'Dangerous' Global Warming Possible by 2026 - WWF

"OSLO (Reuters) - World temperatures could surge in just two decades to a threshold likely to trigger dangerous disruptions to the earth's climate, the WWF environmental group said on Sunday.

It said the Arctic region was warming fastest, threatening the livelihoods of indigenous hunters by thawing the polar ice-cap and driving species like polar bears toward extinction by the end of the century.

"If nothing is done, the earth will have warmed by 2.0 Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels by some time between 2026 and 2060," the WWF said in a report.

Few scientists have estimated such an early date for a 2.0C rise, seen by the WWF as a threshold that may spur "dangerous" warming, raising sea levels and causing more floods, storms or droughts and driving some species to extinction.


World temperatures have already risen by about 0.7C since 1750 with most scientists blaming a build-up of heat-trapping gases like carbon dioxide emitted by burning fossil fuels in factories, power plants and cars.


The European Union and many other environmental groups say that governments should cap emissions of greenhouse gases to try to prevent a 2.0C temperature rise. The United States has rejected binding caps under the U.N.'s Kyoto protocol.


At some point, some scientists fear that rising temperatures could cause a runaway warming, for instance by melting permafrost in Siberia that could in turn release deposits of heat-trapping methane to the atmosphere.


"Time is running out to avoid a two degree rise," said Mark New, a climate expert at England's Oxford University who made the 2026-60 projections in the report commissioned by the WWF.


TIME BOMB?


He told Reuters his study was based on a review of climate models used by the U.N. climate panel in its latest 2001 report. Another international report last week said that rising temperatures were a ticking time bomb for the climate.


Others scientists say that such projections are scaremongering and reckon temperatures will rise far less sharply, if at all, because of the buildup of greenhouse gases.


New's study projected that the Arctic would warm by 3.2-6.6C if the globe warmed by 2.0C overall.


In the Arctic, such a warming could melt polar ice in summer by 2100, pushing polar bears toward extinction. On land, forests would grow further north, overrunning tundra that is a habitat for birds including snow buntings and terns.


"Global warming threatens to wreak havoc on the traditional ways of life of Inuit, putting an end to our hunting and food sharing culture," said Sheila Watt-Cloutier, chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference.


The Arctic warms faster than the global average because dark water and land, once uncovered, soaks up more heat than snow or ice. A report by 250 scientists last year also projected a fast warming in the Arctic that would also open new shipping routes and make the region accessible for oil and gas exploration. "

channels.netscape.com...

Again the political "agenda" of "global warming" is misleading the world. The "average" temperature rise is always given as some seemingly "minor" 1-2 deg C figure. What these pointed headed "geniuses" fail to relay is the data that makes the "average" can mean temperature swings of 20-30 deg C. A global average temp is too ambiguous. Specific locations can and have seen 10-20 deg C immediate changes in surface temperatures.

He told Reuters his study was based on a review of climate models used by the U.N. climate panel in its latest 2001 report.

I think this says it all. Can we really trust information and data from the U.N.?
DrHoracid, was it you who said something like global warming is the fear that replaced the fear we had during the Cold War? Sounds plausible to me!

Originally posted by DrHoracid
"OSLO (Reuters) - World temperatures could surge in just two decades to a threshold likely to trigger dangerous disruptions to the earth's climate, the WWF environmental group said on Sunday."

Could is the operative word here. Earth could also get hit by a planet-destroying asteroid next week. I could win the lottery tomorrow and get a date with Anna Kournikova next week; but it probably isn't going to happen.

These predictions of climate disaster are almost as bad as those in the religious threads that claim that the end is near, and we must repent!

The planet is suppossed to be getting warmer and would still continue to warm even if humans never existed. Ever hear of an ice age? There have been many of them. The entire planet used to be a swamp, a rain forest, the great plains of North america used to be underwater (The cannonball sea). You people have to realize that the earth does not cycle in human lifespans but 10's of thousands of years. Warming could be a result of procession ( the tilt in the earth's axis when revolving around the sun). Nobody has been recording climate long enough to make such dire accusations!) We haven't even come out of the last ice age yet which started 11000 years ago.
Do a little experiment:
1. put ice cubes or snow in a glass.
2. wait until the ice & snow melt.
3. Frozen water expands, liquid water shrinks, boiling water turns to gas.
The arctic ice will take less space in the ocean after it melts, sea levels will drop.
Isostatic rebound counteracts the weight of land based glaciers. The weight of ice on greenland or antartica causes the land mass to sink into the earth's mantle. If this melts the land will rise just like what is happening in Hudson Bay Canada where a glacier once rested. This of course takes a long time but still the earth doesn't operate on a human time scale.
Move the polar bears to colder parts of Greenland or Antartica.
One erruption of a volcano can release enough ash & dust into the atmosphere to actually cool the planet a few degrees by blocking sunlight.
The Viking's during 800-1100 A.D. settled greenland when it was alot warmer over a thousand years ago.
This world wild life guys started out legit but now are just like every other money making charity. (corrupt with wealth) they just want to scare you into more donations.
Millions of animals have gone extinct on this planet before the arrival of humans.

So though I dont doubt that "global warming" is an actual occuring thing, I do not believe that it is manmade. Sure, some of it could be attributed to mankind, but what about swamps and cowfarts? The methane releases from those areas are just as great as what humans have done to the atmosphere.

Now for my usual scientific spiel on this topic... How long has humanity been studying the weather with reliable scientific instruments and purpose? About 75 years, give or take about 25 years depending on how you look at it. How long has the Earth had weather patterns? The majority of the last few billion years. So 75 years of 4 billion years is what percent of time? .000 000 018 75% to be exact. So to even say that humans can understand or comprehend the way weather works on this planet, especially when we've studied SO little, is just inane. Who's to say the average temperature of the planet shouldn't be closer to 100 degrees? Isn't that about what it was during the age of the dinosaurs? Ceratinly it wasn't mankind that caused that high temperature there!

So, in my opinion, saying that global warming is attributed to mankind is just bunk.

Originally posted by DontTreadOnMe
DrHoracid, was it you who said something like global warming is the fear that replaced the fear we had during the Cold War? Sounds plausible to me!

Nope, cold war/war against communism as reason justifying any action of your rulers was replaced by your holy war against terrorism.

Originally posted by ThunderCloud
These predictions of climate disaster are almost as bad as those in the religious threads that claim that the end is near, and we must repent!

Nope, there's huge difference between science and religion. Science needs proofs to accept anything even as theory (and much more to accept it as fact) while in religion you can say anything and it's "fact" if you just say it in name of some god whose "existence" requires equally zero evidence.

It's scientific fact that atmosphere's CO2 amount has risen over 30% after industrial revolution, to level which is higher than ever in last few hundred thousand years.
And temperature and CO2 amount have been linked to each other very closely.

Only question is just how much and to which direction that changes climate, denying that is just same burying head to sand about what your government has accused other countries.
Also messing up with factors of climate without knowing how much it tolerates before going haywire and what's end result is comparable to pointing loaded pistol to own head and pulling trigger without knowing when it goess off. (but that's just what people do if some religious leader tells them)

Originally posted by BattleofBatoche
3. Frozen water expands, liquid water shrinks, boiling water turns to gas.

This world wild life guys started out legit but now are just like every other money making charity. (corrupt with wealth)

Back to school!
Water is most densest at 4C temperature, when temperature changes to any direction water expands.

So basically you admit that whole money controlled/making western civilisation is corrupted.
Good point!



There's already lot of signs/proofs about fast warming in Arctic area.
Arctic Climate Impact Assessment: www.acia.uaf.edu...

[edit on 16-2-2005 by E_T]

Sure, some of it could be attributed to mankind, but what about swamps and cowfarts?

Carfarts may not be directly man-made but the huge industrial farms where we keep these animal are, so yeah the increase in Methane can be somewhat attributable to us as well as the increase in C02. When ice melts it does shrink, and if any floating icebergs melt the seas will probably go down, but I think I read somewhere there is something like 3 times more arctic and subarctic ON LAND, that if they melt it could increase the water level by quite a bit. It doesn't take a very big 'average' warming to do this and I always believed that all the estimates were optimistic. Care to dispute the increasing amount of Fresh Water getting dumped into the oceans, where they are starting to measurably affect the Atlantic Current which keeps most of Europe Warm. Remember just because the Earth on average is getting warmer doesn't mean everywhere is going to see the same changes. Deserts could turn in to Tropics, Tropics into Deserts(Arid or Tundra), Huge continent wide droughts could become perpetual in some place. Basically not a pretty picture. Of course I am just guessing as to what could happen but when it comes to survival of the Human species better safe then sorry!