February 16th, 2009
Oops, this is happening faster than predicted
Greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide are accumulating faster than predicted. Now scientists are saying that global warming is going to happen much faster than the current U.N. commission’s warnings. One leader of the the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said the nations of the world face two choices two choices: start cutting carbon emissions earlier, or make the cuts deeper. There is a a third choice, continue to dither and pay the price. Good-by Bangladesh and Tonga. The IPCC official from California was speaking to the AAAS meeting in Chicago this week.
Also at the AAS meeting, scientists warned that thawing in the polar regions could releases a “greenhouse gas timebomb.” Thawed tundra would let loose eons worth of stored methane and other gases.
While the meeting goes on, the first department of Energy project to actually bury CO2 underground is beginning in Illinois. The coal industry and many others really expect carbon sequestration,” sticking it into undergound caverns or mine shafts to make coal viable despite global warming in coming decades.
A newsman since 1969, Harry Fuller has worked for CBS, ABC, CNBC Europe, CNET and was founding news director at TechTV. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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