Join discussion about global warming/cooling
On Feb. 2, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a 21-page report stating that “global warming is real and humans are ‘very likely’ the blame.” They said that the increase of average global temperatures since the mid-20th century is due to increased greenhouse gases – carbon dioxide – from the burning of fossil fuels.
According to the report, if humans continue to burn fossil fuels at the current rate, then global temperatures will continue to climb. By the year 2100, readings could rise between 3.2 to 7 degrees Fahrenheit (1.8 to 4 degrees Celsius). Sea levels would also climb between 7 and 23 inches because of Arctic and Antarctic ice melt. The drastic change in climate would lead to “mass extinctions,” especially the polar bears, as their habitat would simply “melt away,” the report said.
In previous articles, I have stated that I believe global warming is part of a natural long-term climatological cycle and we are “enhancing” the increases in temperature. I am in favor of reducing emissions from factories, cars and other sources in order to clean up our planet. Someone recently told me, “Prosperity affects few people, but pollution affects everyone.”
Whether global temperatures continue to rise or eventually start to fall remains to be seen. That being said, I will attempt to provide facts for global warming this week and evidence that our planet may soon start to “cool down” in next week’s column.
As far as the evidence for global warming is concerned, there is plenty. The past 11 out of 12 years have been the warmest in recorded history. Last year was the second-warmest, with 1998 holding the record for the highest global average temperature. Since the 1950s, our planet’s average reading has climbed 0.8 degrees. From the beginning of the 20th century, global temperatures have risen approximately 1.1 degrees Fahrenheit.
There are also other factors that are contributing to the Earth’s recent rise in temperature. Oceans have been warming since the 1950s. The intergovernmental report said these huge bodies of water are “absorbing 80 percent of the heat added to the Earth’s climate system.” It’s also possible that underwater volcanic activity is playing a big role, as many new underwater volcanoes are being discovered almost on a yearly basis. New types of much smaller volcanoes, called petit spot volcanoes, have recently been found on the Pacific Ocean floor and are very difficult to spot using satellite technology. These “tiny volcanoes” are now believed to be widespread and “may be heating up the floor of the western Pacific Ocean,” according to the panel’s report.
In the Atlantic Ocean, scientists have recently found a 407-degree Celsius (765 degrees Fahrenheit) hydrothermal vent, the hottest known to be discovered on the ocean floor.
In the Arctic Ocean, hydrothermal activity was much higher than expected as the results from elevated levels of volcanic activity. The Gakkel Ridge “is far mightier than the Alps” and the hydrothermal hot springs were also much warmer than expected, according to the intergovernmental report.
On the surface, the report said, the expansion of cities has resulted in an increased “urban heat island effect.”
The addition of concrete and asphalt over once vegetated land is helping to increase the temperatures of cities. The rapid deforestation of rain forests in the equatorial regions is also altering regional weather patterns.
Another reason for global warming is that the sun is also in its most active period in at least 1,000 years. We know this by studying the solar winds, sunspots and coronal mass ejections. All of the planets in the solar system, not just the Earth, are experiencing warming.
The December 2006 issue of National Geographic Magazine stated on page 56: “The space probe Cassini showed recently that one of Saturn’s moons, Enceladus, had temperatures at least 100 degrees Fahrenheit higher than expected, warm enough to melt ice just below the surface.”
Newly fallen snow was also seen around long fissures. Cassini took additional images of “geyserlike eruptions of water vapor,” another warmer weather surprise.
Next week, I’ll have the “other side” as there is evidence of global cooling down the meteorological roadway.
Let me know how you feel about global warming by voting in our online poll. Go to our Web site at www.spokesmanreview.com/polls/news and vote on this issue.
As far as our immediate weather is concerned, it does look like after a brief warmup, more rain and snow showers are expected next week. We should still see a series of quick-moving storms, especially in early March, that may produce some strong winds.
However, expect to see more sun and less fog and showers as we head into March and April.