28
Jan
global warming
I do have a religion: I’m an environmentalist. I’m not a perfect environmentalist, by any stretch. If I were perfect, or close to it, I’d be eating cold, soaked beans and corn harvested from my backyard instead of ordering pepperoni pizza from Domino’s.
Global warming’s happening. Some people know it, some people don’t know it, some people don’t care. 50 years from now, the people who knew it and cared about it will be sad and angry. The people who didn’t bother to educate themselves will be sad and guilt-ridden. Then there’re the other people, the ones who could’ve really done something about it if they’d cared to.
To those of you who finally strut out of the world without feeling sorry for what you did, fuck you. You won’t be missed.
I’m going to start using a comment to cache these news stories. They evaporate very quickly.
Scientists predict rising global temperature range
Monday, January 31, 2005 Posted: 12:38 PM EST (1738 GMT)
LONDON, England (Reuters) — Greenhouse gas emissions could cause global temperatures to rise by up to 11 degrees Celsius (20 degrees Fahrenheit), according to first results from the world’s largest climate modeling experiment.
The top end of the predictions, which range from 2-11 degrees, is double estimates produced so far and could make the world dramatically different in the future.
“Our experiment shows that increased levels of greenhouse gases could have a much greater impact on climate than previously thought,” said David Stainforth, the project’s chief scientist, from Oxford University.
Without significant cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, scientists estimate the Earth’s temperature and sea level will rise, leading to increased flooding and drastic climate changes.
The temperature range predicted is based on assumptions of carbon dioxide levels double those found before the Industrial Revolution. Scientists estimate these levels will be reached by the middle of this century if greenhouse gas emissions are not reduced.
“This is really just the beginning of the process to try and understand the uncertainty and predictions of climate change,” Stainforth added.
Processing power
From Uruguay to Uzbekistan and Sierra Leone to Singapore, 95,000 people from 150 countries are taking part in the climateprediction.net experiment to explore the possible impact of global warming.
By downloading free software from http://www.climateprediction.net/external link on their personal computers, participants run their own unique version of Britain’s Met Office climate model.
While their computer is idle, the program runs a climate simulation over days or weeks and automatically reports the results to Oxford University and other collaborating institutions around the world.
Together, the volunteers have simulated more than 4 million model years, donated 8,000 years of computer time and exceeded the processing power of the world’s largest supercomputers. The first results of the continuing experiment are reported in the latest edition of the science journal Nature.
“… it is entirely possible that even current levels of greenhouse gases, if stable and maintained for a long period of time, could lead to dangerous climate change,” Stainforth told reporters.
The Kyoto protocol, the main U.N. scheme to reduce greenhouse gases, aims to cut emissions of carbon dioxide by 5.2 percent below 1990 levels by 2008-12.
“The danger zone is not something we are going to reach in the middle of this century. We are in it now,” said Dr Myles Allen of the Met Office.
Climateprediction.net was conceived more than five years ago and launched in 2003. It is funded by Britain’s Natural Environment Research Council.
Note: An increase of 1 degree Celsius = 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit. An increase of 11 degrees Celsius would be the equivalent of about 20 degrees Fahrenheit.
February 10th, 2005 at 2:47 am