Page 39 - 200712 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - December 2007

Global Warming In The News 39 39 Global Warming In The News Global Warming Tops India and China had also raised last-minute Global Warming Science Stories of 2007 objections to the accord, which would for the first time have required developing countries to The Arctic ice is threatening to become accept emissions reduction commitments. open water in an extremely short time due to 2007 was a year notable for further India wanted countries to set their own global warming, which this year has passed an evidence about global warming, terrestrial and targets, allowing it to limit the impact of the ominous “tipping point,” scientists reported. extraterrestrial discovery and scientific regulations on its economy. China was seeking “The Arctic is screaming,” said Mark breakthroughs. VOA's Paul Sisco takes a look new consultations outside of the plenary Serreze, senior scientist at the government’s back at some of the top science stories of the session. snow and ice data center in Boulder, Colo. year. The controversy centred on whether Moreover, NASA climate scientist Jay Global warming tops our list of science developing country emissions-reduction Zwally predicted that the Arctic Ocean would stories in 2007. Scientists say there is new measures should be called "actions" or be “nearly ice-free” by the end of summer 2012, evidence that the polar ice caps are melting at a "contributions". which is much faster than what other specialists faster pace. The Intergovernmental Panel on Munir Akram, who leads the main predicted last year, when they said the Arctic Climate Change says it is 90 percent certain that negotiating bloc of developing countries, the sea was melting so rapidly that it could human activity is linked to rising temperatures. G77, said developing countries had come under disappear by the summer of 2040. Panel Chairman Rajendra Pachauri "strong pressure and even faced threats" of trade The warnings were made public at the explains, "...what you have is solid scientific sanctions to also accept mandatory emission American Geophysical Union’s annual meeting evidence." reduction commitments that he called "unfair in San Francisco, one of the largest scientific Pachauri's U.N. panel shared the 2007 and unjust". conferences in the world. The data about Nobel Peace Prize with former U.S. Vice Developing countries are not required to Arctic’s melting became worrisome when, for President Al Gore, who said, "I'm going to accept emission reduction commitments under the first time in recorded history, ships were speak an inconvenient truth, My own country is the Kyoto Protocol, and they say that any such able to pass through an ice-free Northwest principally responsible for obstructing progress commitments would cramp economic growth. Passage in the Canadian Arctic for five weeks in here in Bali. We all know that." In this context, the G77 has been resisting August and September, officials of the World Gore's Academy Awarding winning concerted efforts from some developed Meteorological Organization said. film, An Inconvenient Truth, documents the countries to press for a comprehensive new In September, the ice pack was 23 effects of climate change. agreement. percent smaller than anytime since In other news, scientists uncovered a Science and Technology Minister Kapil measurements began, with 1.6 million square previously unknown, human settlement around Sibal reiterated the unity of the G77 on this kilometers more open water than in the previous Stonehenge, announced a new theory on the position, saying, "We don't want to come out of record melt of 2005, scientist warned. Both building of the Pyramids, and put King Tut on here diluting the content of the convention and water and air temperatures have registered public display for the first time in 3,000 years. the protocol...that is at the centre of our extremely high levels in the past five years. Scientists also had a remarkable position." "We have a consistent picture that we've discovery in Kenya - a 10 million year old jaw Laying out the Indian position, Foreign really moved into record territory in the past bone that may link mankind to the great apes. Secretary Shivshankar Menon said in New four or five years," said John D. Walsh, And in the fossil of a T-Rex, American Delhi earlier in the week that while the major Professor of Global Climate Change at the researchers decoded soft tissue proteins linking responsibility for the accumulation of International Arctic Research Center for the the monstrous reptile to birds. greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere lies with University of Alaska, Fairbanks. Japan and China jumped into the space the developed countries, its adverse affects are Michel Jarraud, secretary general of the race in 2007, both launching their first lunar felt most severely by developing countries like UN agency, warned that recent core samples probes. NASA shared 3-D (three dimensional) India. from polar glaciers and data from recording images of the sun, and with three shuttle "When we speak of 'shared stations around the world reveal that the world missions, stepped up construction of the responsibility', it must include the international has passed through its warmest period in the International Space Station. Mechanical community's shared responsibility to ensure the past 1,000 and 3,000 years. Such warming problems halted a fourth shuttle launch in right to development of the developing appears to lead to climate disasters such as December, but station construction resumes in countries. Development is the best form of recent cyclones in Bangladesh and Oman, 2008. adaptation to climate change," Menon added. wildfires in southern Europe and flooding in The conference was scheduled to end Africa and Mexico. 190 nations join hands Friday, but wrangling over targets for cutting Scientists blamed the exceeding global 190 nations join hands world greenhouse emissions continued until to fight global warming well into the night before the agreement was warming on carbon emission and other gases to fight global warming reached. While the European Union, supported that trap heat in the atmosphere. They warned by most developing nations, was aggressively that there was a high amount of carbon in Over 190 countries agreed at the UN-led pushing for the 25 to 40 per cent target range to Earth’s atmosphere to ensure that sea levels talks in Bali on Saturday to launch negotiations be included in the text, it was being opposed by would rise several feet in coming decades and on a new pact to fight global warming after a the US, Canada, Japan and Australia, which say ice would totally vanish from the North Pole reversal by the United States allowed a historic any mention of numbers will prejudge the during summer time. breakthrough. negotiations. People must cut current carbon Head of the US delegation Paula In an attempt to break the deadlock, the emissions but also remove some carbon that has Dobriansky said that 20 hours after the conference president, Indonesian Environment collected in the atmosphere since the Industrial scheduled end of the conference, her country Minister Rachmat Witoelar, proposed revised Revolution, scientists said Thursday. did not want to stand in the way of agreement. language dropping the numbers but still They also suggested that the only way to The Bali meeting approved a "roadmap" for two reaffirming that emissions should be reduced at prevent the existing ice from melting was years of talks to adopt a new treaty to succeed least by half by 2050. “considerable and persistent atmospheric the Kyoto Protocol beyond 2009, widening it to The Kyoto Protocol, which requires 36 cooling, but with the warming trend so high, the US and developing nations such as China industrial nations to cut greenhouse gas everything is working in concert toward a bluer and India. emissions by five per cent below 1990 levels, is or totally blue Arctic Ocean," said Josefino Under the deal, a successor pact will be to end in 2012. The US is the only rich nation, Comiso, a senior researcher at NASA's Goddard agreed on at a meeting in Copenhagen in late which has not ratified the protocol. Space Flight Center. 2009. A sticking point was whether the (Continued on Page 40) guidelines should mention scientific evidence Scientists Warn about about the need for emission cuts of 25 to 40 per VISIT THE ‘X’ ZONE ON LINE cent below 1990 levels by 2020. Rapid Arctic Melt Due to WWW.XZONERADIO.COM