Independent UK: Greenhouse gases will heat up planet 'for ever'

[marmar]

Greenhouse gases will heat up planet 'for ever'
New study shows the effects of CO2 pollution will be felt for hundreds of thousands of years

By Geoffrey Lean, Environment Editor
Sunday, 30 November 2008



Global warming is for ever, some of the world's top climate scientists have concluded. Their research shows that carbon dioxide emitted from today's homes, cars and factories will continue to heat up the planet for hundreds of thousands of years.

Their findings – which contradict a widespread belief that the atmosphere would recover quickly once humanity stopped polluting it – come at the beginning of the most crucial week for the climate this year. Tomorrow Britain's powerful Climate Change Committee will lay out a road map to put the country on track to slash its greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent by 2050. At the same time, the world's governments will meet in Poznan, in Poland, to try to set the world on the path to agreeing a new international treaty next year, billed as the last chance to keep global warming to tolerable levels.

The new research will add to the pressure on ministers at home and abroad to take radical steps. And it will add urgency to attempts to find ways of removing excess carbon dioxide already in the atmosphere, as well as trying to prevent further emissions.

It comes as a shock because most governments, and even many scientists, have assumed that carbon dioxide emissions would work their way out of the atmosphere in about a century, enabling it to clean itself fairly rapidly once the world switched to clean sources of energy. .......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/greenhouse-gases-will-heat-up-planet-for-ever-1041642.html

[theophilus]

1. I think we need to assume that these scientists are wrong.

If most folks think this is the case nothing will be done. Now if they are right I still think we can make things not so bad as if nothing is done. If they are wrong then we are committing suicide as a species. My money is on the Earth to be able to get back in equilibrium much faster than anticipated. Why, shoot, we might even get a little Ice Age to freeze that permafrost solid again by cutting off the Gulf Stream. Anyway, lets do all we can to stop emitting CO2 with our fuel burning. Give the Earth a chance to heal and all.....

[GoesTo11]

2. We will have to spend a lot of money if we want to prevent that future

Which is sound policy, but based on what I've seen about ability of single nations to plan that far ahead, let alone the ability of many nations to coordinate their actions, it's hard to be optimistic.

I'm confident that for one year's world GDP (~$70T)we could accelerate solar energy development, retrofit most buildings and houses, put in efficient public transportation systems in many places, buy clean coal plants for China and India, and what the heck, get everyone in the world a bicycle. I'm just doubtful that, even staring into the precipice, we would cough up anything like enough money.

But unless it causes complete extinction, we still want to do what we can to keep the effects from being even worse.

[gulfcoastliberal]

3. K&R... nt

[pscot]

4. This deserves a kick

:kick: