Hour One:Global Climate Change
 

Over 100 years ago, Swedish scientist Svante Arrhenius proposed the possibility of human-caused climate change. Since then, the world has become more and more dependent on fossil fuels for energy. Today, approximately 85% of the world's energy comes from fossil fuels. Meanwhile, the possibility of global long-term climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions has moved firmly into the public consciousness.

NOAA temperature anomaly data, 1880-1999.  Clickfor larger view.

Cores from coral can be used to gather climate data...(OAR/NURP image)	Carbon dioxide is one of the most likely "greenhouse gases." Other gases, from methane to water vapor, can also cause the greenhouse effect. When in the atmosphere, these gases can act like a thermal blanket around the planet, preventing heat energy from the sun from radiating back out into space. Possible results of this warming, some scientists say, could include changing rainfall patterns worldwide, shifting agricultural zones, and melting glacier and ice caps. In 1992, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change recognized the potential problem and set an ultimate objective to stabilize greenhouse gas levels below dangerous levels (though the document didn't say what "dangerous" levels were.) The Kyoto Protocol, established at a 1997 meeting, set targets for emission levels in developed countries. A collective 5% reduction in emissions from industrialized countries was mandated. The problem is very political. Tensions between developed countries (which often achieved their industrialized glory years through processes involving massive emissions of greenhouse gases) and developing countries, which do not want any limits on their potential expansion, are high. In the U.S., there are political tensions over the costs and necessity of expensive emission controls.
...as can ice cores...  (National Ice Core  Lab/NSF/USGS image)
...and tree rings. (NWS image)

Scientifically, the global climate change debate can also be problematic.While there is very strong evidence pointing to the existence of global warming, there is some uncertainty. But how much uncertainty is too much? And how high a level of certainty should be required before action is necessary? In this hour of Science Friday, broadcast live from the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington, D.C., we'll talk about the science, politics, and economics of the global climate change debate. Call in with your comments and questions, and be sure to tune in.
 

Listen to this program in RealAudio!

Guests:

Devra Davis 
Senior Scientist 
World Resources Institute 
Washington, D.C. 

Rev. Hank Hilton 
Assistant Professor, Economics 
Loyola College 
Baltimore, Maryland 

Michael MacCracken 
Executive Director, National Assessment Coordination Office 
U.S. Global Change Research Program 
Washington, D.C. 

John Topping 
President 
Climate Institute 
Washington, D.C. 

Books/Articles Discussed:

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Related Links:

NASA's Global Change Master Directory

U.S. EPA's Global Warming website
Woods Hole Research Center's Global Warming Page
A Paleo Perspective on Global Warming
AGU Web Site: Deciphering Mysteries of Past Climate From Antarctic Ice Cores
Info from the EDF

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change

Climate Institute
US Global Climate Research Program

Skepticism - Global Warming
Global Warming - skeptical group
Junkscience.com -- "All the junk that's fit to debunk"

 

This segment produced by:

Karin Vergoth
Web producer:
Charles Bergquist