Deal with warming, don't debate it, scientists warn
The U.N.'s stark report puts policymakers on notice, though there is no consensus on action.
By Thomas H. Maugh II and Karen Kaplan, Times Staff Writers
February 3, 2007
A United Nations report released Friday that blames humans for the "runaway train" of global warming has abruptly shifted the international debate from "Are humans to blame?" to "What are we going to do about it?"
"The world's scientists have spoken," said Timothy E. Wirth, president of the United Nations Foundation. "It is time now to hear from the world's policymakers. The so-called and long-overstated 'debate' about global warming is now over."
The report said that it was "unequivocal" that global warming was occurring and that it was at least 90% certain humans were responsible. It predicted temperatures would rise 3.2 to 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100 and that sea level would rise 7 to 23 inches, perhaps more.
If the Greenland ice sheet were to melt completely, it would lead to a 21-foot increase in sea level, forcing the relocation of more than 300 million people living in low-lying areas worldwide.
The report also said warming would continue even in the extremely unlikely event that global carbon dioxide could be stabilized at its current level. Such a stabilization would require an immediate 70% to 80% reduction in emissions, said Richard Somerville of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-sci-warming3feb03,0,5489341.story?coll=la-home-world