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Ned Potter is the science correspondent for ABC's "World News with Charles Gibson." He has reported on such topics as space exploration, the human genome and climate change.
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Anyone Have the Time?
May 04, 2007 5:40 PM
Do you feel as if there aren't enough hours in the day? Then you have one more reason to worry about global climate change.
First, the serious part of this: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is now out with its newest report, on how to protect against climate warming; there's useful information on the IPCC HOME PAGE, and the "Summary for Policymakers" is HERE.
One line that caught my eye is on p. 10: "...there is substantial economic potential for the mitigation of global GHG [GreenHouse Gas] emissions over the coming decades, that could offset the projected growth of global emissions or reduce emissions below current levels (high agreement, much evidence)." The italics are theirs.
In sum, they do seem to agree that protection against warming can be done affordably, but sooner is better than later, and they're not comfortable with such notions as adding iron to the oceans to help sop up carbon dioxide.
Bill Blakemore did a piece for the World News Webcast on this; play it HERE.
On a somewhat lighter note, there is a paper from three scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology in Germany, who have figured out how the projected changes in climate would affect the Earth's rotation. Yes, its rotation.
The paper, by Felix W. Landerer et al, is in Geophysical Research Letters; the abstract is HERE.
Here's their figuring: if the planet warms as projected without any preventive action taken, there would be an increase in sea level and a shift in ocean currents, and, as they put it, "a net movement of mass closer towards Earth's axis of rotation." They've done a lot of calculating of the world's oceans, and concluded that more water would be closer to the Earth's axis.
The result would be a little like that analogy to a spinning figure skater (though I wish there were a better example). When she pulls in her arms, she spins more quickly.
In this case, though, she may only be pulling in her right pinkie a bit. The authors say if nothing changes between now and the end of the 22nd century, a day on Earth would be shortened by 0.12 milliseconds.
Where does the time go?
May 4, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (6)
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Two points, Ned: First, it hardly seems rational to discuss cost versus the literal destruction of our habitat. It's like we're on a melting ice floe. Where will we go when it's gone? Second, I also have doubts about "negotiational" science, whereby they determine a direction by consensus. Something is fishy here.
Posted by: Andy | May 5, 2007 9:27:41 AM
For many thousands of years the polar caps, both the northern and southern, have been removing water from the oceans. I know this because the scientists can drill through the ice and use the rings and the material in them to analyze what the environment was like when the snow was taken out of the oceans and put there by snowfall. So, melting the ice is just returning the water to where it came from. Maybe our present state is a transitory state in the grand scheme of things?
Posted by: Bruce | May 5, 2007 7:53:25 PM
Bruce, I give you my personal guarantee that that is the case. The only question is the length of the transitory state.
Posted by: Andy | May 5, 2007 8:48:26 PM
It would seem that the scientists at the Max Planck Institute truly have too much time on their hands. All of that research for a measly 0.12 milliseconds by the end of the 22nd century?
Posted by: chuck | May 7, 2007 8:32:57 AM
Global warming may also be due to the many microwave telecommunications installations such as HAARP.
Microwaves warm the atmosphere, cause dessication, and put the planet's weather and climates in turmoil if subjected to them. With hydro-carbons added to brew, we may unknowingly be putting something into action that will produce future climatic events that sound like something out of science fiction.
Posted by: hypostasis_of_the_archons | May 7, 2007 2:47:24 PM
HOTA is right. They've been experimenting with vast antenna farms to do just that. Even they admit that the entire process is not fully understood. That's just great. Another example of kids playing with matches.
Posted by: Andy | May 7, 2007 5:07:44 PM
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