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Re: fHuman vs. natural influences on the environment
[sci.environment clipped]
charliew wrote:
> How much warming will occur?
>
> How much will occur over a specified time period?
>
> Is this change so fast that nature cannot adapt to it?
>
> Is this change so fast that man cannot adapt to it?
Global warming: SCIENCE NEWS, Vol 148, Page 293, Nov. 4, 1995:
WORLD CLIMATE PANEL CHARTS PATH FOR ACTION
"An international panel of scientists and economists has shifted
the threat of climate change from the future squarely into the
present.
"The United Nations-sponsored committee, which carries the
authority of over 2,000 investigators, has concluded that
humankind is now altering climate in an identifiable way. It
also states for the first time that the expected economic
disruptions caused by climate change are large enough to warrant
taking action to stem the problem, even if such steps cost
money."
[break]
"According to the impacts committee, the rise in sea level
expected by 2100 will put 92 million people at risk of flooding
each year, a doubling of the current number. Climate change will
also threaten human health and cause significant loss of life by
fostering the spread of malaria and other vector-borne diseases,
according to the panel.
"Warming and changes in rainfall will disrupt agriculture in
developing countries, reduce Earth's biological diversity, melt
one-third to one-half of existing mountain glaciers, and cause
one-third of all ecosystems to shift to another type, such as
from forest to grassland."
Published by Science Service Inc., 1719 N. St. N.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20036 202-785-2255
[See also: http://www.ciesin.org/
http://solstice.crest.org/environment/global_change/gc.htm
http://www.unep.ch/ipcc
http://pubs.acs.org/hotartcl/cenear/951127/pg1.html
Jay
---
"I think the economic logic behind dumping a load of toxic waste in
the lowest wage country is impeccable...because foregone earnings
from increased morbidity" are low. He adds that "the underpopulated
countries in Africa are vastly underpolluted; their air quality is
probably vastly inefficiently low compared to Los Angeles...."
--World Bank's chief economist, Lawrence Summers
The Economist, Feb. 8, 1992
These cold-blooded economic calculations expose a global system of
destruction where national borders and human lives are viewed only
as a footnote to the capitalist market.
References: