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Posts with tag: globalwarming | Return to ScienceNewsBlog.com Homepage
Environmental Damage Visible From Space
Discovery Commander Eileen Collins said damage to the Earth's environment is visible from the Discovery Space Shuttle in a conversation with Japanese officials in Tokyo. A CNN news story contained same of Collins' comments.
"Sometimes you can see how there is erosion, and you can see how there is deforestation. It's very widespread in some parts of the world," Collins said in a conversation from space with Japanese officials in Tokyo, including Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
"We would like to see, from the astronauts' point of view, people take good care of the Earth and replace the resources that have been used," said Collins, who was standing with Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi in front of a Japanese flag and holding a colorful fan.
Posted on August 6, 2005
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G8 Scientists Say Act Now on Global Warming
A joint statement signed by top scientific academies from G8 countries as well as Brazil, India and China, is urging the G8 nations to do something about global warming before it is too late. The Independent has an article about the statement and points out the statement was also signed by Bruce Alberts, president of the US National Academy of Sciences.
"The scientific understanding of climate change is now sufficiently clear to justify nations taking prompt action. It is vital that all nations identify cost-effective steps that they can take now to contribute to substantial and long-term reduction in net global greenhouse gas emissions," the statement says.
In a veiled reference to President Bush's reluctance to accept climate change by claiming that the science is unclear, the academies emphasise that action is needed now to reduce the build-up of greenhouse gases.
"A lack of full scientific certainty about some aspects of climate change is not a reason for delaying an immediate response that will, at a reasonable cost, prevent dangerous anthropogenic [man-made] interference with the climate system," the statement says.
"We urge all nations... to take prompt action to reduce the causes of climate change, adapt to its impacts and ensure that the issue is included in all relevant national and international strategies."
The Independent article also says the Tony Blair has failed to make any progress in getting President Bush to agree to an international effort to combat global warming. To make things worse it was recently reported that a White House official was editing climate-related documents to downplay the significance of global warming.
Posted on June 8, 2005
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Lungs of Europe Burning
Scientists are concerned about fire and logging destroying the
Siberian taiga, also known as the "lungs of Europe."
The Siberian taigi contains half of the planet's
evergreen trees and 1/5 of the world's forested area. National
Geographic has a description and photograph of the Siberian taiga here. The
Independent reports that large swathes are the forest are being
destroyed by logging and fires caused by global warming.
Twenty years ago forest fires destroyed about two million hectares
of Siberian forests - the loss of an area the size of Wales. Last
year 22 million hectares - about half the size of France - were
lost to fire. Russian forestry scientists said they were bracing
themselves for this year's fire season, which starts in late June.
Siberia's largest forest, the taiga, accounts for one fifth of
the world's total forested land and contains half of the planet's
evergreen forest. Yet in the space of a couple of decades this
seemingly unlimited expanse of trees has suffered an unprecedented
tenfold increase in the rate of deforestation caused by fire.
Posted on May 31, 2005
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James Baker: Take Global Warming Seriously
Former U.S. Secretary of State James Baker has argued for a serious look into alternative energies. Reuters (via MSNBC.com) reports that while speaking to the Houston Forum Club, Baker said, "It may surprise you a little bit, but maybe it’s because I’m a hunter and a fisherman, but I think we need to a pay a little more attention to what we need to do to protect our environment. When you have energy companies like Shell and British Petroleum, both of which are perhaps represented in this room, saying there
is a problem with excess carbon dioxide emission, I think we ought
to listen." Reuters reports that Baker said it is time to start an "orderly" move towards alternative energy sources. Baker served in the
cabinet of George Bush Senior and represented George W. Bush in
the controversial 2000 elections. The Bush Administration has
refused to acknowledege that global warming is a threat -- often ignoring evidence and warnings from organizations like NASA, the Woods Hole Research Center and even the Pentagon. The Bush Administration has also pursued plans, like the Clear Skies Initiative, that environmental groups say greatly weaken the existing Clean Air Act. The Sierra Club calls the Clear Skies plan a Bush smokescreen to weaken the Clean Air Act and allow more pollution.
Posted on March 4, 2005
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