Clipping Board » Environmental Pollution & Change ─ How dirty the human heart is, how dirty the environment will be...
Update: 2009/04/15 11:35 Lai Xiuru (AFP, Washington, 14th)
A study released today shows that if humans can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 70% this century, it could spare the Earth from the worst impacts of climate change, including massive melting of Arctic sea ice.
According to research by scientists at the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), such reductions could nearly halve Arctic warming, helping to preserve fisheries, seabirds, and Arctic mammals like polar bears in regions such as the northern Bering Sea.
However, Warren Washington, the NCAR scientist who led the study, noted that the drastic cuts in greenhouse gas emissions they advocate would only "stabilize the threat of climate change and prevent catastrophe."
The study, set to be published next week in *Geophysical Research Letters*, also highlights that reducing emissions could protect permafrost and prevent large-scale rises in sea levels.
The research indicates that since the pre-industrial era, the Earth's average temperature has risen by nearly 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit), primarily due to excessive greenhouse gas emissions, with carbon dioxide being the main culprit.
The concentration of these gases in the atmosphere has increased from 284 parts per million (ppm) in the pre-industrial era to 380 ppm today. Recent studies have found that if temperatures rise another 1 degree Celsius, the planet will enter a dangerous phase of warming.
The study suggests that, based on feasible targets set by the U.S. Climate Change Science Program, aggressively reducing greenhouse gas emissions to cap CO2 levels at 450 ppm and maintaining that level would result in a global temperature increase of only 0.6 degrees Celsius (1 degree Fahrenheit) by the end of the century.
If current trends continue unchecked, temperatures could rise by as much as 2.2 degrees Celsius (4 degrees Fahrenheit)—four times the ideal scenario.
Scientists also found that maintaining CO2 emissions at 450 ppm would reduce Arctic summer ice by only a quarter by 2100, stabilizing thereafter, rather than losing at least three-quarters and continuing to melt.
Additionally, the climate system would stabilize around 2100, halting further warming.
Washington said, "This study offers some hope that if human society can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the coming decades and continue steep reductions throughout the century, we can avoid the worst impacts of climate change." (Translator: Lai Xiuru)
Source: http:/ / tw. news. yahoo. com/ art……url/ d/ a/ 090415/ 19/ 1hvju. html
Study: Cutting Greenhouse Gases by 70% Could Prevent Severe Global Warming
A study released today shows that if humans can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 70% this century, it could spare the Earth from the worst impacts of climate change, including massive melting of Arctic sea ice.
According to research by scientists at the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), such reductions could nearly halve Arctic warming, helping to preserve fisheries, seabirds, and Arctic mammals like polar bears in regions such as the northern Bering Sea.
However, Warren Washington, the NCAR scientist who led the study, noted that the drastic cuts in greenhouse gas emissions they advocate would only "stabilize the threat of climate change and prevent catastrophe."
The study, set to be published next week in *Geophysical Research Letters*, also highlights that reducing emissions could protect permafrost and prevent large-scale rises in sea levels.
The research indicates that since the pre-industrial era, the Earth's average temperature has risen by nearly 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit), primarily due to excessive greenhouse gas emissions, with carbon dioxide being the main culprit.
The concentration of these gases in the atmosphere has increased from 284 parts per million (ppm) in the pre-industrial era to 380 ppm today. Recent studies have found that if temperatures rise another 1 degree Celsius, the planet will enter a dangerous phase of warming.
The study suggests that, based on feasible targets set by the U.S. Climate Change Science Program, aggressively reducing greenhouse gas emissions to cap CO2 levels at 450 ppm and maintaining that level would result in a global temperature increase of only 0.6 degrees Celsius (1 degree Fahrenheit) by the end of the century.
If current trends continue unchecked, temperatures could rise by as much as 2.2 degrees Celsius (4 degrees Fahrenheit)—four times the ideal scenario.
Scientists also found that maintaining CO2 emissions at 450 ppm would reduce Arctic summer ice by only a quarter by 2100, stabilizing thereafter, rather than losing at least three-quarters and continuing to melt.
Additionally, the climate system would stabilize around 2100, halting further warming.
Washington said, "This study offers some hope that if human society can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the coming decades and continue steep reductions throughout the century, we can avoid the worst impacts of climate change." (Translator: Lai Xiuru)
Source: http:/ / tw. news. yahoo. com/ art……url/ d/ a/ 090415/ 19/ 1hvju. html