What do you think of the newest IPCC warnings?

Question

"As early as 2020, 75 million to 250 million people in Africa will suffer water shortages, residents of Asia's megacities will be at great risk of river and coastal flooding, Europeans can expect extensive species loss, and North Americans will experience longer and hotter heat waves and greater competition for water, the report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says.

The potential impact of global warming is "so severe and so sweeping that only urgent, global action will do," Ban told the IPCC after it issued its fourth and final report this year."

"The report says emissions of carbon, which comes primarily from fossil fuels, must stabilize by 2015 and go down after that. Otherwise the consequences could be "disastrous," said IPCC chairman Rajendra Pachauri."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071117/ap_on_sc/climate_change_conference

What do you think of these newest warnings? And does anyone have a link to this new summary?

I believe the newest summary is available here where it says "Download the Summary for Policymakers of the AR4 Synthesis Report"

http://www.ipcc.ch/

A particularly relevant statement to our duscissions here from page 4 of the summary:


"During the past 50 years, the sum of solar and volcanic forcings would likely have produced cooling."

'Likely' means a greater than 67% probability.

Answer 1

Imagine there was a consensus report showing an asteroid was heading at Earth, it had a 67% likelyhood of hitting us, and the only solution is to pool the worlds resources to mount a response. You would see all the same reactions you see here. When the asteroid was visible in the sky, and the report showed it had a 100% chance of hitting us, people would start to argue over where it was going to hit and how bad it will be. Right before it hit, a certain percentage of the population would still be blaming the politicians for screwing up the response and cursing their God for forsaking them.

Answer 2

I am glad to learn that the report by the IPCC have been out and that many of the international communities have taken heed of the warnings and are taking the necessary steps to curb carbon emmisions. It is everyone's responsibility to play a part in helping the governments' efforts before its too late.
The stupidity of the deniers cannot be described here and I can only think that they are doing this because they have an interest in the oil business just like the tobacco corporations that denies tobacco smoking can be hazardous to health.

Answer 3

I want to preface my comments with a qualifying statement; I'm an environmentalist. I believe that pollution is a problem at the local level. As an asthma sufferer for many years I'm all for clean air. Fortunately, I was able to move into an area where the air is relatively clean.

Having said that, I am repulsed by the Al Gores of this world. If Yasser Arafat can win a Nobel Peace Prize, it's no surprise that the IPCC and Al Gore could get one too. In my mind this "prize" adds 0 credibility to the AGW debate.

AGW (man is causing global warming) is nothing more than political rhetoric. Billions of dollars in grants have been doled out to liberal, Bush hating institutions. What we've received in return is propaganda not scientific evidence.

In the last 10,000 years the earth has undergone several warming and cooling cycles and it is reasonable to expect that within the next 100 years that we will be well within the next cooling period.

Answer 4

"As early as 2020, 75 million to 250 million people in Africa will suffer water shortages," Are you suggesting that hasn't been true for thousands of years (with fewer people) and isn't true to this day

"residents of Asia's megacities will be at great risk of river and coastal flooding," Again, a continuation of problems that always affect mankind

"Europeans can expect extensive species loss," More nonsense. Which species are going to be lost? If they can't adapt, then extinction may be the appropriate trend. Believe it or not, extinction is an important part of evolution but environmentalists always look for the least successful species and try to prop it up in a kind of anti evolutionary sentiments. It is kind of bizarre

"and North Americans will experience longer and hotter heat waves and greater competition for water," If it gets hotter than longer heat waves will probably happen. I notice you don't suggest that there will be milder winters, and less need to warm houses, and fewer cold related deaths. Basically, the theory of increased greenhouse gases indicates more moderation in temperatures with most of the warming coming from the colder extremes. With the Kool-Aid drinkers, this is a catastrophe. A little common sense should suggest that most of the expected changes will be beneficial IMO.

Answer 5

People in Africa will suffer water shortages and Europe will suffer species loss and Americans will have greater competition for water all because of population increase and not global warming. Hotter heat waves and coastal flooding could result from global warming, but so could increased rainfall and warm enough weather for growing crops in areas formerly too cold and dry to grow crops. So I say global warming is neither bad nor good. It just is.

Answer 6

By 2020 there already seeing water shortages / severe drought in africa that will only get worse. half the US states want water from the great lakes which won't happen. All you can do is your part and prepare for the worst.

Answer 7

All this over a gas at which current level acounts for 387 TEN THOUSANDTH of our atmosphere? At this leven most toxic poisons cause you no harm. This is 387 parts per million. 0.00387% of the atmosphere.

ROTFL!

This is NOT the hottest it has been in history. Furthermore there have been concentrations a million times higher in the atmosphere and the temperature has been cooler.

Ask yourself this. Has there ever been a more effective tool to scare, manipulate, tax, and control a population?

Answer 8

Thats all stuff they are predicting any way. Largly due to population growth. And more people living in riskier places.

You should get out more and watch all the disaster shows on TV not just AGW.

LOL the IPCC is plagerizing predictions now

Answer 9

If we all print a copy of the report and burn it will that cause more global warming? I'll print one up and get things started before winter hits. The report is just more liberal anti-America garbage put out by people who are trying to scare America into letting the UN rule us.

Answer 10

Would you expect a group called the "Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change" say on climate change? If they say climate change is normal and cyclical then nobody would listen to them. Plus "intergovernmental"? Doesn't everyone bash the government and say they can't do anything right? Why believe this panel?