Global Warming: The Contrarian View
February 29, 2000There is evidence that the Earth's surface is warming, that the atmosphere has not warmed, that maybe there is no global warming at all, and that this maybe be a result of natural climate variability. Supporters like John Wallace at University of Washington and skeptics like William Gray at Colorado State University agree the Earth's surface is getting warmer, but they disagree on the reason, the reliability of the satellite. (William K. Stevens, New York Times)
Assessment Homes In On Climate Change
February 28, 2000A set of standards to assess the regional affects of climate change may help scientists and policy makers to better understand global warming. Gregory Knight at Pennsylvania State University says these integrated assessments look at climate changes that impact humans, industry, and policy. (Environmental News Network)
Urban Sprawl Curbs Food Production
February 28, 2000Urban sprawl limits the amount of carbon dioxide the land can convert to biomass, which could lead to a significant decrease in crop yields. Marc Imhoff at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center says currently 3 percent of the United States is covered by urban development and urban sprawl does not yet pose a threat to the nation's food supply. Imhoff suggests that cities should be built on poorer soils so that urbanization won't influence crop production. (Environmental News Network)
Climate's Long-Lost Twin
February 26, 2000Geologic evidence is piling up that our present climate is similar to the climate 400,000 years ago. Richard Poore at the U.S. Geological Survey says that by looking at evidence of elevated sea levels within the limestone layers of the Bahamas it might be possible to predict future climate conditions. (Richard Monastersky, Science News)
More Rapid Warming May Follow Heat of 1997-'98
February 23, 2000The high global temperatures of 1997 and 1998 marked a change where the Earth's temperature suddenly began to increase faster than in past decades, researchers reported. Ants Leetmaa, director of NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, says that continued record-breaking global temperatures will reinforce that there is accelerated global warming. (Curt Suplee,
Washington Post)
Satellite Images Show Effects of Urban Sprawl
February 21, 2000New images from Earth-observing satellites are documenting the effects of urban sprawl on the landscape, identifying possible adverse long-term consequences related to the rapid growth of cities. Marc Imhoff at NASA's
Goddard Space Flight Center says that one of the consequences is a significant decline in crop production. (CNN Interactive)
Oceans To Dry Up Sooner Than Previously Thought
February 21, 2000The Earth's oceans are going to dry up and disappear in about a billion years, which is much sooner than previous estimates. James Kasting at Pennsylvania State University says that as a result of climate warming, eventually temperatures will become high enough for the oceans to evaporate. (Reuters)
Unraveling Two Riddles Of Global Warming
February 21, 2000In order to prove whether global warming is happening, scientists need to know what past global temperatures have been. Henry Pollack at the University of Michigan is trying a different approach to measuring past global temperatures using 616 boreholes on six continents. Pollack says that these boreholes showed an average warming of 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit since 1500. (Curt Suplee, Washington Post)
Stormy Solar Weather
February 9, 2000A blackout during the solar storm of 1989 marked the peak of the solar
cycle. This year's solar storms won't be as strong as they were in 1989,
but our society is much more vulnerable to the damage cause by such storms,
says George Withbroe of NASA's Sun-Earth Connection Program. (Scott
Allen, Boston Globe)
Megadrought Appears to Loom in Africa
February 8, 2000Over the last millennium, equatorial East Africa has suffered through
decades-long droughts that have been more severe than any other in recorded
weather history. Dirk Verschuren at the University of Minnesota says that
there is a high probability that a devastating dry period, possibly lasting
decades, will visit tropical Africa in the next 50 to 100 years. (William
K. Stevens, The New York Times)
Coral Provides Clues to Climate Change
February 7, 2000Growth rings in Indian Ocean coral tell how El Niño influences marine
temperatures a continent away, according to scientists. Julia Cole at the
University of Arizona says coral, which grows for centuries, can fill in
the gaps of climate data. (Environmental News Network)
Atlantis on the Bayou
February 3, 2000New Orleans is sinking and could be underwater in less than a hundred
years, scientists report. Shea Penland, geologist at the University of New
Orleans, is leading efforts to protect coastal wetlands and buffer storms,
which has slowed the rate of New Orleans sinking into the Gulf of Mexico.
(Lee Dye, ABC News Online)
Study Links El Niño to Diarrhea
February 3, 2000Scientists have linked El Niño with an increase in childhood diarrhea.
Scientists at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health found that each
temperature increase of 1 degree centigrade (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) above
normal results in 8 percent more children having diarrhea in Lima, Peru.
(Emma Ross, Associated Press)
Talking About the Weather
February 1, 2000Bill Patzert, an oceanographer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, never
intended to be a celebrity. Patzert blames his fame on El Niño, La Niña,
and his work with the TOPEX/Poseidon satellite, which has bridged the gap
between the oceans, climate, and weather. (Matthew Fordahl, Associated
Press)
Global-Warming Warnings Are More Than Hot Air
February 1, 2000Surface global warming of the Earth is a fact of the 21st century,
concludes a panel of scientists in a National Research Council report.
John Wallace, chairman of the panel at the University of Washington, says
that establishing a cause for this warming is much more difficult than
showing that there is a warming. (CNN Interactive)