Posted on 11/17/2007 7:19:26 PM PST by NormsRevenge
The following are some key findings in a report issued Saturday by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change:
• Global warming is "unequivocal." Temperatures have risen 1.3 degrees Fahrenheit in the last 100 years. Eleven of the last 12 years are among the warmest since 1850. Sea levels have gone up by an average seven-hundredths of an inch per year since 1961.
• About 20 percent to 30 percent of all plant and animal species face the risk of extinction if temperatures increase by 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit. If the thermometer rises by 6.3 degrees Fahrenheit, between 40 to 70 percent of species could disappear.
• Human activity is largely responsible for warming. Global emissions of greenhouse gases grew 70 percent from 1970 to 2004. The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is far higher than the natural range over the last 650,000 years.
• Climate change will affect poor countries most, but will be felt everywhere. By 2020, 75 million to 250 million people in Africa will suffer water shortages, residents of Asia's large cities will be at great risk of river and coastal flooding, Europeans can expect extensive species loss, and North Americans will experience longer and hotter heat waves and greater competition for water.
• Extreme weather conditions will be more common. Tropical storms will be more frequent and intense. Heat waves and heavy rains will affect some areas, raising the risk of wildfires and the spread of diseases. Elsewhere, drought will degrade cropland and spoil the quality of water sources. Rising sea levels will increase flooding and salination of fresh water and threaten coastal cities.
• Even if greenhouse gases are stabilized, the Earth will keep warming and sea levels rising. More pollution could bring "abrupt and irreversible" changes, such as the loss of ice sheets in the poles, and a corresponding rise in sea levels by several yards.
_A wide array of tools exist, or will soon be available, to adapt to climate change and reduce its potential effects. One is to put a price on carbon emissions.
• By 2050, stabilizing emissions would slow the average annual global economic growth by less than 0.12 percent. The longer action is delayed, the more it will cost.
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Indonesian environmental activists roll a giant globe on the street during a demonstration calling for the government to take immediate action to reduce carbon emission at the main business district in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, Nov. 16, 2007. Indonesia is scheduled to host a U.N. conference on climate change next month on Bali island to discuss the next stage in global efforts to control emissions from greenhouse gases blamed for global warming. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)
Former Vice President Al Gore smiles after speaking at a news conference in Palo Alto, Calif., in this Oct. 12, 2007 file photo. Gore on Monday, Nov. 12, 2007 announced that he's joining Silicon Valley's most prestigious venture capital firm to guide investments to combat global warming. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, file)
A penguin strolls past a research station in Antartica. UN chief Ban Ki-moon will fly into tropical Brazil to further push his campaign for world action on climate change, after making a trip to chilly Antarctica.(AFP/Rodrigo Arangua)
Right photo - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon poses at the Korean King Sejong station during his visit to Antartica. Ban flew to Antarctica on Friday on a fact-finding mission for climate change, becoming the first UN leader to make an official visit to the frozen continent.(AFP/Rodrigo Arangua)
Key findings of UN scientific report (UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change - IPCC)
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lay off the caps lock. Should read: Key findings of unscientific report
Three years from now, the “anthropogenic” global warming hucksters will admit it was all a hoax, and the whole world had just been “punk’t”.
Ashton Kutcher couldn’t have done it better.
See we all know global warming is real and humans are the main cause. In fact we encourage humans to do what they can to heat things up because good capitalists that we are, we've already invested in the northern territoris in Canada and can't wait for people to move there. We'll be able to sell the land at top dollar and make windfall profits such as the world has never seen!
Shhh now...it's just between us.
prisoner6
Smart money will be buying real estate near coasts, but at at least 200 ft above sea level.
North country agriculture will be an economic force.
Makes more sense than forcing us to buy Gorebulbs and marching in the streets.
no problemo.. I’m about to buy a new vehicle soon, I will not even consider a hybrid.. it doesn’t fit my lifestyle or my red neck. ;-)
Dead and Monk get your photoshopper butt in here LOL!
no no let’s get liberals to invest their dollars there
Somebody tell NASA. They just adjusted their numbers to say this is completely false.
I may be mistaken but that amount is surely within their margin of error. And of course, this is assuming temperature records 70-80-90 years ago are as accurate as today.
Plus, how much of that 1.3 degree rise has been created by the heat islands of cities?
Eleven of the last 12 years are among the warmest since 1850
Again, they are assuming temperature readings were as accurate 150 years ago as they are now.
Plus, we were still coming out of what was called the little ice age back in 1850.
Sea levels have gone up by an average seven-hundredths of an inch per year since 1961
Okay, lets use their numbers: If sea levels have gone up .07 of an inch in 46 years, during which time the temp has supposedly gone up maybe 1 degree F, even if we have a 5 degree rise, that would add another 1/3 of an inch to sea levels?
Human activity is largely responsible for warming.
Utter and complete nonsense. The biggest contributors to global warming are the Sun and natural climate cycles.
North Americans will experience longer and hotter heat waves and greater competition for water.
Isn't that convenient? We have known for decades that water was going to become a huge problem, especially in the Western USA. And this is mainly due to huge population increases. But NOW they can claim that they predicted it because of man made global warming.
More pollution could bring "abrupt and irreversible" changes, such as the loss of ice sheets in the poles
Well, recent events obviously contradict that statement. While the Arctic has experienced a diminished ice sheet the last couple of years, the Antarctic ice sheet is now the thickest ever recorded, more than compensating for the ice loss in the arctic. But, lets not let facts get in the way.
You got to hand it to politicians: They will always come up with ways to excuse their confiscating more and more of our money through taxes, fees, fines, licenses, etc.
Global Warming for Food Program?
I wonder what the sound of 5 Billion Chinese laughing sounds like?
Lies.
They want 2-3 trillion in taxes - to start with, plus arrested development worldwide. Forever.
Bullshit!
How can my paying higher taxes keep China from spewing trillions of tons of pollution into the air? When will they have to held accountable? OH, they are commies so they won’t!
Ah yes, Al Gore, the man that repeatedly stated categorically that 2 BILLION people participated in "Live Earth"...
Statistics and logs show that less than 40 million watched or listened.
That's a 50 times exaggeration by The Huckster...
Shows how much truth means to him doesn't it?
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