Climate Action Report 2002(NYT's Bush's U-Turn report)

US. EPA Global Warming ^ | May 2002 | Various EPA studies

[Miss Marple]

Well, if that "caved" comment is in there, I shall continue my Rush-free zone and have a cheerful afternoon.

Thanks for the info.

[rintense]

Well, I still can't figure it out. He seems to be sarcastic, but I think I'm missing something. One the one hand he seems to be saying that the Bush Admin. is trumping the Dems by stealing their own issues. But on the other hand, it's like he's saying by doing so, the Bush Admin. is abandoning their platform issues. I'm still confused.

[rintense]

Ok. Now I get it. He's comparing the 9-11 hijackings to the conservative party being hijacked (I'm assuming by Dubya).

[Miss Marple]

See, I knew I was right to avoid the EIB. As soon as you have a fairly good idea of his position, turn him off!!

[rockfish59]

Oh yeah!! =^)

[Big Guy and Rusty 99]

bump for the real dirt. hit "to 102" to see nick danger's comments.

[FreeTheHostages]

I know there are decadal and centurial cycles too that we don't understand. Actually, in the latest publication, they note that they don't comprehend all heterogenous causes of those cycles with longer periodicity. But that's different from saying "we" don't understand that human industrial activity is contributing to warming. Among all but auto & gas companies, that's now a recognized scientific fact. I have a friend who's a pretty conservative guy, re-engineered rocket scientist now doing atmospheric stuff, and he says that among all reasonable scientist it's pretty much settled that a lot of recent warming trend, since 1940s, is attributable to human activity. So I don't know who you mean by "we," but my solid Republican scientist friend is who I'm going by. Wishing does not make it so.

[eraser X]

GLOBAL WARMING Climate Changing Atmosphere | Changing Climate

The Climate Science Q & A Science Uncertainties

AN INTRODUCTION
According to the National Academy of Sciences, the Earth's surface temperature has risen by about 1 degree Fahrenheit in the past century, with accelerated warming during the past two decades. There is new and stronger evidence that most of the warming over the last 50 years is attributable to human activities. Human activities have altered the chemical composition of the atmosphere through the buildup of greenhouse gases – primarily carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. The heat-trapping property of these gases is undisputed although uncertainties exist about exactly how earth’s climate responds to them. Go to the Emissions section for much more on greenhouse gases.

Our Changing Atmosphere
Energy from the sun drives the earth’s weather and climate, and heats the earth’s surface; in turn, the earth radiates energy back into space. Atmospheric greenhouse gases (water vapor, carbon dioxide, and other gases) trap some of the outgoing energy, retaining heat somewhat like the glass panels of a greenhouse.
Without this natural “greenhouse effect,” temperatures would be much lower than they are now, and life as known today would not be possible. Instead, thanks to greenhouse gases, the earth’s average temperature is a more hospitable 60°F. However, problems may arise when the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases increases.
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. Sulfate aerosols, a common air pollutant, cool the atmosphere by reflecting light back into space; however, sulfates are short-lived in the atmosphere and vary regionally.
Why are greenhouse gas concentrations increasing? Scientists generally believe that the combustion of fossil fuels and other human activities are the primary reason for the increased concentration of carbon dioxide. Plant respiration and the decomposition of organic matter release more than 10 times the CO2 released by human activities; but these releases have generally been in balance during the centuries leading up to the industrial revolution with carbon dioxide absorbed by terrestrial vegetation and the oceans.
What has changed in the last few hundred years is the additional release of carbon dioxide by human activities. Fossil fuels burned to run cars and trucks, heat homes and businesses, and power factories are responsible for about 98% of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions, 24% of methane emissions, and 18% of nitrous oxide emissions. Increased agriculture, deforestation, landfills, industrial production, and mining also contribute a significant share of emissions. In 1997, the United States emitted about one-fifth of total global greenhouse gases.
Estimating future emissions is difficult, because it depends on demographic, economic, technological, policy, and institutional developments. Several emissions scenarios have been developed based on differing projections of these underlying factors. For example, by 2100, in the absence of emissions control policies, carbon dioxide concentrations are projected to be 30-150% higher than today’s levels.

Changing Climate
Global mean surface temperatures have increased 0.5-1.0°F since the late 19th century. The 20th century's 10 warmest years all occurred in the last 15 years of the century. Of these, 1998 was the warmest year on record. The snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere and floating ice in the Arctic Ocean have decreased. Globally, sea level has risen 4-8 inches over the past century. Worldwide precipitation over land has increased by about one percent. The frequency of extreme rainfall events has increased throughout much of the United States.

Increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases are likely to accelerate the rate of climate change. Scientists expect that the average global surface temperature could rise 1-4.5°F (0.6-2.5°C) in the next fifty years, and 2.2-10°F (1.4-5.8°C) in the next century, with significant regional variation. Evaporation will increase as the climate warms, which will increase average global precipitation. Soil moisture is likely to decline in many regions, and intense rainstorms are likely to become more frequent. Sea level is likely to rise two feet along most of the U.S. coast.
Calculations of climate change for specific areas are much less reliable than global ones, and it is unclear whether regional climate will become more variable.

-----------------------------------------------------

I found this educational page referred to by the report in the education chapter.

[jla]

	Give RUSH 24/7
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		know the American people generally get what they want, but not always. To make my point, we have a See, I Told You So that took less than 24 hours to occur.

		President Bush wants to use $235 million in federal money to prevent Florida's Everglades and beaches from oil and gas drilling. In a written statement on Wednesday he said that Florida is known worldwide for its beautiful coastal waters and the Everglades, and that he is acting to preserve both. Now, what he basically did was say there is not going to be any drilling off the shores of Florida in the Gulf of Mexico for either oil or natural gas, nor will there be any drilling in three wildlife refuge areas including the Everglades on the peninsula of Florida. Now, what did I say on Wednesday? I didn't decry that - I decried the reasoning. The announcement of this policy pretty much put the nail in the coffin on the whole ANWR effort. The environmentalist wackos jumped all over this and said if it's unsafe to drill in Florida for gas or oil, then how can it be safe in Alaska? I guess I've been wrong about this all along.

		The Saint Petersburg Times reported on Wednesday that Gulf Stream Natural Gas System, LLC, announced that it has placed into service its new natural gas pipeline with the capacity to transport 1.1 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day to growing Florida energy markets. The 581-mile pipeline system is the largest natural gas pipeline in the Gulf of Mexico. This milestone represents the availability of the Sunshine State's first new natural gas source in more than forty years. Folks, this is California just waiting to happen. And of the 581-mile pipeline system, 430 miles crosses the Gulf of Mexico. Whew! Good thing we snuck this in before the president decided not to do any more piping and drilling. Pretty soon, if Florida runs out of natural gas and can't provide enough electricity or whatever, it's going to be just like California. They hadn't built any power plants in however many years and wondered why, with price caps and everything, "We're out of power, Myrtle!" The self-defeating nature of the decision in Florida vis-à-vis Alaska, Colorado and elsewhere, just boggles the mind. My friends, normally these things take a week to play out because the left is so busy protesting things that they don't hear about them. But they heard about this one constantly and I knew they would. This is big, folks; it really is. You can say good-bye to drilling in that tiny, frozen corner of the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge.

		(…explain the See, I Told You So on Dub's oil for Alaska, not Florida)

		(The Limbaugh Institute: Maha, Where Does Oil Come From?)

		(LA Times: Bush Curbs Oil Drilling in Florida Coast Tract) (St. Petersburg Times: Tap is Turned on Natural Gas Pipeline)

[jla]

My apologies, Highlander.
I was replying to the post, not to the poster, per se.

[Southack]

Just wondering how many times in a row you're going to fall for drivel from Drudge.

You were claiming last week that Bush had "reversed" his global warming position, yes...

[Ben Ficklin]

Offshore drilling moves into Florida's neighborhood

[Kay Soze]

Bump for my :

I don't understand my party any longer even if no new policies go into effect it will still give lots of ammo for the whackos - file.

[Sabertooth]

Look, you're entitled to believe in human induced global warming if you like. Not too many years ago a lot of scientists though eggs caused high blood cholesterol.

I don't buy your friend's position that "among all reasonable scientist it's pretty much settled that a lot of recent warming trend, since 1940s, is attributable to human activity." If we don't know the climatological baseline, we don't know what "warmer" is. A lot of "reasonable scientists" understand this.

And set aside the Earth for a moment. What's the baseline for the Sun?

Wishful thinking aside, you don't know, nor does your friend, nor do any of his friends.

[boris]

From: The Greening Earth Society

"This temperature update presents the NASA satellite measurements of monthly temperature anomalies—the difference between the observed values and the 1979–1998 mean values. Global satellite measurements are made from a series of orbiting platforms that sense the average temperature in various atmospheric layers. Here, we present the lowest level, which matches nearly perfectly with the mean temperatures measured by weather balloons in the layer between 5,000 and 28,000 feet. The satellite measurements are considered accurate to within 0.01 deg C and provide more uniform coverage of the entire globe than surface measurements, which tend to concentrate over land.

"April 2002: The global average temperature departure was 0.196deg C; the Northern Hemisphere temperature departure was 0.159°C; and the Southern Hemisphere departure was 0.232 deg C.

"Below: Monthly satellite temperatures for the Northern Hemisphere (top) and Southern Hemisphere (bottom). Trend lines indicate statistically significant changes only."

[ganesha]

I don't see why there would be fewer coastal marshes anyway. If the sea level rose, the coastal marshes would just move inland.

[Lazamataz]

Just wondering how many times in a row you're going to fall for drivel from Drudge.

5,217 times.

Well, 5,216, now.

[monday]

"I don't see why there would be fewer coastal marshes anyway. If the sea level rose, the coastal marshes would just move inland."

shrug...... thats what the report said. I don't see that it makes any since either.

[let freedom sing]

Help-- the sky is falling.

[sauropod]

Christie Todd Whitman jammed it through.