Climate change 'disaster by 2026'

[indigobusiness]

Climate change 'disaster by 2026'

Polar bears are at risk of dying out if the Arctic summer sea ice melts. Dangerous levels of climate change could be reached in just over 20 years if nothing is done to stop global warming, a WWF-UK study claims.

At current rates, the Earth will be 2C above pre-industrial levels some time between 2026 and 2060, says a paper by Dr Mark New of Oxford University.

Temperatures in the Arctic could rise by three times this amount, he says. It would lead to a loss of summer sea ice and tundra vegetation, with polar bears and other animals dying out.


"Polar bears will be consigned to history, something that our grandchildren can only read about in books."

Dr Catarina Cardoso
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snip

Dr New said: "A very robust result from global climate models is that warming due to greenhouse gases will reduce the amount of snow and ice cover in the Arctic, which will in turn produce an additional warming as more solar radiation is absorbed by the ground and the ocean."

Ice and snow reflect more solar radiation back to space than unfrozen surfaces. According to the WWF, the perennial ice, or summer sea ice, is currently melting at a rate of 9.6% per decade and will disappear completely by the end of the century if present trends continue.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/oxfordshire/4218441.stm

[Colorado Blue]

1. What is it going to take before we WAKE UP?

We, the American citizen, can do a lot about this. If we all try, in small ways, to save the use of fossil fuels it would help a lot. Just cutting out driving one day a week, for example, would be a start.

I'm sure there are a lot of smart Democrats out there with ideas.

Please, please, this is SERIOUS. And, it's a perfect opportunity for Dems and Green Party members to work within their home states to think of ways to reward good environmental behavior - perhaps with tax incentives, perhaps with grants - if we wait for the GW Bushies of the world to do something it will be too late.

Thanks!

[indigobusiness]

3. I'm with you.

But it's probably too late already, given who holds the reins of power.

[poe]

2. Keep the posts on climate change coming-thanks

Too often in this all too political and human world the deeper issues get obscured.
Humanism is such an arrogant and stubborn philosophy. I don't ever need to see a siberian tiger but i don't want to live in a world without them.





:kick:

[indigobusiness]

4. Thanks, Poe. I've consolidated a bunch of stuff on this thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=228&topic_id=2973#2991