Just a few years ago, the mere mention of those words would have sent chills down your spine. Some scientists believed that, as a result of human actions, the atmosphere was destined to heat up by several degrees resulting in drastic changes in weather patterns and the rising of the levels of the world's oceans. As the shock value of these statements wore off, Americans seemed to forget the issue of global warming and its potential causes and consequences. The issue was extremely controversial and scientists didn't seem to be able to agree. Now, nearly a decade later, more and more scientists are coming to the conclusion that global warming is occurring and that it is only a matter of time before the consequences of our actions become evident. Check out the Time magazine article on global warming published on April 9, 2001..
Greenhouse gases such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane and other gases act to trap some of the earth's reradiated energy from escaping into space. This is a natural process that helps to keep the earth at a temperature that sustains the organisms that live here. The problem arises when more and more greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere. A web site produced by the EPA states that, "Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide have increased nearly 30%, methane concentrations have more than doubled, and nitrous oxide concentrations have risen by about 15%. These increases have enhanced the heat-trapping capability of the earth’s atmosphere." Many scientists believe that humans are to blame for the increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to date.
In the U.S. most carbon dioxide (98%) is emitted as a result of burning the fossil fuels that are used to run cars, heat homes, and power factories. Other significant contributions to green house gases come from deforestation, agriculture, industrial production, mining and landfills (see EPA website at http://www.epa.gov/globalwarming/climate/index.html for more info).
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is a multidisciplinary panel consisting of about 700 scientists from all over the world. The objective of this panel is to assess the current situation regarding human-induced climate change. It is also concerned with finding options for limiting climate change (see IPCC website for more details http://www.ipcc.ch/about/about.htm). The IPCC predicts mean global temperatures will increase between 2-6°F by the year 2100 and will continue to rise. Temperatures in the polar regions are expected to rise even faster. If this doesn't seem like much, consider that temperatures during the last ice age were an average of only 9°F lower than current average global temperatures.
The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement among 161 nations to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by an average of 5.2% below 1990 levels by the year 2012. After initially delaying to encourage the full participation of developing nations, the US signed the protocol on November 12, 1998. Three years after the initiation of this agreement, carbon dioxide emissions continue to rise. In the United States, carbon dioxide emissions have risen by 15% since 1990. The US currently produces about 25% of carbon dioxide emissions globally. Despite the role of the US as a major contributor of greenhouse gases, the Bush administration has decided to reject the Kyoto Protocol. However, United Nations climate change talks will be resumed in Bonn July 16th of this year. Urge your representatives to support the Kyoto Protocol.
More information on the Kyoto Protocol
Perspectives on the Kyoto Protocol
Check out the web sites listed below for ways to reduce your consumption of energy and production of greenhouse gases.
http://www.worldwildlife.org/climate/climate.cfm?sectionid=100&newspaperid=16
http://www.epa.gov/globalwarming/actions/individual/difference/index.html .
In addition to the sites listed above, here are a few good scientifically based websites to visit for further information on this topic:
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/MediaAlerts/2001/200104054631.html - NASA's Earth Observatory - article entitled "Tropical Ocean Warming Drives Recent Northern Hemisphere Climate Change" April 5, 2001
http://www.eurekalert.org/releases/osu-oaf121400.html - an article entitled "One answer for cleaner air- better agricultural practices"
http://www2.msstate.edu/~krreddy/glowar/aims.html - main page of the Global Warming International Center
http://www.giss.nasa.gov/research/paleo/pliocene/page2.html - the NASA Goddard's Institute for Space Studies article about Pliocene Global Warming
http://www.edf.org/pubs/Brochures/GlobalWarming/ - a site on global warming produced by a group called Environmental Defense
http://www.epa.gov/globalwarming/ - the EPA web site on global warming
http://www.state.gov/www/global/global_issues/climate/index.html - a site run by the US State Department on the international conferences on climate change and recent releases from many governmental Secretaries.
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Study/GlobalWarm1999/ - NASA's Earth Observatory site, article on "Continued Warmth in 1999"
For information regarding recent political events concerning the new administration's stance on global warming, check out the following article:
http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/heatbeat/thisjustin031501.stm
http://www.gcrio.org/OnLnDoc/mccainhearing000718.html - a site on the Senate hearings on global warming
The information on this page was compiled by Rachel Heichen