planet. They keep asking what they can do. I told them, aside from turning off lights and unplugging things they aren't using, they need to learn about how climate change works in order to work on fixing it. I encourage them to talk with their friends about this. To engage the science teacher in a conversation with the class about this and be persistent on the topic. This is the grassroots effort to this problem at its most fundamental level.

Emotionally, it's scary as hell and my youngest is spitting mad right now that everything that can be done isn't being done already. I console him by saying there are adults, more and more everyday who are addressing this issue. I told him that he can start helping by listening to everything he can about this subject and learn from it, then he can teach others about it. My oldest said to me last night, "The hardest thing is getting everyone to do something!" He sees the problem that Al Gore is effectively trying to tackle. It is to educate everyone and get every person on board with the responsibility they have to save our planet and it's inhabitants.

I can't imagine having the weight of the world on my shoulders as our children have. I was living in a childhood that was protected from all things "adult". It was wonderful, and I am deeply saddened that our children can't be afforded such great a gift as that was.

As I know that education is key to safe sex, IMO the opposed doesn't shelter them from harm nor condone inappropriate behavior, it actually renders them more vulnerable to some very serious consequences they could have otherwise avoided. The same thing holds true in educating them on climate crisis.

The number one threat to our existence is climate change. It is happening now. They need to fully understand that what we ALL do, WILL make the difference; and THAT my friends is where the hope lies.

[JPZenger]

8. Temperature Changes Much More Extreme Near N and S Poles

As pointed out in Inconvenient Truth, the temperature changes have been much more severe closer to the north and south poles than they have been closer to the equator. That explains why some of the most dramatic changes are occurring in Anarctica, Alaska and Greenland.

The melting of the ice in northern areas could dramatically change the ocean currents, which could really screw up the climate permanently in areas that are not near the poles. That type of change was apparently the reason for the Ice Age, which happened rather quickly.

[XemaSab]

10. Which store? WalMart???

:grr:

[Massachusetts]

14. Timing is everything...I Think.

Paraguay in a spin about Bush's alleged 100,000 acre hideaway


Tom Phillips in Cuiab
Monday October 23, 2006
The Guardian


"Meeting the new couple next door can be an anxious business for even the most relaxed home owner. Will they be international drug traffickers? Have they got noisy kids with a penchant for electronic music? As worries go, however, having the US president move in next door must come fairly low on the list.
Unless of course you are a resident of northern Paraguay and believe reports in the South American press that he has bought up a 100,000 acre (40,500 hectare) ranch in your neck of the woods."

"The US presence in Paraguay has been under scrutiny since May 2005 when the country's Congress agreed to allow 400 American marines to operate there for 18 months in exchange for financial aid.

At the time many viewed the arrival of troops as a sign that Washington was trying to monitor US business interests in neighbouring Bolivia, after the election of Evo Morales, a leftwing leader who promised to nationalise his country's natural gas industry."

[Uncle Joe]

17. If I remember correctly, this is one of the world's largest fresh water reservoirs.

I wonder if Paraguay is Bush's lifeboat for when the looming global warming catastrophe hits the fan?

[BeHereNow]

19. Hello? You actually WONDER if?

Of course it is-
"Katrina" to the rest of us.

The global elite know perfectly well what is in store for the planet-
they will be fine.

BHN

[Uncle Joe]

21. What can I say,

I'm a master of understatement;-)

[BlueInPhilly]

22. Frosty Dude from Washington Doesn't Believe This!

This is propaganda to upset him, his hausfrau, and 22 kids! Lalalala - HE AIN'T LISTENIN!

[Uncle Joe]

23. I believe Bush is semi stupid, he just plays total stupid on television,

because it works for him. In his mind, he can have the last laugh, cut cake and play air guitar in Paraguay while most everyone else is Katrina ed.

[PaDem]

27. but Senator Inhofe says it's all a hoax..........

now don't you think the good senator knows just a tad more about all this than these so-called experts?

[maxsolomon]

28. and i heard TWO scientists say it wasn't proveable on FOXNEWS

just last night. hannity said it was a hoax & colmes just couldn't overcome their arguments!

[PaDem]

30. that's why Colmes is there..........

the ultimate strawman.

[hatrack]

31. Let me guess . . Fred Singer & John Christy?

"Two scientists" would make up about 1/3 of the remaining climate corpo-whores still willing to go on the tee-vee.

[maxsolomon]

32. i guess - didn't note the names

old guys - one seemed like he was blind.

they were full of shit - kept babbling about PROOF of this specific event being linked. colmes brought up CO2 levels & they said Gore didn't understand the science. it was laughable it if wasn't fiddling while the planet burns.