Harshest warning yet issued on climate

U.N. panel's report says the poor will be hardest hit by changes including desertification, drought and rising sea level.

The story "Harshest warning yet issued on climate" published April 6, 2007 at 6:20 AM is no longer available on CNET News.

Content from Reuters expires after 30 days.

[andyengle]

What a load

This is a bunch of crap. First of all, this racket about global warming is a farce. Who has died as a result of global warming? Nobody. I *want* global warming! It's in the 40's outside, and it's April! If global warming is happening, and if it's supposedly so bad, why are we having record cold temps, record snows, etc?!

Moreover, if global warming is supposed to affect "all of us", then how can we be told, and be expected to believe, that the poor are going to be the hardest hit? This sounds like more noise about how we have to "change our ways to save our earth and the worst among us". Please. The poor are benefited the best when there is freedom, liberty, and opportunity. We all lose when there is more regulation, more restrictions, etc by government agencies. For example, do you think Big Auto is going to benefit from the rulings by the five scientists on the Supreme Court? No way. They now have MORE restrictions on what they manufacture. How does that help their business? How does that help our worker base? And as such, how does that effect the poor, the middle class, and the rich? We ALL lose.

If this global warming tripe was unbelievable before, it is REALLY unbelievable now. We're being led by the same alarmists who told us we were going to freeze to death in the 70's.

[Penguinisto]

Earth Hit By Asteroid; Women, Poor Hardest Hit

It's a semantic trick written by *cough*journalists*cough* to evoke emotion in order to override logic.

This has gone on for years, and smacks of yellow journalism.

/P

[dondarko]

well

if the car exhaust fumes are so good for us we'll let you sit in a closed garage with your car running. If it is so good to dump untreated sewage into rivers, we'll let you drink that water right from the river where that sewage goes. You get the point. Global warming is not just about earth warming up. It is about our planet(one and only home) being polluted to the point where everything living on this planet is going to die b/c of us. Maybe not in 100, 200 or 500 years but it will happen if we don't change our ways. Besides what is there wrong with making sure we're breathing cleaner air instead of exhaust fumes from our cars? Or drinking polluted water?

[richto]

What a twat.

I guess you probably belive god created the world in 7 days and that the Earth is flat too?

[LuvThatCO2]

Right on!

What andy said.

[Kersen13]

Its all about Money

Lets face the hard cold fact. All this is about is money. If it were
Free to fix the world it would be done with and no arguments.
But unfortunately it takes some personal sacrifices (in a very
selfish society) where if something Bad happens everyone is
lawsuit happy they just don't take their lickings and move on.)
thats why they are called tragedies.. We all have a price to pay
to help fix what we screwed up but unless the governments step
in and control it, it will never get fix. We will not change our
ways until its too late otherwise. ( as far as global warming goes
Its not all our faults its the earths natural cycle, but the damage
we have done has heightened the consequences. Its kinda like
the old water dripping on your forehead it doesn't seam like
much but overtime it will drive you crazy... we are seeing small
changes now but in time they will escalate. The only people who
are against the changes it takes to help fix what we have done
are people who care mainly about money and wealth or them
selves. well thats my two cents and I am sure someone will call
me a liar and what ever else they blab about but thats the cost I
guess..
hopefully we will find a way everyone can be satisfied with....

[Leria]

You have a point

In that the same alarmists who were saying that we were going to freeze to death are now saying that we are going to cook to death.

Frankly, global warming is a hoax, made up by people who have not taken into account that because of the leap years and the added on days since 1850, the calendar has been pushed so that what once was summer is now fall! What once was fall is now winter!

We have to realize that the extra day being tacked on every 4 years was NEVER taken into account, even my scientist friend who works for the Weather Channel said that.

[mbenedict]

Junk science...

"Concensus building" is not science. Just another leftist propaganda.

[dondarko]

well...

stop using the computer you typed this non-sense message, stop driving your car, stop using AC, stop watching TV...B/C "junk science" brought you all these things. After all all those things listed above, and many others were considered heresy back in the good ole days of believing in witches and stuff. Sounds like you would fit right in those old times.

[Thomas, David]

?

In what area of science do you have your doctorate?

[dansterpower]

Not Left or Right

The facts are out there.

Have you done an unbiased review?

I have.

You are wrong.

[Alexander Bell]

Energy Research and GEL Initiative: true engineering solution to many envir

Full ENERGY consumption cycle includes Generation, Storage, Transmission and Conversion. True Renewable Clean Energy engineering solution should provide systematic approach to the problem and not be over-focused on relatively narrow area of GASEOUS contaminations.

While heated debates still persist about Global Warming problem/resolution with main focus on GASEOUS contamination, there is one particular heavily-overlooked issue of Global Environmental Contamination by the SOLID STATE WASTE coming from improper Batteries disposal. This issue is very REAL and URGENT as the need for ENERGY STORAGE components will continue to grow dramatically.

Modern technology has all necessary prerequisites for the transition to the Battery-free Ultracapacitor-based Clean Energy storage systems. Capacitors are mostly RoHS-compliant (while most of Batteries are not) and have operational life (charge-discharge cycles) several orders of magnitude longer than Batteries.

Green Electricity (GEL) Initiative, addressing this issue (btw, topping both Google? and MSN? search result list), is detailed at:

http://www.alexanderbell.us/Initiative/GEL.htm
http://www.alexanderbell.us/Project/GreenElectricity.htm

GEL Initiative provides true engineering solution, based on fundamental physical principles. The solution is rather universal, applicable to any type of portable, automotive and stationary applications.

Such revolutionary technological transition from Battery-to-Capacitor Energy storage on a massive scale requires coordinated efforts of many industries, scientific and engineering communities, and should be taken into serious consideration by technology leaders and decision makers. Read the ?GEL Initiative? and discover plenty of meaningful engineering ideas on how to make the planet cleaner and safer.

[Penguinisto]

When logic fails, "think of the poor!"

Bah - there's too much evidence that says mankind isn't remotely near at fault.

As soon as we can de-politicize the issue (heh - good luck) and stop spreading fear and hysterics over the issue (ditto), maybe we can figure out what's truly driving it.

Until then, this wolf-crying madness has got to stop.

/P

[Thomas, David]

??

Site the evidence, or at least some if it. In contrast, rising CO2
levels (man-made, direct and indirect), de-foresting (elimination
of the worlds greenery, which is critical) are just two facts that
are proven to create climate changes alone. People use the
term ecosystem, in their respective industries, but I fear the do
not know what it really means anymore.

I ask you, as I asked another poster ... In what area of science do
you have your doctorate?

[dansterpower]

Normally I agree with Penguinisto

But, my friend, you are grossly wrong on your views on this topic.

Use the same free mind that has led you to so many brilliant IT
related posts to gain true intelligence on this subject.

I have: You are in error.

ReBoot my friend

[hugopottisch]

Error: Livestock not fossil fuels worst polluter

The previous UN report has clearly states that livestock is causes the worst environmental damage regarding the climate. Burning fossil fuels is part of the livestock sector but not the main problem as CNET has wrongly reported!

Please read the UN press release:
http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2006/1000448/index.html

Livestock a major threat to environment
Remedies urgently needed
29 November 2006, Rome - Which causes more greenhouse gas emissions, rearing cattle or driving cars?

Surprise!

According to a new report published by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the livestock sector generates more greenhouse gas emissions as measured in CO2 equivalent ? 18 percent ? than transport. It is also a major source of land and water degradation.

[LuvThatCO2]

Vegitarians

"The previous UN report has clearly states that livestock is causes the worst environmental damage regarding the climate. "

If the UN report regarding livestock is true, then anyone who believes in the Global Warming fairy-tale who is not a vegitarian is an Al Gore-sized hypocrite.

[marct22marct22]

half-truths in Livestock comment

True, methane is a "nastier" greeenhouse gas. However, methane also breaks down much faster in the atmosphere than CO2. A methane molecule (CH4), on average, stays in the atmosphere about a decade, while CO2 persists in the atmosphere over a century. Besides, if you burn methane, you also get CO2 (CH4 + 2O2 = CO2 + 2H2O). Note that methane in the atmosphere doesn't follow that reaction (it's probably more likely that CH4 + OH = CH3 + H2O). But burning methane really doesn't solve much since it generates CO2...

So basically, even though pound-for-pound, methane gives a bigger "pop" in terms of being a greenhouse gas, it is cleaned up from the atmosphere about 10 times faster than CO2.

[Xenu7-214951314497503184010868]

Profits first, planet second

When enough people have died, we will make meaningful changes to turn things around. Until then, it's still the "me first" paradigm.

[C_G_K]

Making a mockery of science

I personally am glad that the IPCC has come out with this extreme, rediculous report. This will only hasten the demise of their credibility. Few, outside of the hardcore environmentalist camp, will be able to take this report seriously. This is a feeding frenzy of left wing eco-dingbats. Here is the bio of one of the lead authors of the report. No potential bias huh??? These are the kind of people who have hijacked the process to push their radical agenda. Scary...

http://www.uea.ac.uk/env/cserge/people/neil_adger.htm

[hugopottisch]

what is the problem?

first - the CV you have linked is of one in many.. and it does not indicate a bad background for judging the situation? He is head of the The School of Environmental Sciences at the University of Easet Anglia - one of the longest established, largest and most fully developed Schools of Environmental Sciences in Europe. The school is sponsored heavily by private business - one substantial contributor being the HSBC Bank, the largest financial institution in the world..

There is nothing left-wing about conservation.. in fact it should be a conservative domain - not left to the left! After all - only a free economy with free agents and minimal intervention produces riches via the invisible hand.. but we have modeled our economy on ecology (as recent noble prizes confirm long after adam smith and darwin). Now - what is true for the economy is even more true for ecology.. freedom and minimal intervention.. when you see our feed plantations and our factory farms - the last thing that comes to mind is limited intervention and free ecology..

no - like left wing communists or fascists - we want to control and micro-manage the planet - never leaving it alone to manage itself.. no free agents, no sustainability.. like a drunken father who drinks away the families future.. our excuses stink..

please watch the Jared Diamond lecture on the Fall of Civilizations (19:00 is a good start..)
http://video.google.com/videopopup?q=http%3A%2F%2Fvp.video.google.com%2Fvideodownload%3Fversion%3D0%26secureurl%3DtwAAALfOOuGmVk2RGgGkh541bB2YSVvoGwDLIHUVP9uJLZBeb9QpFfxH1KqFIGHbnKmcw9nNvO7PJS2uF0NQpzHzLVfOhpK-0AbGKqAyZwvxxHEDwWudUJSYLyX6TtSdx_WZDUw5c_Mook5y7n6E6-BAdubi3WlQjUDCc00onBzEJ_yaIWLVXCA1oa4vbYJXjff8-0e3uOt3uYbr6dFkRSBX7ScRVpdYcNmuS1hVFELZTZO1si1eDFXJwQHvVpVVokd47A%26sigh%3D1gFmOejigl0p2ZUATzP-d30V6MA%26begin%3D29257%26len%3D4464998%26docid%3D4271982381147720351&docid=4271982381147720351&fscid=fsc_268940785&windowtitle=Jared+Diamond+-+How+Societies+Fail-And+Sometimes+Succeed+-+Long+Now+Foundation+-+Google+Video+-+Full+Screen

[hugopottisch]

another CV

STEPHEN H. SCHNEIDER, Stanford University

Professor, Department of Biological Sciences
Senior Fellow, Stanford Institute for International Studies
Professor, by courtesy, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Co-Director, Center for Environmental Science and Policy
Co-Director, Interdisclipinary Program in Environment and Resources
Stanford University

yes - i can smell the communist threat.. "run run - the red army is making a mockery of science.. I am a chain smoker but albeit I have no flu.. am not worried about my strange cough.. those scientists will figure out a cure in time - I will continue to smoke two packs a day.. anybody who tells me to better quit is a red-Stalin-homeboy.."

[Millerboy]

The Great Global Warming Swindle

Watch this video, it's about 1 hour and 15 minutes: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4340135300469846467

Global Warming will soon be used as a major justification for an even more massive immigration to Europe / North America, instilling more White guilt and massive wealth transfer from White/European countries to everybody else (see the 'carbon credits' debate). It goes like this:

1. Rich (First and Second World) countries are responsible for global warming (never mind China and India)
2. Poor (Third World) countries around the equator are the ones that are going to be most affected
3. Therefore, rich countries must accept billions of third worders whose countries they have devastated

[dansterpower]

Rubbish to Cloud the Real Issue

The Planet IS undisputable Warming up.

This video is pure propaganda to cloud the issue and maintain
current, in-power, corporate profit structures.

Whether humans cause the warming can be debated.

The issue is real.

Educate yourself. Empower your individuality.

[Stufiano]

How about this?

Research it! From ACADEMIC papers from universities. No false "institutes" or "thinktanks". Look at the data. Yeah, the data for collection points: universities, environmental agencies responsible for monitoring parks and publically owned lands[ie US National Park Service], and organizations with established reputations in environmental monitoring[ Nature mag, or better].

Looking to other politically charged or apathetically charged agencies is ridiculous. If you really want to know "the truth" you'd look at the data itself or the reports drawn from data from ACADEMIC sources [universities, governmentall agencies directly related to data collection from environment]

[http://Yes I do agree with reports confirming global warming, why? Because I actually went to google scholar and JSTOR and looked at reputable papers to the subject, not news stories.|http://Yes I do agree with reports confirming global warming, why? Because I actually went to google scholar and JSTOR and looked at reputable papers to the subject, not news stories.]

LOGIC ISN'T WORTH A DIME WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE OF THE SUBJECT!

[Stufiano]

PS

Make up your own mind,
JUST LOOK AT THE DARN DATA FIRST.

[Mark Greene]

Actually read peer-reviewed reports? Nah!

It would be nice if those who have the gall to make claims about
science and validity actually knew any of the research, or
science, for that matter.

If you compare peer-reviewed reports with their position, it's
clear they have no concept of the actual data or the peer-review
process.

It's much easier to watch and read a little bit on the internet,
find the contrarian position, and then feel like a crusader for the
"underdog."

[C_G_K]

Hah, if it were only that simple!

So you looked up a few "reputable" papers on the internet, and BINGO, you were convinced. That's pretty amazing considering the complexity of the issue that you could be convinced by just looking at a few papers without trying to get some perspective on the issue, and without looking at any of the criticisms. Oh, I forgot, you didn't have to because the people with criticisms can conveniently be ignored because they only work for biased think tanks or false institutions. That makes it easy!!

One thing I have noticed is that the peer review process seems to have broken down somewhat with global warming. Since it is such a complex issue, and such a new emerging science with so many uncertainties, study authors and the IPCC can simply choose to ignore unfavorable peer reviews and go with peer reviews (often from close associates) that agree with them. The "hockey stick" graph that has been widely used to "prove" man made global warming is a prime example. Despite being peer reviewed into the junk pile, where it belongs, it is still being used by the IPCC in it's original form!!

BTW, do you care to give any links to these reputable, convincing ACADEMIC papers? I've seen lots of them, and when you take the time to scratch below the surface, it's mainly conjecture, extrapolation, and computer models (that assume man made global warming is real). I'd love to see these convincing clear studies you are refering to. Please post them for all of us.

[twotall610]

Another part to the puzzle

A major part of the CO2 chain is the respiration of every living
earthling, from the smallest insect to the whale.
6 billion plus human CO2 producing machines.