Blowing Hot and Cold?

From the New York Times and the Washington Post, to Fortune magazine, to your own local daily newspaper, global warming is increasingly in the news these days. One of the reasons for this is that more and more research on the process, impacts and evidence of climate disruption is emerging—some surprising, most unpleasant (sad or even frightening), and all a compelling case for action. Below, a sampling of coverage from the past several months of findings regarding global climate change and its consequences:

• “It’s Us” — Researchers Thomas R. Karl and Kevin E. Trenberth, from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Center for Atmospheric Research, respectively, published their most recent findings in Science in December (2003); the summary began “Modern climate change is dominated by human influences, which are now large enough to exceed the bounds of natural variability. The main source of global climate change is human-induced changes in atmospheric composition.” In other words, there is no longer any question that the observed climate disruption over the past century is caused at least in part by human burning of fossil fuels.
• Global Warming-Induced Cooling — Scientists have long hypothesized that the Gulf Stream, responsible for regulating climate in Europe as well as Canada’s Eastern provinces and the northeastern U.S., could essentially be slowed or “shut down” by changes in ocean salinity as an indirect result of global warming (from glacial melting and the subsequent influx of fresh water)—resulting in an abruptly-triggered severe cooling for much of Europe, Canada and America. Researchers are now beginning to observe the first steps of this hypothesized process occurring, and a lot of attention is now being turned to the possibility of global warming resulting in distinct regional cooling for—among other places—northern New England. There has been recent coverage of this research in an article from CNN’s website, and--looking particularly at the national security implications of such a “catastrophic” event—a fascinating February (2004) article in Fortune magazine.
• Melting Glaciers — Melting of glaciers all over the globe continues to be observed.
  
  For another time lapse view of the same glacier from 2001 to 2004, check out these images.
  For recent news coverage of the latest glacier research, try this piece from the Associated Press.
• Large-Scale Biodiversity Loss — International studies predict a loss of 15% to 37% of the 1,103 species examined; they say this cannot be entirely generalized but is certainly indicative of a serious threat to biodiversity at large. A January (2004) article from the New York Times looks at this research and its implications.

This is just a sampling of some of the science making headlines lately; scientists continue to predict (and in some cases observe) the impacts and indicators of climate change—ranging from the threat of increased forest fires to the likelihood of unfavorable changes for farmers and gardeners to a continued decline in forest health.

The one conclusion that all of these studies, taken together, indicate is that--as leaders throughout the northeast (and communities everywhere) are realizing and demonstrating—the time to take action in mitigating the human contribution to climate disruption is now.

—Jennifer Andrews