Report: Global Warming at Critical Point

LONDON - Global warming is approaching the point of no return, after which widespread drought, crop failure and rising sea levels will be irreversible, an international climate change task force warned Monday.

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According to the report, urgent action is needed to stop the global average temperature rising by 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above the level of 1750 Ñ the approximate start of the Industrial Revolution when mankind first started significantly adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.

Beyond such a rise, "the risks to human societies and ecosystems grow significantly," the report said, adding that there would be a danger of "abrupt, accelerated, or runaway climate change." It warned of "climatic tipping points" such as the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets melting and the Gulf Stream shutting down.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=624&e=2&u=/ap/britain_climate_change

I am wearing shorts and a t shirt in San Diego, in JANUARY...

Anybody see a problem with this?

Not the bush administration

January -- at least some of the time.

However, I've just read "Boiling Point" by Gelbspan -- and he claims that the science is not ambivalent -- if we don't reduce our carbon emissions by at least 70% we will soon reach the point of climate de-stabilization from which we will not be able to recover -- no matter how much religion we get.

That we have George Bush and his fellow oily cronies in the White House just now has got to be some kind of awful cosmic joke.

Let us all pray:
God, I beg you; I plead with you and promise to do your bidding forever more -- PLEASE, PLEASE RAPTURE THE RIGHT WING CRAZIES NOW -- so that the rest us will have a smidgin of a chance to save this earth and all the good critters that live on it. Amen.

The left plays Scarlet O'Hara on this issue too. "Fiddle dee dee, I'll think about that tomorrow". The problem is, there won't BE a tomorrow if we don't deal with it TODAY!

We can all do our part; boycott big polluters, red companies, and learn to live with less. I know that any suggestion of sacrifice or inconvenience isn't welcomed here or anywhere in our country, but our lives literally depend on it now.

it is now. All the science I've read is screaming; flashing RED --
it's like being stuck on the track with eyes wide open watching the train barreling down toward you.

About living with less or boycotting -- those ideas are great; they won't hurt, but according to Gelbspan we don't have that kind of time -- only government intervention to cut emissions by 70% and fund emergency manhattan project type research into alternatives will cut it.

real issue out of this on the other "Global catastrophe" thread, but no one replied. Being up in arms about people being fired for smoking or threatened with arrest for a bumper sticker is of MUCH greater importance to most DUers. :grr:

That's what it will look like when we go through another "Dust Bowl" era, where no crops will grow and then we will have a real depression again...

"Look * supporters" :evilgrin:

it will continue until our planet is as devoid of life as the rest of the solar system. If you are under the age of 40, you'll be living through it at some point in the not so distant future.

"the day after tomorrow" for the first time. i scared the shit out of me. reading this report reminds me of just how quickly our climate can (and probably will, thanks to *) change. and not for the better.

The science in that movie was worse than Bush's version.

so that they can 'rapture out'...they are really going to be in for a shock when there is no rapture and they are left suffering and dying slow agonizing deaths. x(