Global Warming: Hearings Before the Subcommittee on Energy and Power of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of Representatives, One Hundred First Congress, First Session, February 21 and May 4, 1989, Volume 4

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Page 18 - Recent observations of increased temperatures arc consistent with predicted changes, but we do not yet know if they actually confirm that greenhouse warming is indeed in progress. Individual disastrous climatic events, such as a dry summer or a vigorous hurricane season, cannot be attributed to greenhouse warming. The expected rapid rate of climate change greatly complicates the task of predicting the changes most important to human society — the timing and regional distribution of changes, and...
Page 113 - ... countries. Western Europe and North America account for approximately forty percent of fossil fuel emissions, but since the early 1970s, their emissions have remained relatively stable. In fact, the United States' fraction has been decreasing.
Page 26 - BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND POWER COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 21, 1989 Mr.
Page 18 - ... centimeters to as much as 3 meters, with reasonable estimates centering on a 1 meter rise. Rising sea levels will increase the already troublesome rates of coastal erosion and loss of wetlands, while increased saltwater intrusion would impair water supplies and agriculture in coastal areas. • Warming is expected to be considerably greater in polar latitudes than in the tropics, and sea ice should diminish. A navigable Arctic Ocean would have major national security implications. • Changes...
Page 54 - as I testified to the Senate during the 1988 heat wave, the greenhouse effect cannot be blamed for a specific drought, but it alters the probabilities. Our climate model, tested by simulations of climate on other planets and past climates on Earth, Indicates that the greenhouse effect is now becoming large enough to compete with natural climate variability."4 Hansen did, however, suggest that the warming trend in the 1980s was very likely to have been caused by the greenhouse effect, and that "99%"...
Page 62 - In ay estimation, space invaders are no more likely than the collision of the Earth with a large asteroid — which would be a catastrophe! The odds of such a collision are presently assessed at something like 1 chance in 10 Billion each year.
Page 123 - ... warming, the United States and over 35 other nations and international organizations are participating in IPCC. The panel was established in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme. The panel's goals are to (1) review and assess the science relevant to climate change, (2) assess the possible environmental and socioeconomic impacts of climate change, and (3) identify potential response strategies. To address these goals, the panel established...
Page 66 - ... 18 to 1 in 5. These changes in the odds on "climatic dice" are what would be expected if only temperature increased by 3 F. 4. J. Hansen, letter to New York Times. 11 January 1989. 5. KE Trenberth, GW Branstator, and PA Arkin, 1988: Origins of the 1988 North American Drought, Science 242:1640-1645.
Page 123 - November 1988, with over 30 countries participating. The IPCC established three working groups to 1) assess available scientific information on climate change; 2) assess the possible environmental and socio-economic impacts of climate change; and 3) formulate possible response strategies. The working group on science is chaired by the United Kingdom. The working group on impacts is chaired by the Soviet Union. And, the United States chairs the working group on response strategies. In late January...
Page 65 - Investments in energy production and end-use efficiency, accelerated testing of non-fossil fuel alternatives, the development of more widely climate-adapted crop strains, adding flexibility to the management of water systems, and coastal planning to deal with rising sea levels and storm surges all contribute to the solution of existing societal problems even without further climate change. Therefore, it seems prudent, in my value system, to consider Implementing first those policies which have multiple...

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