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Science Friday > Archives > 2003 > December > December 5, 2003:
Hour One: Global Warming Update / Flu Outlook / World AIDS Day

In this hour of Science Friday, we'll talk about the latest news on climate change. A new report out this week in the journal Science says that human factors appear to be to blame for climate change, outweighing natural causes. "Modern climate change is dominated by human influences, which are now large enough to exceed the bounds of natural variability," wrote Kevin Trenberth and Thomas Karl in the report. But also this week, news came that Russia may not ratify the Kyoto Protocol agreement on dealing with climate change. We'll find out more about both the scientific and political aspects of this sticky subject.

Plus, a look at the current flu season -- is this year's vaccine working? We'll also get an update on the global AIDS epidemic. New numbers from the UNAIDS program say that some 40 million people worldwide may be living with HIV/AIDS.We'll talk with National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci. He is finishing a four-country tour of Africa marking World Aids Day.

Call in with your questions and comments at 1-800-989-8255 (2-3 Eastern), and share your opinions online in our Listeners' Lounge (registration required).

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Guests:
Eileen Claussen
President
Pew Center on Global Climate Change
Arlington, Virginia

Thomas Karl
Director, National Climatic Data Center
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Asheville, North Carolina

Kevin Trenberth
Senior Scientist and Head, Climate Analysis Section
National Center for Atmospheric Research
Boulder, Colorado

Richard Webby
Assistant Member, Department of Infectious Diseases
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
Memphis, Tennessee

Anthony Fauci
Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
National Institutes of Health
Bethesda, Maryland

Books/Articles Discussed:
Webby and Webster, "Are We Ready for Pandemic Influenza?," Science 2003 302: 1519-1522
 
Karl and Trenberth, "Modern Global Climate Change ," Science 2003 302: 1719-1723.

(find more SciFri books here)
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Related Links:
Climate change laid to humans
No doubt global warming is real: US experts
Kyoto Protocol in Peril
THE CONVENTION AND THE KYOTO PROTOCOL
CNN - Text of the Kyoto Protocol - 1997

World AIDS Day - World AIDS Day
UNAIDS : The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS
World AIDS Day - Statement of Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., Director, NIAID

U.S. is poorly prepared for influenza pandemic, St. Jude experts warn

CDC- Influenza
MEDLINEplus: Influenza

This segment produced by Karin Vergoth and Annette Heist

 


 

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