Eiffel Tower to Go Dark Ahead of Report
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: January 30, 2007
PARIS (AP) -- The Eiffel Tower's 20,000 flashing lights will go dark for five minutes Thursday evening, hours before scientists and officials unveil a long-awaited report on global warming.
The darkening of the landmark in the City of Light comes at the urging of environmental activists and is timed to coincide with Friday's release of the major report warning that Earth will keep getting warmer and presenting new evidence of humanity's role in climate change.
Ahead of the report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, pressure is building on U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to convene an emergency summit of world leaders aimed at breaking a deadlock over cutting greenhouse gases.
U.N. Environment Program Executive Director Achim Steiner recommended the summit take place later this year, an official close to the talks said Tuesday in Nairobi, Kenya, speaking on condition of anonymity because the discussions were not made public....
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An early draft of the report being released in Paris suggests it will contain stronger evidence of the human role in climate change and more specific predictions of rising temperatures and sea levels this century....
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-France-Climate-Change.html