Posted on 09/20/2007 11:48:40 AM PDT by pabianice
SYDNEY (AFP) — Global warming is occurring at a faster rate than the worst-case scenario envisaged by experts just six years ago, Australia's top climate change scientist said Thursday.
Tim Flannery, named the 2007 Australian of the Year for his work in alerting the public to the dangers of global warming, said the issue was the greatest challenge facing humanity in the 21st century.
Flannery said predictions in a 2001 UN report, warning the atmosphere was likely to warm by 1.4 to 5.8 degrees Celsius (2.5-10.4 Fahrenheit) from 1990 to 2100 now appeared conservative.
"In the six years since then, we've collected enough data to (check) whether those projections are valid or not," he said.
"It turns out they're not valid, but in the most horrible way -- because for the key performance indicators about climate, change is occurring far in advance of the worst-case scenario," he said.
"Carbon dioxide's increasing more rapidly, sea levels are rising more rapidly (and) the Arctic ice cap is melting away more quickly than were projected in 2001."
Flannery said the world needed an international organisation similar to the United Nations dedicated solely to climate change.
"The 21st century is going to be about environmental limits," he said.
"There's six billion of us on the planet, there will soon be nine billion, the atmosphere is tiny as a pollution receptacle, clearly that's going to be where the action is.
"But we haven't yet built the structures, the new version of the UN that helps us deal with the global pollution crisis as a species."
Flannery said nations needed to "de-carbonise" their economies by 2050, increasing reliance on geo-thermal, nuclear and renewable energy.
This would have the lovely side-effect of completely defunding Saudi Arabia and the other terror sponsors.
Thanks for the info.
Climate change worse than feared: Australian expert (We’re all gonna die! cont.)
____________________________________________________________
“Women and minorities, hardest hit”
2. Those most keen on convincing the rest of us that the climate is changing seem to not comprehend that that's what it does.
No problem. The professor and I are in closely related fields. He’s a mammologist and I’m a mammaryologist.
Chill!!!!!!!
There is an easy and quick fix if in fact the Arctic is melting.
Simply put Hillary at the North Pole!!!!!!!
Hey, do it even if it isn’t melting too!!!!!!!!!
“I’m moving to Mars! Who’s with me?”
No, the better movement will be to move to Mars the “scientist” cited in this report, and his “friends”. Maybe, while there, they can come up with just how Earth’s CO2 is escaping into the Marian atmosphere and causing its “global warming”.
"In the six years since then, we've collected enough data to (check) whether those projections are valid or not," he said.
How much is "enough data"? How do you determine a projection for a time period that has not occurred yet is valid or not? Did the original projection determine interim results?
It turns out..Most horrible way.....far in advance...."It turns out they're not valid, but in the most horrible way -- because for the key performance indicators about climate, change is occurring far in advance of the worst-case scenario," he said.
Scientific terminology?
"Carbon dioxide's increasing more rapidly, sea levels are rising more rapidly (and) the Arctic ice cap is melting away more quickly than were projected in 2001."More rapidly than what ?
"The 21st century is going to be about environmental limits," he said.Its not going to be about the OJ trial?
"There's six billion of us on the planet, there will soon be nine billion, the atmosphere is tiny as a pollution receptacle, clearly that's going to be where the action is.Soon we will have 9 billion. How soon? How will so many people come about when we have no food, land or resources after global warming destroys the earth?
"But we haven't yet built the structures, the new version of the UN that helps us deal with the global pollution crisis as a species."If the old version of the UN let us destroy the earth by failing to control global warming how will the new improved version work. Oh yeah, and how in the world is a scientist an expert on global goverment?
From his Wikipedia entry (best I could do in one minute):
Professor Timothy Fridtjof Flannery (born 28 January 1956) is an Australian mammologist, palaeontologist and global warming activist. Flannery was named Australian of the Year in 2007 and presently an adjunct professor at Macquarie University. His controversial views on shutting down conventional coal burning for electricity in the medium term are frequently cited in the media.
Methinks he’s working outside his field here.
Not me! In case you haven't heard, Mars is warming faster than us! I say we look for another solar system that is more stable and doesn't have such "wild" swings in climate! Warp speed Sulu!
Yeah, but I bet you can get property pretty cheap.
If anybody has any data on actual sea level changes, as opposed to projected ones, I’d like to see it.
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When the tide comes in they rave about “rapidly rising sea levels”. When the tide goes out they quote the “core rate” without the low tide figured in. Kinda the reverse of the way the government does with inflation.
Actual changes in sea level would create great need for changes in ports and other installations. I’ve seen nothing about this.
I thought I saw a report earlier this week that the Pacific Ocean temperature had peaked and was beginning to cool.
Of course this story was not picked up by the mainstream media.
The last couple night one of the evening news programs has been playing the ice melting in Greenland; of course, the story did not provided the background that the Viking’s settlers had farmed some of this same land during the Middle Ages.
There hasn’t been a sunspot in a week.
We’re going to get very cold if this continues.
Moving Flannery to mars would a lot cheaper.
And a lot more fun!
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