Space Industry and Business News  
Climate change risk underestimated: study

The report said its conclusions were based in part on observations of impacts already occurring because of global warming and better understanding of the risks associated with rising mean temperatures.
by Staff Writers
Washington (AFP) Feb 23, 2009
The risk posed to mankind and the environment by even small changes in average global temperatures is much higher than believed even a few years ago, a study said Monday.

Published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study updated a 2001 assessment by the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change that looked at temperature changes and the risks they pose.

"Today, we have to assume that the risks of negative impacts of climate change on humans and nature are larger than just a few years ago," said Hans-Martin Fussel, one of the authors of the report.

The new study found that even small changes of global mean temperatures could produce the kinds of conditions singled out as "reasons for concern" in the 2001 assessment.

Those included risks to threatened systems such as coral reefs or endangered species; and extreme weather events like cyclones, heat waves or droughts.

Other "reasons for concern" involved the way the impact of climate change is distributed, the aggregate damage caused and the risk of "large scale discontinuities" such as the deglaciation of the Greenland ice sheets.

"Compared with results reported in the (2001 assessment), smaller increases in GMT (global mean temperatures) are now estimated to lead to significant or substantial consequences in the framework of the five 'reasons for concern,'" the study said.

The report said its conclusions were based in part on observations of impacts already occurring because of global warming and better understanding of the risks associated with rising mean temperatures.

They also were based on "growing evidence that even modest increases in GMT (global mean temperature) above levels circa 1990 could commit the climate system to the risk of very large impacts on multiple century time scales," the study said.

Three of the authors of the latest report contributed to the 2001 assessment's chapter on "reasons for concern."

"If the associated risks are larger, the necessity is also larger to reduce the greenhouse gases emissions and to support affected regions to cope with the unavoidable consequences of climate change," Fussel said in a statement.

It was the third report published in recent weeks carrying grim news about climate change.

On February 15, a report by Chris Field, of the Carnegie Institution and a former member of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change, warned that greenhouse gases have accumulated more rapidly in the atmosphere between 2000 and 2007 than anticipated.

Three weeks before that, a study by Susan Solomon, the senior scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said changes in surface temperature, rainfall and sea level are "largely irreversible for more than 1,000 years after CO2 emissions are completely stopped."

Related Links
Climate Science News - Modeling, Mitigation Adaptation



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


US, China pledge joint effort on economy, climate change
Beijing (AFP) Feb 21, 2009
The United States and China glossed over differences on human rights as they pledged here Saturday to work more closely in tackling the global economic crisis and climate change.







  • Mobile phone showcase reveals trends to watch
  • Search engine accuses Google of antitrust violations
  • Facebook reassures users in wake of service terms change
  • Taiwan's Acer moves into mobile phones

  • Perfection Is And Always Will Be The Standard At Patrick AFB
  • New Developments Across Arianespace's Family Of Commercial Launch Vehicles
  • Kepler Is Ready To Be Moved To The Launch Pad Today
  • Taurus XL Rocket Fully Assembled At Launch Site

  • Major airlines call for climate deal to include aviation
  • Swiss aircraft firm to cut jobs in Ireland
  • Bank of China extends massive credit to state aircraft maker
  • Shanghai Airlines seeks capital injection

  • Boeing Delivers First Communications Payload To MUOS Prime Contractor
  • Raytheon Delivers Final Sentinel R Mk 1 Aircraft For UK ASTOR System
  • USAF Awards LockMart Team Contract To Extend TSAT Risk Reduction/System Definition Phase
  • Major Test Of Second Advanced EHF MilComms Satellite Underway

  • Eight Years In Orbit For Swedish Research Satellite
  • Impact Specialist To Discuss Catastrophic Collisions In Space
  • Satellite Collision Debris May Hamper Space Launches
  • Space As An Increasingly Crowded Place

  • Raytheon Makes Executive Changes In Space Business
  • George Preston Chosen For 2009 Henry Norris Russell Lectureship
  • Stevens New Director Of Communications And Public Outreach For Space Foundation
  • ATK Appoints Blake Larson To Lead Space Systems Group

  • Counting Carbon
  • Five Things About The Orbiting Carbon Observatory
  • Google shoots down 'Atlantis' pictures
  • Scientists Find Black Gold Amidst Overlooked Data

  • Geocache On The Go With Your iPhone
  • TWIG Launches TWIG Protector
  • Mobile Phone Navigation For Carriers Worldwide
  • Location Based Technologies Launches Additional PocketFinder Smartphone Apps

  • The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright Space.TV Corporation. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space.TV Corp on any Web page published or hosted by Space.TV Corp. Privacy Statement