Climate and energy

Because… there seem to be some small misunderstandings out there still, regarding climate science. And whether climate change is happening, and whether human actions make a difference.

You can read all the stuff below – and I hope that you do – but frankly, what Don Teske of Kansas Farmers Union said in his written testimony on HB 2711 really sums it up:

“There are a lot of pretty smart people in the world that are convinced man is causing global warming and that the future is threatened by it, and I believe them. With the fast pace of this bill through your committee I have to assume that you do not.”

*************** (now, the following is CEP)*************

Above all, there is indeed a scientific consensus that climate change is happening, that human actions – such as burning fossil fuels that produce greenhouse gases – play a part, and that mitigating these actions will help head off some of global warming’s worst effects.

What scientists argue about is how exactly the changes might occur, or what level of mitigations will make the most critical differences. There are indeed climate change deniers in the debate, but they are on the margins. At this stage, even the Bush administration now accepts the findings of climate science and is engaged in international negotiations regarding emissions reductions. They are not debating whether or not climate change is happening.

Here’s a selection of the scientific authorities on climate change (and this is also available as a CEP Report Summary in .pdf format):

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change—made up of hundreds of scientists—was commissioned by the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environmental Programme to provide the most authoritative, up-to-date, objective information on climate change. They assessed the findings of thousands of scientific studies conducted across the globe. The IPCC recently shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for their work on climate change:

“Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, as is now evident from observations of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice, and rising global average sea level. . .The understanding of anthropogenic warming and cooling influences on climate has improved since the TAR, leading to very high confidence that the global average net effect of human activities since 1750 has been one of warming.” - IPCC Physical Science Basis, Summary for Policymakers, http://www.ipcc.ch/ipccreports/ar4-wg1.htm

The U.S. National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit organization established in 1863 that advises the government on scientific matters and conducts scientific research to further the general welfare of society.

“In the judgment of most climate scientists, Earth’s warming in recent decades has been caused primarily by human activities that have increased the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere…How climate will change in the future is inherently uncertain, but far from unknown. If scientific uncertainty about climate change is used to delay action, the risks and costs of adverse effects of climate change could increase significantly.”- NAS Climate Summary, http://dels.nas.edu/dels/rpt_briefs/climate-change-final.pdf

The U.S. Climate Change Science Program, established by President Bush in 2002, is a federal program sponsored by thirteen federal agencies including NASA, NOAA, and the EPA.

“Studies to detect climate change and attribute its causes using patterns of observed temperature change in space and time show clear evidence of human influences on the climate system (due to changes in greenhouse gases, aerosols, and stratospheric ozone). The observed patterns of change over the past 50 years cannot be explained by natural processes alone, nor by the effects of short-lived atmospheric constituents (such as aerosols and tropospheric ozone) alone.”
http://www.climatescience.gov/Library/sap/sap1-1/finalreport/sap1-1-final-execsum.pdf, pg 2.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science is the largest and one of the most prestigious scientific organizations. They publish the most widely circulated peer-reviewed journal, Science.

“The scientific evidence is clear: global climate change caused by human activities is occurring now, and it is a growing threat to society… It is time to muster the political will for concerted action. Stronger leadership at all levels is needed. The time is now. We must rise to the challenge. We owe this to future generations.” http://www.aaas.org/news/press_room/climate_change/mtg_200702/aaas_climate_statement.pdf

The American Meteorological Society was founded in 1919 and has more than 11,000 members. They are one of the most trusted and well-respected organizations that deal with atmospheric sciences.

“Human activities have become a major source of environmental change. Of great urgency are the climate consequences of the increasing atmospheric abundance of greenhouse gases and other trace constituents resulting primarily from energy use, agriculture, and land clearing…Because greenhouse gases continue to increase, we are, in effect, conducting a global climate experiment, neither planned nor controlled, the results of which may present unprecedented challenges to our wisdom and foresight as well as have significant impacts on our natural and societal systems. It is a long-term problem that requires a long-term perspective.” http://www.ametsoc.org/policy/climatechangeresearch_2003.html

The Geological Society of America was established in 1888 and with over 20,500 members is the leading professional organization in the field of geology.

“The Geological Society of America (GSA) supports the scientific conclusions that Earth’s climate is changing; the climate changes are due in part to human activities; and the probable consequences of the climate changes will be significant and blind to geopolitical boundaries. Furthermore, the potential implications of global climate change and the time scale over which such changes will likely occur require active, effective, long-term planning.” http://www.geosociety.org/positions/position10.htm

The American Chemical Society, founded in 1876, is the world’s largest scientific society representing professionals in all fields of chemistry.

“Careful and comprehensive scientific assessments have clearly demonstrated that the Earth’s climate system is changing rapidly in response to growing atmospheric burdens of greenhouse gases and absorbing aerosol particles (IPCC, 2007). There is very little room for doubt that observed climate trends are due to human activities. The threats are serious and action is urgently needed to mitigate the risks of climate change.” ACS Position Statement, http://portal.acs.org/portal/fileFetch/C/WPCP_007661/pdf/WPCP_007661.pdf

The American Geophysical Union is a worldwide scientific society with over 50,000 members that seeks to promote scientific advances in the understanding of the Earth and space. Their statement on climate change was endorsed by the American Institute of Physics and the American Astronomical Society.

“Human activities are increasingly altering the Earth’s climate. These effects add to natural influences that have been present over Earth’s history. Scientific evidence strongly indicates that natural influences cannot explain the rapid increase in global near-surface temperatures observed during the second half of the 20th century.” http://www.agu.org/sci_soc/policy/climate_change_position.html

— Maril Hazlett, www.climateandenergy.org