Climate risk 'worse than thought'

Monsieur Bush will not like this report.

********

Climate risk 'worse than thought'

Scientists warn of Greenland, West Antarctic ice sheets melting

LONDON, England (AP) -- The threat posed by climate change may be
greater than previously thought, and global warming is advancing at an
unsustainable rate, a report by scientists published Monday says.

The UK government-commissioned report collates evidence presented at a
Meteorological Office conference on climate change last year. It says
scientists now have "greater clarity and reduced uncertainty" about the
impacts of climate change.

In a foreword, Prime Minister Tony Blair said it was clear that "the
risks of climate change may well be greater than we thought."

"It is now plain that the emission of greenhouse gases, associated with
industrialization and economic growth from a world population that has
increased six-fold in 200 years, is causing global warming at a rate
that is unsustainable," he wrote.

Over the next century, global warming is expected to raise ocean
levels, intensify storms, spread disease to new areas and shift climate
zones, possibly making farmlands drier and deserts wetter.

The U.N.-backed Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says
temperatures rose by about 1 degree Fahrenheit (0.6 degrees Celsius)
during the 20th century. Computer modeling predicts increases of
between 2.5 degrees and 10.4 degrees Fahrenheit (1.4 degrees and 5.8
degrees Celsius) by the year 2100, depending on how much is dome to
limit greenhouse gas emissions.

Scientists have warned of climatic "tipping points" such as the
Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets melting and the Gulf Stream
shutting down.

In the British report, the head of the British Antarctic Survey, Chris
Rapley, warned that the huge west Antarctic ice sheet may be starting
to disintegrate, an event that could raise sea levels by 16 feet (five
meters).

Rapley said a previous Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report
playing down worries about the ice sheet's stability should be revised.

"The last IPCC report characterized Antarctica as a slumbering giant in
terms of climate change," he wrote. "I would say it is now an awakened
giant. There is real concern."

Blair's vow to put climate change at the center of the international
agenda during Britain's leadership of the G8 and the European Union
last year met brought only a limited response.

He was unable to overcome the Bush administration's antipathy to the
Kyoto climate-change accord -- rejected by the U.S. government on the
grounds it would damage the economy. British ministers also have
acknowledged that Britain is unlikely to meet its own target of cutting
carbon dioxide emissions by 20 percent by 2010.

Jean-Pierre wrote:

Monsieur Bush will not like this report.

He "will not like" it, if he pays it any attention!
However, the moron in our White House has arbitrarily
decided the scientists are wrong, that "global warming" does
not exist, thus no quantity of facts contradicting his
opinion will have any effect. (The man may be a disaster as
president, but he IS an expert at stubborn denial in the
face of mountains of evidence!)

Jean-Pierre writes:

Scientists warn of Greenland, West Antarctic ice sheets melting

West Antarctic perhaps, but the rest of the Antarctic ice sheet is
getting thicker, and the continent is getting colder as well.

Part of Greenland may be melting, but with the vast majority of the
ice locked up in the Antarctic, it's hard to say how much of a
difference that will make.

The UK government-commissioned report collates evidence presented at a
Meteorological Office conference on climate change last year. It says
scientists now have "greater clarity and reduced uncertainty" about the
impacts of climate change.

They still have no clue. Yes, the planet seems to be getting warmer,
at least over the near term. But there's no way to be sure exactly
why (even though the greenhouse effect is tempting), and there's
certainly no way to clearly predict what the future holds.

"It is now plain that the emission of greenhouse gases, associated with
industrialization and economic growth from a world population that has
increased six-fold in 200 years, is causing global warming at a rate
that is unsustainable," he wrote.

It's not at all clear that this is causing the warmning trend, even
though it seems highly plausible. We really won't know for sure
except perhaps in retrospect.

Over the next century, global warming is expected to raise ocean
levels, intensify storms, spread disease to new areas and shift climate
zones, possibly making farmlands drier and deserts wetter.

Here again, nobody really knows.

The U.N.-backed Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says
temperatures rose by about 1 degree Fahrenheit (0.6 degrees Celsius)
during the 20th century. Computer modeling predicts increases of
between 2.5 degrees and 10.4 degrees Fahrenheit (1.4 degrees and 5.8
degrees Celsius) by the year 2100, depending on how much is dome to
limit greenhouse gas emissions.

Computer models can't even accurately predict tomorrow's weather, much
less weather a hundred years from now.

Scientists have warned of climatic "tipping points" such as the
Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets melting and the Gulf Stream
shutting down.

Nobody really knows.

In the British report, the head of the British Antarctic Survey, Chris
Rapley, warned that the huge west Antarctic ice sheet may be starting
to disintegrate, an event that could raise sea levels by 16 feet (five
meters).

Nobody is really sure what will happen. And with the rest of the
Antarctic ice sheet growing, perhaps nothing will happen at all.

All of this alarmism is in itself alarming.

While I agree that it's a good idea to reduce greenhouse emissions,
just to be safe, I'm not at all sure that the current warming trend is
due to those emissions, and in fact I don't even know how long the
warming trend will last.

--
Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.

On 30/01/06 16:36, in article
, "Jean-Pierre"
wrote:

Climate risk 'worse than thought'

Scientists warn of Greenland, West Antarctic ice sheets melting

And Europe is getting colder, this winter at least!

More seriously---

From Newsweek--

But from http://msnbc.msn.com/id/11009001/

"2005 warmest year on record, data indicates"

"James Hansen, director of NASA¹s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, said
the analysis had to estimate temperatures in the Arctic from nearby weather
stations because no direct data were available."

The news today is that James Hansen is in trouble with the no-brainers
in the White House.

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn8650

"Top climatologist accuses US of trying to gag him"

Now the British back him up.

just as YOU are an expert to answer any post as long as it's OT and
specially the ones about US internal affairs

"EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)" a écrit dans le
message de news: ...


Jean-Pierre wrote:

Monsieur Bush will not like this report.

He "will not like" it, if he pays it any attention! However, the moron in
our White House has arbitrarily decided the scientists are wrong, that
"global warming" does not exist, thus no quantity of facts contradicting
his opinion will have any effect. (The man may be a disaster as
president, but he IS an expert at stubborn denial in the face of mountains
of evidence!)

of course he had to get on this train

"Earl Evleth" a écrit dans le message de news:
...
On 30/01/06 16:36, in article
, "Jean-Pierre"
wrote:

Climate risk 'worse than thought'

Scientists warn of Greenland, West Antarctic ice sheets melting

And Europe is getting colder, this winter at least!

More seriously---

From Newsweek--

But from http://msnbc.msn.com/id/11009001/

"2005 warmest year on record, data indicates"

"James Hansen, director of NASA¹s Goddard Institute for Space Studies,
said
the analysis had to estimate temperatures in the Arctic from nearby
weather
stations because no direct data were available."

The news today is that James Hansen is in trouble with the no-brainers
in the White House.

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn8650

"Top climatologist accuses US of trying to gag him"

Now the British back him up.

On 30/01/06 17:48, in article ,
"EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)" wrote:


The news today highlights that this is a very warm winter in the US.
The IHT said the ski resorts in the US are having problems.

Solution: come to Europe, plenty of snow in the alps.

******

You call this winter?
By Todd C. Frankel
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Monday, Jan. 30 2006

It is January, supposedly the dead of winter, yet grassy
spots dot the runs at the Hidden Valley Ski Resort in Wildwood. More than
six feet of snow base is nearly gone.

"It is absolutely terrible," said Corbett Simon, park staff
manager. Without snowfall soon, "our days are numbered."

A ski resort running on empty in January?

This is no ordinary January. With one day to go, the month
is on track to be St. Louis' third warmest, dating to 1870.
The average temperature, as measured at Lambert Field, has
been 42.5 degrees, nearly 13 degrees above normal.

"That's exceptional," said Arno Perlo of the National
Weather Service in Weldon Spring.

Warmish weather has enveloped the United States. January
has posted among the top 5 or top 10 warmest in places
from New York to Helena, Mont. Canada reported its warmest
January in more than 100 years.

In St. Louis, seven January days have boasted highs
topping 60 degrees. On Jan. 8, it reached 71, a record
for that day.

The warmest January in St. Louis: 1880, with a 46.8-degree
average.

Meteorologists don't blame global warming for this month's warm
temperatures.

They point out that weather patterns can fluctuate wildly,
especially in the Midwest.

The warm winter is not good news for plants. It has caused
premature budding in fruit trees and flowering bulbs. Tulips,
daffodils and trees like the magnolia and dogwood could suffer
the most, said Kate Keeley of the University of Missouri
Extension service.

"I would suspect we will not see a real showy spring in
terms of flowers," Keeley said.

Another outcome: lower natural gas bills. Laclede Gas consumers
are using a third less energy than in a typical January -
even less than in January 1990, which holds the title of St. Louis'
second-warmest January, said Laclede spokesman George Csolak.

The warm January has been a welcome relief after December,
when below-normal temperatures and record prices forced many
customers to wince at their whirring gas meters.

So little energy is being used to heat homes, said Csolak,
"it is almost unprecedented."

Earl Evleth wrote:

On 30/01/06 17:48, in article ,
"EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)" wrote:


The news today highlights that this is a very warm winter in the US.
The IHT said the ski resorts in the US are having problems.

Solution: come to Europe, plenty of snow in the alps.

I said no such thing! Be careful about attributions,
please! (Your indiscriminate snipping is NOT appreciated, Earl.)

"EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)" writes:

Earl Evleth wrote:

On 30/01/06 17:48, in article ,
"EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)" wrote:
The news today highlights that this is a very warm winter in the US.
The IHT said the ski resorts in the US are having problems.
Solution: come to Europe, plenty of snow in the alps.

I said no such thing! Be careful about attributions, please!

The careful reader will attribute the somethings in Earl's post to
Earl. The careless reader will probably ignore the attributions
altogether.

(Your
indiscriminate snipping is [...] appreciated, Earl.)


Des

Des Small:

The careless reader will probably ignore the attributions
altogether.

Hey Pete,
What's this thing about card readers?

--
[how careless can you read?]