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changes in the ratios of different carbon isotopes in atmospheric CO2 that are consistent with
"anthropogenic" (human caused) emissions. The simple fact is, that under "business as
usual" conditions, we'll soon reach carbon dioxide concentrations that haven't been seen on
Earth in the last 50 million years.
Combustion of Fossil Fuels, for electricity generation, transportation, and heating, and also
the manufacture of cement, all result in the total worldwide emission of about 22 billion tons
of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere each year. About a third of this comes from electricity
generation, and another third from transportation, and a third from all other sources.
This enormous input of CO2 is causing the atmospheric levels of CO2 to rise dramatically.
The following graph shows the CO2 levels over the past 160 thousand years (the upper
curve, with units indicated on the right hand side of the graph). The current level, and
projected increase over the next hundred years if we do not curb emissions, are also shown
(the part of the curve which goes way up high, to the right of the current level, is the
projected CO2 rise). The projected increase in CO2 is very startling and disturbing. Changes
in the Earth's average surface temperature are also shown (the lower curve, with units on
the left). Note that it parallels the CO2 level curve very well.
These graphs show a very discernable warming trend, starting in about 1900. It might seem
a bit surprising that warming started as early as 1900. How is this possible? The reason is
that the increase in carbon dioxide actually began in 1800, following the deforestation of
much of Northeastern American and other forested parts of the world. The sharp upswing in
emissions during the industrial revolution further added to this, leading to a significantly
increased carbon dioxide level even by 1900.
Thus, we see that Global Warming is not something far off in the future - in fact it predates
almost every living human being today.
How do we know if the temperature increase is caused by anthropogenic emissions?
Computer models strongly suggest that this is the case. The following graphs show that 1) If
only natural fluctuations are included in the models (such as the slight increase in solar
output that occurred in the first half of the 20th century), then the large warming in the 20th
century is notreproduced. 2) If only anthropogenic carbon emissions are included, then the
large warming is reproduced, but some of the variations, such as the cooling period in the
1950s, is not reproduced (this cooling trend was thought to be caused by sulfur dioxide
emissions from dirty power plants). 3) When both natural and anthropogenic emissions of all
types are included, then the temperature evolution of the 20th century is well reproduced.
that, as predicted by climate models, global temperature will likely rise by about 13.5 Celsius by the year 2100. The next report, in 2000, suggested, that the climate might
warm by as much as 10 degrees Fahrenheit over the next 100 years, which would bring us
back to a climate not seen since the age of the dinosaurs. The most recent report, in 2001,
concluded that "There is new and stronger evidence that most of the warming observed over
the last 50 years is attributable to human activities".
Due to these assessments, debate has now shifted away from whether or not global
warming is going to occur to, instead, how much, how soon, and with what impacts.
Global Warming Impacts
Many of the following "harbingers" and "fingerprints" are now well under way:
1. Rising Seas--- inundation of fresh water marshlands (the everglades), low-lying
cities, and islands with seawater.
2. Changes in rainfall patterns --- droughts and fires in some areas, flooding in other
areas. See the section above on the recent droughts, for example!
3. Increased likelihood of extreme events--- such as flooding, hurricanes, etc.
4. Melting of the ice caps --- loss of habitat near the poles. Polar bears are now
thought to be greatly endangered by the shortening of their feeding season due to
dwindling ice packs.
5. Melting glaciers - significant melting of old glaciers is already observed.
6. Widespread vanishing of animal populations --- following widespread habitat loss.
7. Spread of disease --- migration of diseases such as malaria to new, now warmer,
regions.
8. Bleaching of Coral Reefs due to warming seas and acidification due to
carbonic acid formation --- One third of coral reefs now appear to have been
severely damaged by warming seas.
9. Loss of Plankton due to warming seas --- The enormous (900 mile long) Aleution
island ecosystems of orcas (killer whales), sea lions, sea otters, sea urchins, kelp
beds, and fish populations, appears to have collapsed due to loss of plankton,
leading to loss of sea lions, leading orcas to eat too many sea otters, leading to
urchin explosions, leading to loss of kelp beds and their associated fish populations.
Where do we need to reduce emissions?
In reality, we will need to work on all fronts - 10% here, 5% here, etc, and work to phase in
new technologies, such as hydrogen technology, as quickly as possible. To satisfy the Kyoto
protocol, developed countries would be required to cut back their emissions by a total of 5.2
% between 2008 and 2012 from 1990 levels. Specifically, the US would have to reduce its
presently projected 2010 annual emissions by 400 million tons of CO2. One should keep in
mind though, that even Kyoto would only go a little ways towards solving the problem. In
reality, much more needs to be done.
The most promising sector for near term reductions is widely thought to be coal-fired
electricity. Wind power, for example, can make substantial cuts in these emissions in the
near term, as can energy efficiency, and also the increased use of high efficiency natural gas
generation.
The potential impact of efficiency should not be underestimated: A 1991 report to Congress
by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, Policy Implications of Greenhouse Warming,
found that the U.S. could reduce current emissions by 50 percent at zero cost to the
economy as a result of full use of cost-effective efficiency improvements.
Discussing Global Climate Change:
Here is a useful list of facts and ideas:
1. Given the strong scientific consensus, the onus should now be on the producers of
CO2 emissions to show that there is not a problem, if they still even attempt to make
that claim. Its time to acknowledge that we are, at very least, conducting a very
dangerous experiment with Earth's climate.
2. A direct look at the data itself is very convincing and hard to argue with. Ask a
skeptical person to look at the data above. The implications are obvious. The best
source of data is probably the IPCC reports themselves, which are available
at www.ipcc.ch (see, for example, the summaries for policy makers).
3. The recent, record-breaking warm years are unprecedented and statistically
significant. It is a fact that they are very statistically unlikely to be a fluctuation (and
now we can point to specific side effects from those warm temperatures that appear
to have induced recent worldwide drought).
4. Lastly, but perhaps most importantly, whether or not you believe in global warming
per se, the fact remains that the carbon dioxide levels are rising dramatically --- there
is no debate about this. If we continue to use fossil fuels in the way we presently do,
then the amount of carbon we will release will soon exceed the amount of carbon in
the living biosphere. This is bound to have very serious, very negative effects, some
of which, such as lowering the pH of the ocean such that coral cannot grow, are
already well known.
Response of Government: Develop "Carbon Sequestration" Technology
Many government agencies around the world are very interested in maintaining fossil fuel
use, especially coal. It should be noted that US energy use, which is enormous, is
increasing, not decreasing. Furthermore, we are not going to run out of coal in the near term
(oil may begin to run low sometime after 2010). Methods for reducing carbon emission levels
while still burning coal are now investigation by government and industry, as we now
discuss.
We believe that a major increase in renewable energy use should be achieved to help offset
global warming. While there are some US government programs aimed in this direction,
there is simply not enough money being spent yet to achieve this goal in a timely manner. A
primary goal of many new programs is not to increase renewables, but rather, is to find ways
to capture the extra CO2 from electricity generation plants and "sequester" it in the ground,
the ocean, or by having plants and soil organisms absorb more of it from the air.
The global warming primer and discussion at website of the Institute of Geophysics and
Planetary Physics at Los Alamos National Laboratory:http://www.igpp.lanl.gov
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