GLOBAL WARMING

SOURCE

STATEMENTS - FOR

GLOBAL ISSUES TO COVER

RESPONSES

STANFORD (Needs Data to Confirm)

“A gradual increase in plant-wide temperature – is now well documented and accepted by scientists as fact.”

• INCREASE IN PLANET-WIDE TEMPERATURE?

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STANFORD (Theory)

“A panel convened by the U.S National Research Council, the nation's premier science policy body, in June 2006 voiced a "high level of confidence" that Earth is the hottest it has been in at least 400 years, and possibly even the last 2,000 years.”

• US NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL?

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STANFORD (Needs Data to Confirm)

“Studies indicate that the average global surface temperature has increased by approximately 0.5-1.0°F (0.3-0.6°C) over the last century. This is the largest increase in surface temperature in the last 1,000 years and scientists are predicting an even greater increase over this century. Average global temperatures may increase by 1.4-5.8ºC (that's 2.5 - 10.4º F) by the end of the 21st century.”

• GLOBAL TEMPERATURE STATIONS REPORTING?

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STANFORD (Theory)

“This warming is largely attributed to the increase of greenhouse gases (primarily carbon dioxide and methane) in the Earth's upper atmosphere caused by human burning of fossil fuels, industrial, farming, and deforestation activities. The difference between global temperatures during an Ice Age and an ice-free period is only about 5ºC.)”

• GREENHOUSE EFFECT?

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STANFORD (Theory)

“Warmer ocean water may result in more intense and frequent tropical storms and hurricanes. Sea levels are also expected to increase by 0.09 - 0.88 m. in the next century, mainly from melting glaciers and expanding seawater.”

• OCEAN TEMPERATURES?

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STANFORD (Theory)

“Human health is also at stake, as global warming may result in the spreading of certain diseases such as malaria, the flooding of major cities, a greater risk of heat stroke for individuals, and poor air quality.”

• HUMAN HEALTH INDANGER?

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STANFORD (Theory)

Climate change is very likely having an impact now on our planet and its life, according to the latest installment of a report published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

• CLIMATE CHANGE VS GLOBAL WARMING?

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STANFORD (Theory)

“And the future problems caused by rising seas, growing deserts, and more frequent droughts all look set to affect the developing world more than rich countries, they add.”

• GROWING DESERTS?

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UNITED NATIONS

• IPCC
• UNEP
• WMO
• UNFCCC

(Fact-Events)

The first stumbling block, however, has been trying to get an agreement on a framework. In 1988, the IPCC was created by the UNEP and the WMO to assess the scientific knowledge on global warming. The IPCC concluded in 1990 that there was broad international consensus that climate change was human-induced. That report led way to an international convention for climate change, the UNFCCC, signed by over 150 countries at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992.

• IPCC – INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL OF CLIMATE CHANGE

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UNITED NATIONS
(Theory)

Scientists believe that Global Warming will lead to a weaker Ozone layer, because as the surface temperature rises, the stratosphere (the Ozone layer being found in the upper part) will get colder, making the natural repairing of the Ozone slower.

• OZONE LAYER AND GLOBAL WARMING

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STANFORD (FACT-PROCESS)

“These greenhouse gases reabsorb heat reflected from the Earth's surface, thus trapping the heat in our atmosphere. This natural process is essential for life on Earth because it plays an important role in regulating the Earth's temperature.

• GREENHOUSE GASES AND THE GREENHOUSE EFFECTS

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STANFORD (Theory)

Solar variability certainly plays a minor role, but it looks like only a quarter of the recent variations can be attributed to the Sun. At most. During the initial discovery period of global warming, the magnitude of the influence of increased activity on the Sun was not well determined.

• SOLAR VARIABILITY (FLARES AND ACTIVITY)

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PENTAGON
(Theory)

In February 2004, consultants to the Pentagon released a report laying out the possible impacts of abrupt climate change on national security. In a worst-case scenario, the study concluded, global warming could make large areas of the world uninhabitable and cause massive food and water shortages, sparking widespread migrations and war.

• NATIONAL SECURITY?

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NRDC:  NATURAL RESOURCE DEFENSE FUND
(Needs Data to Confirm)

“Though Americans make up just 4 percent of the world's population, we produce 25 percent of the carbon dioxide pollution from fossil-fuel burning -- by far the largest share of any country. In fact, the United States emits more carbon dioxide than China, India and Japan, combined. Clearly America ought to take a leadership role in solving the problem. And as the world's top developer of new technologies, we are well positioned to do so -- we already have the know-how.”

• AMERICA AND GREENHOUSE EFFECTS

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NRDC:  NATURAL RESOURCE DEFENSE FUND
(Theory)

“We can also phase out the decades-old, coal-burning power plants that generate most of our electricity and replace them with cleaner plants. And we can increase our use of renewable energy sources such as wind and sun. Some states are moving in this direction: California has required its largest utilities to get 20 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2017, and New York has pledged to compel power companies to provide 25 percent of the state's electricity from renewable sources by 2013.”

• TECHNOLOGY – EFFICIENCY

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• KYOTO PROTOCOL

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• ENVIRONMENTALISTS AND PEOPLE TRULY LIVING GREEN

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