Climate Change

As Earth's climate warms, the effects are showing up in the planet's biological systems, from the lowliest soil microbes to the grandest coral reefs. We set five of our writers loose to find research probing this dynamic. They turned up studies exploring everything from shell formation of tiny marine organisms to fruit fly genetics to coral immunity to the dynamics of soil decomposition to the spread of human diseases. We also enlisted the help of University of Alaska, Fairbanks climate researcher F. Stuart Chapin to put the affects of climate change in context. It's a two-way street, he writes: Just as global warming affects living things, those living things can magnify the effects on the atmosphere. Chapin also suggests where climate science and policy need to go in the future.

Those who deny that humans contributed to the accelerated global warming with industrial pollutants are denying a simple law of physics. Pray tell, where does all the heat generated from continuously burning fossil fuels, or anything else for that matter, end up? Sure, it may eventually escape the Earth's atmosphere and disappear far into the Universe. But, guess what? Even if that happened, it will still remain on Earth, first, close to where it was originally generated, long enough to bring its negative effects on Earth's climate and ecosystems. Also, while the man-made excess heat escapes the Earth's atmosphere into the space, it could likely damage the ozone layer, as well, to cause other harmful effects to all living things on Earth, e.g., UV irradiation, including and especially to us humans. So, think, Ye Naysayers, because it's really a common sense - not quantum physics!

For those unaware, on 01/20/2008 re-broadcasted the entire program devoted to this topic orginally aired on 03/16/2006.

LINK

It's worth watching, again, even for those who already watched the original broadcast. It emphasizes the scientific evidences of undeniable change in the Earth's climate and its consequences (potential or realized), due to global warming for the last century, and how the issue has become so politicized especially in the U.S. where most carbon emissions have been produced to date.

If the IPCC report is, as has been suggested, flawed for political reasons (leaving out the sentences in which - quite properly - academics draw attention to the high degree of uncertainty and error to which the results may be subject due to pressure from NGOs and governments with vested interests) but forms the basis of all arguments for reducing "human-induced" global warming and for research funding then society, academia and world governments have some serious ethical problems. Perhaps research into the political influence of minority power groups/individuals over the rest of humanity would be more appropriate than research into the potential for "human-induced" global cooling. The arrogance of humanity would be laughable if it weren't so scary.... if oceanographers reckon that deep sea temperatures can take centuries to change then are we certain that corals are endangered because of any human actions within living memory? ...and perhaps more to the point... is it (a) realistic and (b) economic to expect that human action now will have any real effect? I would welcome a more honest debate amongst scientists untainted by (a) the desire to keep their income stream going and (b) the fear of extremist environmentalists. On the other hand how much of the media wants to report anything other than apocalyptic scenarios that appeal to the Hollywood generation?

Is the planet warming ?
Maybe
BUT, it has been both much warmer AND much colder in the past.
That's how evolution works. On both lifeforms and geology.
Are WE the only reason ?
I doubt it.
Are we contributing ?
Maybe.
Does it matter ?
If the "losers" are replced with "better" organisms, it is an improvement.
If we are one of the "losers" it matters to US even if it is positive for everything else ;]

To anonymous, I was, until recently, pretty much convinced that global warming was real. I have now resoundingly changed my mind. I am tired of the "disaster, disaster, catastrophe!!" hysterics surrounding the subject. Climate change, yes it happens, has happened and will happen again. The "planet" is still here. Conditions on Earth have changed in the past and will change in the future, it was not "created to be the perfect home for man" there is no written guarantee that it will always be safe and hospitable. Large parts of it are not now safe or hospitable to human life. What really turned me off in the global warming "debate" (ha ha) was the discovery that people were talking about increases like 2 to 5 degrees farenheit. Hello that is 1.1 to 2.5 centigrade, where I live, inside the arctic circle, temperatures can vary by 20 centigrade in one 24 hour period.
If the world gets warmer, there will be winners and loosers, if the world gets colder there will be winners and loosers, some places will become better places for humans to live some worse whichever way it goes. Animals and plants will migrate, adapt and evolve as they always have some will win some will lose. The important thing here is to understand what is actually happening and prepare for it, running around screaming "oh woe is me, something is changing" will not protect any animal or plant or person, might be good for getting grant money though.

I don't know if you are aware that there are at least 400 scientists many in the climatology field that say that there is NO global warming occuring and that in fact in the past 7 years there has NOT been any global warming to speak of. I believe this is partly a scam and partly that scientists in this field get funded for toeing the line. Scientists should be honest.