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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: