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What's your opinion on climate change?
- Tell us your thoughts on climate change. You might just change someone's mind...
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- NON-PAID ASSIGNMENT
- FORMAT:
- ENDS: 09/25/2008 06:30 PM
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'Climate crisis' needs brain gain
The most brilliant minds should be directed to solving Earth's greatest challenges, such as climate change, says Sir David King.
The former UK chief scientist will use his presidential address at the BA Science Festival to call for a gear-change among innovative thinkers.
He will suggest that less time and money is spent on endeavours such as space exploration and particle physics.
He says population growth and poverty in Africa also demand attention.
"The challenges of the 21st Century are qualitatively different from anything that we've had to face up to before," he told reporters before the opening of the festival, which is being held this year in Liverpool.
"This requires a re-think of priorities in science and technology and a redrawing of our society's inner attitudes towards science and technology."
Sir David's remarks will be controversial because they are being made just as the UK is about to celebrate its participation in the Large Hadron Collider, the world's biggest physics experiment.
The Collider, built at the Cern laboratory under the Swiss-French border, is starting full operations this Wednesday.
It will seek to understand the building blocks of matter, and, in particular, try to find a mechanism that can explain why matter has mass.
This international venture is extremely expensive, however. The UK alone has contributed more than £500m to the LHC - the largest sum of money to date invested by a UK government in a single scientific project.
Sir David said it was time such funding - and the brains it supports - were pushed to answering more pressing concerns.
"It's all very well to demonstrate that we can land a craft on Mars, it's all very well to discover whether or not there is a Higgs boson (a potential mass mechanism); but I would just suggest that we need to pull people towards perhaps the bigger challenges where the outcome for our civilisation is really crucial."
Chief among these challenges for Sir David is the issue of climate change. When he was the government's top scientist, he made the famous remark that the threat from climate change was bigger than the threat posed by terrorism.
He said alternatives to fossil fuels were desperately needed to power a civilisation that would number some nine billion people by mid-century - nine billion people who would all expect a high standard of living.
"We will have to re-gear our thinking because our entire civilisation depends on energy production, and we have been producing that energy very largely through fossil fuels; and we will have to remove our dependence from fossil fuels virtually completely, or we will have to learn how to capture carbon dioxide from fossil fuel usage," he said.
Finding and exploiting clean energy sources was now imperative, he said; and Sir David questioned whether the spending on particle physics research in the shape of Cern's Large Hadron Collider was the best route to that goal.
He even doubted whether Cern's greatest invention was an outcome that could only have come from an institution that pursued so-called "blue skies research".
"People say to me: 'well what about the world wide web? That emerged from Cern'. Brilliant. Tim Berners Lee was the person who invented that. What if Tim Berners Lee had been working in a solar [power] laboratory? Perhaps he would have done it there as well. The spin-out would have come from the brilliant individual." The most brilliant minds should be directed to solving Earth's greatest challenges, such as climate change, says Sir David King. ... more -
'Climate Crisis' Needs Brain Gain
The most brilliant minds should be directed to solving Earth's greatest challenges, such as climate change, says Sir David King.
The former UK chief scientist will use his presidential address at the BA Science Festival to call for a gear-change among innovative thinkers.
He will suggest that less time and money is spent on endeavours such as space exploration and particle physics.
He says population growth and poverty in Africa also demand attention.
"The challenges of the 21st Century are qualitatively different from anything that we've had to face up to before," he told reporters before the opening of the festival, which is being held this year in Liverpool.
"This requires a re-think of priorities in science and technology and a redrawing of our society's inner attitudes towards science and technology." The most brilliant minds should be directed to solving Earth's greatest challenges, such as climate change, says Sir David King. ... more -
Arctic shrinks by an Alaska and 3 Arizonas in August
Another week, another record in Arctic ice loss announced by the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC):
Following a record rate of ice loss through the month of August, Arctic sea ice extent already stands as the second-lowest on record, further reinforcing conclusions that the Arctic sea ice cover is in a long-term state of decline. With approximately two weeks left in the melt season, the possibility of setting a new record annual minimum in September remains open.
Why all the melting? It is hot, hot, hot near the home state of our new global-warming-denying GOP VP:
In a typical year, the daily rate of ice loss starts to slow in August as the Arctic begins to cool. By contrast, in August 2008, the daily decline rate remained steadily downward and strong.
The average daily ice loss rate for August 2008 was 78,000 square kilometers per day (30,000 square miles per day). This is the fastest rate of daily ice loss that scientists have ever observed during a single August. Losses were 15,000 square kilometers per day (5,800 square miles per day) faster than in August 2007, and 27,000 square kilometers per day (10,000 square miles per day) faster than average.
This August’s rapid ice loss reflects a thin sea ice cover that needed very little additional energy to melt out.
It’s now pretty clear that the Arctic will be ice free within a decade or so — more than half a century earlier than most climate models predicted. The time to act is yesterday. Another week, another record in Arctic ice loss announced by the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC): ... more -
2008 Atlantic Hurricane Season Kicking Into High Gear
For the first time in the 2008 hurricane season, there are four tropical cyclones active in the Atlantic Ocean basin on one day.
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“Let sea turtles ride out Ike”
September 5, 2008
Contact: Carli Segelson
(727) 896-8626
Photos available at: http://research.myfwc.com/gallery/view_category.asp?cat...
Video available at: http://research.myfwc.com/features/view_article.asp?id=...
FWC: "LET SEA TURTLES RIDE OUT IKE"
People attempting to save sea turtles eggs and hatchlings may cause more harm than good, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) advises. Although storms can have a negative effect on sea turtle nests and hatchlings, these animals have evolved to have nesting strategies that enable them to survive natural events such as hurricanes. No storm season is a total loss to sea turtles, even in years when Florida has sustained direct hits.
Digging into marked or unmarked turtle nests in an effort to help may cause severe damage to the eggs. Sea turtle eggs are resilient, and if undisturbed, may still hatch despite waves washing over them. Disturbing sea turtle nests is a violation of both state and federal laws.
The FWC urges beachgoers to contact the Wildlife Alert Hotline at 1-888-404-FWCC (3922) if they encounter a nest eroding into the ocean or a hatchling that is not actively crawling or appears sick or injured. Sick or injured turtles may need rehabilitation before returning to the wild.
Hatchlings moving toward the surf should be allowed to continue their trek without interference. These young turtles have the ability to swim through large waves.
Authorization from the FWC is required before transporting sea turtle eggs or hatchlings.
For more information about sea turtles, visit http://research.myfwc.com/. September 5, 2008 Contact: Carli Segelson (727) 896-8626 ... more -
Global warming heats up RNC
ANP: The Republican Party Platform cautions people to be skeptical of the theory of global warming.
American News Project: Presidential candidate John McCain thinks that global warming is created, in part, by humans, but his running mate, Sarah Palin, disagrees. Indeed the Republican Party Platform cautions people to be skeptical of the theory of global warming. ANP spoke with delegates at the Republican National Convention about their thoughts on climate change. ANP: The Republican Party Platform cautions people to be skeptical of the theory of global warming. ... more -
Climate change could stop corals fixing themselves
Climate change is depriving coral reefs across the globe of the building materials used to make their shells. Current plans to curb greenhouse gas emissions may not be enough to fix the problem, according to new research.
The daily life of corals is a constant battle against erosion. The reef builders patch up holes in their shells, left by nibbling sea creatures, using a mineral called calcium carbonate. To keep up with repairs, corals in the wild usually require three times as much of the mineral as sheltered corals grown in laboratories.
Before the industrial revolution, says Ken Caldeira of Stanford University, 98% of all corals lived in waters above the required calcium carbonate threshold.
But the situation is changing, according to Caldeira, who has built a model to study how greenhouse gas emissions tinker with the chemistry of open water oceans.
^^^^^^^^^^^^
Oceans are becoming saturated with Co2 and corals are suffering for it. This is important because corals play a very important role in the health of our oceans, which in turn plays a very important role in the health of the web of life in our oceans, which then plays a vital role in our own health. Mitigating carbon emissions is now key: how many times does it have to be said?
The impasse between what politicians in this country want and what this world now needs is vast and bringing dangerous consequences to us. We can no longer afford to ignore scientific warnings regarding the deterioration of our oceans, and we cannot wait until politicians see it as politically expedient to do something or until we have passed the point of no return.
Besides carbon mitigation and freezing emissions, I believe we need a major global tree planting initiative to be undertaken. Planting trees in areas of great deforestation can help to return many of the carbon sinks that have been lost to us from illegal logging practices and overconsumption. This would then hopefully help to balance the amount of Co2 in the atmosphere instead of most of it being soaked up by oceans. This is a human made catastrophe and only humans can reverse it. Hopefully, it is not too late. Climate change is depriving coral reefs across the globe of the building materials used to make their shells. Current plans to curb gr... more -
Haiti is screwed
After a recent line of devastating tropical weather, Haitians face catastrophic circumstance. Three more storms are lined, all with their eye on Haiti. Food is scarce to nonexistent. Shelter is merely a hope as flood waters devastate villages. One of the poorest countries in the world, there is little the Haitians can do for themselves. Rice crops and fruit trees have been devastated. A U.N. ship arrived with aid, but the circumstances will likely overwhelm them.
"There is no food, no water, no clothes," Arnaud Dumas, a pastor at a Gonaives church, told the Associated Press news agency. "We haven't found anything to eat in two, three days. Nothing at all." After a recent line of devastating tropical weather, Haitians face catastrophic circumstance. Three more storms are lined, all with t... more -
Deforestation escalates in Brazilian Amazon
Satellite imagery released earlier this week provided further evidence that deforestation in Brazil's Amazon region accelerated dramatically this year.
Between August 2007 and July 2008, 8,147 square kilometers of the Brazilian Amazon were cleared, according to the country's National Institute for Space Research (INPE). This is an area more than twice the size of the U.S. state of Rhode Island.
The expanse of deforested land is about 69 percent greater than last year, when 4,820 square kilometers were removed. "We're not content," Brazilian Environment Minister Carlos Minc told The Associated Press. "Deforestation has to fall more and the conditions for sustainable development have to improve."
Last year's deforestation numbers, however, were the lowest since recording began in the 1970s. The amount of forest cleared this year, while still substantial, is also less than previous years.
The diverse Amazon forest contains one in ten of the world's known species and enough vegetation to absorb an estimated 10 percent of atmospheric carbon dioxide, not including oceanic carbon sinks. Since the 1970s, about 20 percent of the Amazon forest has been cut, leaving mainly open fields with little diversity in its place.
Illegal deforestation reached its peak this year between August 2007 and April, when satellite images observed about 84 percent of the year's deforestation.
Landowners often cut deeper into the forest to make room for cattle ranches and soybean farms. Both products are experiencing a boom in demand, as Brazilian beef surges in global popularity and soybean prices rise due to global meat consumption and biofuels production. Satellite imagery released earlier this week provided further evidence that deforestation in Brazil's Amazon region accelerated d... more -
Action: Sarah Palin Doesn't Speak For Me
Sign the Petition: Sarah Palin Doesn't Speak For Me!
To Whom It May Concern:
During her speech in St. Paul on Wednesday night, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin purported to speak for women, small town residents, and everyone who is a member of the Washington elite.
Sarah Palin is an intelligent, well spoken woman, but it must be made clear:
We don't want a country in which women who are raped are refused the right to choose abortion.
We don't want a country in which religious dogma is taught in public school science class.
We don't want a country where gay and lesbian citizens are discriminated against.
We don't want a country where books are banned from public libraries.
America is strongest when we are united, not divided. When our Constitutional liberties are respected. When our politicians rely on ideas and opinions instead of distortions and attacks. The challenges we face are too big to be reduced to name-calling.
Sarah Palin doesn't speak for us.
Sincerely,
YOUR NAME
https://secure.pfaw.org/site/SPageServer?pagename=actio... Sign the Petition: Sarah Palin Doesn't Speak For Me! To Whom It May Concern: ... more -
Who is the Handler? (Palin's, of course)
Sarah Palin's small-town-girl-takes-on-Washington act is a brilliant success, for today anyway. But anytime political parties bring their aw-shucks, folksy Gomer Pyles out in front of the klieg lights, it's time to suspend disbelief. And that's especially true when the Republicans, party of corporate America and Big Oil, are casting the show.
Yes, Governor Palin was born and raised in a town called Wasilla, hunts caribou, married "her guy" from high school who races, in her words, "snow machines" (when did they graduate from being snow-mobiles?) and apparently knows how to load and shoot a gun. She also really is a mother, a mother of a hockey player too, and a member of the PTA.
However, one need only check out Jim Yardley's enlightening reportage from Wasilla in yesterday's New York Times to smell the rat. Sarah Palin is no average Jane, much as she looks and sounds like one. On the contrary, Sarah Palin's entry into politics and subsequent rise has all the hallmarks of having been engineered, coached and groomed by bigger outside forces with a bigger plan.
Her first election to mayor in 1996 was based on "wedge Issues" - abortion, gun control, and proof of hard-core religiosity - issues that had never been discussed before in the town of 7,000, where politicians had run on where they stood on bingo revenue and fixing muddy roads.
Listen to the shell-shocked fellow she beat in that first election, the three term incumbent Mayor of Wasilla, John C. Stein. "Sarah comes in with all this ideological stuff, and I was like, 'Whoa. But that got her elected: abortion, gun rights, term limits and the religious born-again thing. I'm not a churchgoing guy, and that was another issue: 'We will have our first Christian mayor.'"
There was a time when America's small town governments were about local civics and its churches really were mainly about spirituality. That quaint era vanished, within living memory, with the rise of the "Christian right" which literally infected mainstream American Christianity with hateful brochures about gays, guns, and abortion.
For the rest of this story & more on Palin, please visit:
http://www.newscientist.com/blog/environment/2008/09/wi... Sarah Palin's small-town-girl-takes-on-Washington act is a brilliant success, for today anyway. But anytime political parties bri... more -
The little things DO matter, so don’t think otherwise
Oftentimes we hear reports about how changing a light bulb will not make a bit of a difference in the fight against climate change and that everyone must make huge sacrifices in order to have any effect. I say don’t listen to them! You should do what you can and what you feel comfortable with; if you feel fine moving into an earthship and living off the grid, then by all means please do! But if you only feel like you can change a light bulb and maybe buy organic bananas, then please…do that as well and do not feel guilty about it.
All the small acts by millions of people really do add up, and you have to keep that in mind as you do your little part.
All anyone can ask you to do is something small, as asking people to change their entire lifestyle, ride only their bikes, grow all their own food, install solar panels on everything, etc., will only serve to turn some people off from doing anything at all! Of course the more we all do the better off we will be, and doing more than the average person will benefit everyone in the long run. But while climate change is real and could be very, very bad for the human race, sometimes those of us involved in the movement forget that not everyone is willing to forgo some comforts to try to save the planet…myself included. Do I want every person on the planet to get onboard and do as much as they can? Of course. Do I think they will? Nope. So encouraging even the smallest changes from people is way more tactful than proclaiming them “enemies of the environment”. Don’t you think?
--Continued-- Oftentimes we hear reports about how changing a light bulb will not make a bit of a difference in the fight against climate change and... more -
Stop worrying, the planet will be fine ...
It’s us that I am worried about.
It’s true, most of the living things on the planet are going to take a mean beating if things continue to warm up as every credible scientist on earth seems to believe, but the planet itself will be perfectly fine…it will still be here long after we are gone. It’s the humans and all the animals that might not make it, and that is why I have been giving something a lot of thought.
I think we need to change the message of the environmental movement.
See, there are still millions of people that think that global warming and all the problems it could bring is a hoax set upon us by…well, I am not sure who is doing it. People still think that A. it is not happening and B. that the planet will figure out a way to save itself. As for A, I think all they have to do is start reading scientific reports about it to see that it is indeed happening and is not just some cyclical “thing” that happens now and then. As for B, I agree with them 100%…the planet will figure a way to survive global warming and fix it by getting rid of the problem, which is us. We are the problem. We are causing it. The unending assault on the environment by carbon dioxide emissions, our cars, our coal plants, our strip-mining of the earth, our pollution of our oceans and waterways with toxic sludge and wayward plastics, and our disregard for our natural forests and environment is leading us down a very dangerous precipice that everyone should be equally concerned about. But they are not and that is because human beings believe that they are in-fact infallible and could never cause the damage that scientists are telling us that we are causing. So I think we need to change the message to one of a more personal concern.
Telling people that the environment is hurting does not seem to change any minds. Telling them that their water supply is in danger does not seem to bother them. That is why we need to start admitting that the planet will be fine even with global warming, it’s just that we won’t be here anymore. Maybe then people will start to care enough to do their small part to clean up their act. Maybe if we stop harping on the animals and the rain forest and the polar bears and begin concentrating on people’s own families, their children, their grandparents, their future generations, we can get their attention.
You can leave out the part about peak oil as people just say that technology will save us. You can leave out the part about flood waters invading Manhattan, as technology will save us. You can even leave out the part about buying a hybrid vehicle, as people just say they cannot afford one. None of this matters to the naysayers, as none of it is any concern to them. They just think that some magic pill will come along to save humanity, just as we all fall for every pharmaceutical ad on the TV telling us we need medicine for this, that and the other thing. Someone will save us, so why worry?
--Continued-- It’s us that I am worried about. ... more -
Hail storm in Africa
"We thought that it was Jesus who had come back," one villager told reporters.
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Northwest Passage open for boats
The northerly route of the Northwest Passage has been declared navigable by the Canadian Ice Service.
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4,500-year-old ice shelf breaks away
TORONTO, Ontario (AP) -- A chunk of ice shelf nearly the size of Manhattan has broken away from Ellesmere Island in Canada's northern Arctic, another dramatic indication of how warmer temperatures are changing the polar frontier, scientists said Wednesday.
Derek Mueller, an Arctic ice shelf specialist at Trent University in Ontario, told The Associated Press that the 4,500-year-old Markham Ice Shelf separated in early August and the 19-square-mile shelf is now adrift in the Arctic Ocean.
"The Markham Ice Shelf was a big surprise because it suddenly disappeared. We went under cloud for a bit during our research and when the weather cleared up, all of a sudden there was no more ice shelf. It was a shocking event that underscores the rapidity of changes taking place in the Arctic," said Muller.
Muller also said that two large sections of ice detached from the Serson Ice Shelf, shrinking that ice feature by 47 square miles -- or 60 percent -- and that the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf has also continued to break up, losing an additional eight square miles.
Muller reported last month that seven square miles of the 170-square-mile and 130-feet-thick Ward Hunt shelf had broken off.
This comes on the heels of unusual cracks in a northern Greenland glacier, rapid melting of a southern Greenland glacier, and a near record loss for Arctic sea ice this summer. And earlier this year a 160-square mile chunk of an Antarctic ice shelf disintegrated. TORONTO, Ontario (AP) -- A chunk of ice shelf nearly the size of Manhattan has broken away from Ellesmere Island in Canada's nort... more -
New Study Confirms Accuracy of "Hockey Stick" Global Warming Graph
New research now supports the infamous “hockey stick” graph that shows temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere beginning to skyrocket around the time of the Industrial Revolution, illustrating the link between human activity and global warming.
When the graph was first developed in 1998, scientists had to rely primarily on tree ring measurements to estimate the temperature in earlier centuries, and the graph is routinely criticized by climate skeptics who question the science it is based on. For the new study, scientists were able to examine many other temperature indicators in the natural record—including coral reef skeletons, ice cores, sea-floor sediment, stalagmites and stalactites—and they reached the same conclusions. The hockey stick stands. New research now supports the infamous “hockey stick” graph that shows temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere beginning to skyrocket ... more -
Hurricane forecast: 'No letup' in weeks ahead
Just as Hurricane Gustav was dissipating and three tropical storms were brewing in the Atlantic, forecasters predicted that September hurricane activity would be well above normal for the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season.
Five named storms should form this month, according to Colorado State University forecasters William Gray and Phil Klotzbach. That tally includes newly named tropical storm Josephine but not Hurricane Gustav or tropical storms Hannah and Ike, as they were named in August.
Of the five predicted storms, four are expected to become hurricanes, meaning they would have winds of at least 74 miles (119 kilometers) an hour. Two are forecast to become major hurricanes Category 3 or higher, with winds exceeding 110 miles (177 kilometers) an hour.
Low atmospheric pressure and warm seas encourage storms, and both are present now in the tropical Atlantic Basin which includes the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico (map) according to Klotzbach.
"We have seen some of the lowest pressure readings on record in the tropical Atlantic during August," Klotzbach said in a statement. "Water temperatures in the tropical Atlantic remain at above-average values.
"A combination of these two factors typically leads to an active September."
Jeff Masters, director of the private weather forecasting service Weather Underground, said he agrees with the prediction of an active September.
"I don't see any letup over the next two weeks," Masters said. "There could be two to three active named storms all the time in the Atlantic for the next two weeks."
In April, Colorado State's Klotzbach and Gray had forecast a "well above average" 2008 Atlantic hurricane season. They pointed out in the new statement that June and July were also very active, spawning three named storms: Hurricane Bertha, Hurricane Dolly, and tropical storm Cristobal.
Including tropical storm Arthur, which formed in May, ahead of the official season, 10 of the 15 named storms forecast in April have already taken shape.
Hanna, Ike, and Josephine
As Hurricane Gustav wanes, forecasters along with U.S. residents from the eastern Carolinas to the Gulf Coast are warily watching tropical storms Hanna, Ike, and Josephine. Just as Hurricane Gustav was dissipating and three tropical storms were brewing in the Atlantic, forecasters predicted that September ... more -
Strongest storms grow stronger yet
A new study finds that the strongest of hurricanes and typhoons have become even stronger over the last two and a half decades, adding grist to the contentious debate over whether global warming has already made storms more destructive.
I think we do see a climate signal here, said James B. Elsner, a professor of geography at Florida State University who is the lead author of the paper, being published in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature.
The study, which also found that more typical, less powerful tropical storms had not become stronger over the 26-year period studied, is consistent with other researchers; hurricane models, Dr. Elsner said.
With oceans expected to continue warming, “one would expect more 4s and 5s, he said of Category 4 and Category 5 hurricanes, those with maximum sustained winds of at least 131 miles per hour.
About 90 tropical cyclone storms form each year around the world. In the Atlantic, the stronger ones, with winds of at least 74 m.p.h., are hurricanes; the equivalents in the Pacific and Indian Oceans are typhoons. Ten named storms have formed in the Atlantic this hurricane season, which continues to the end of November.
Heat from the warming oceans will provide more energy to spin up hurricanes and typhoons, but the changing climate could also heighten conditions like wind shear; winds blowing at different speeds and different directions at different altitudes; that tend to tear a storm apart.
Because of these environmental factors, most storms fall far short of their maximum possible intensity. But Dr. Elsner, along with Thomas H. Jagger, a postdoctoral researcher at Florida State, and James P. Kossin, a research scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, reasoned that warmer waters increased the possible intensity and that storms that develop in ideal conditions might have become stronger.
Having examined satellite data from 1981 through 2006, a period in which sea surface temperature rose to 83.3 degrees Fahrenheit from 82.8 degrees, they concluded that the highest wind speeds of the strongest storms averaged 156 m.p.h. in 2006, up from 140 m.p.h. hour in 1981. The increases in cyclone intensity were greatest in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
Because the data came from one set of satellites, the scientists avoided some of the calibration difficulties that had troubled earlier studies.
This study offers definitive evidence that there are more of the very strongest hurricanes around the world, even though the total number of storms globally shows hardly any trend, said Kerry A. Emanuel, a professor of atmospheric science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who suggested in 2005 that global warming had already intensified cyclones. A new study finds that the strongest of hurricanes and typhoons have become even stronger over the last two and a half decades, adding... more -
Nasa scientist appears in court to fan the flames of coal power station row
The Nasa scientist who first drew attention to global warming 20 years ago appeared in a British court yesterday as a key witness in support of climate change activists charged with damaging a power station.
Professor James Hansen gave evidence at Maidstone Crown Court in the case of six Greenpeace members who scaled a 630ft chimney at the Kingsnorth plant in Hoo, Kent, last October in protest against plans to build new coal-fired units there.
The activists planned to paint the slogan "Gordon Bin It" on the chimney, but only got as far as the Prime Minister's christian name before they obeyed a High Court injunction ordering them down. They were charged with causing £35,000 of damage – the sum it cost the plant's owner, E.ON, to scrub off the word "Gordon".
Greenpeace argues that under the Criminal Damage Act 1971, its activists had a "lawful excuse" to cause the damage because they were seeking to prevent even greater damage being caused to property – such as flooding from rising sea levels and damage to species caused by climate change.
Yesterday, Prof Hansen, who has spoken out against the Bush administration's stance on global warming, said Britain had a responsibility to take a lead on limiting climate change because it was responsible – owing to its long industrial past – for much of the CO2 already in the atmosphere. Phasing out coal-burning power stations was crucial in tackling global warming, he told the court.
"Somebody needs to stand up and take a leadership role," Prof Hansen said. "It is an opportunity for the Prime Minister. If we are to avoid disintegration of the ice sheets, minimise species extiction and halt or reverse... climate change there is just time to accomplish it, but it requires an immediate moratorium on new coal-fired power plants that do not capture or sequester CO2."
Continues... The Nasa scientist who first drew attention to global warming 20 years ago appeared in a British court yesterday as a key witness in s... more
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