Climate Change and Balanced Energy Policy Act: Hearing Before the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, One Hundred Seventh Congress, First Session on Science and Technology Studies on Climate Change and S. 597, to Provide for a Comprehensive and Balanced National Energy Policy, June 28, 2001U.S. Government Printing Office, 2001 - 67 pages |
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aerosols Answer from Dr assessment Barron carbon dioxide carbon emissions Chairman China chlorofluorocarbons climate change climate models climate system CO2 concentrations cogeneration committee concentration of greenhouse cost of stabilizing decades deployment Earth economic effect energy efficiency Energy Innovation energy technologies environmental ergy factors feedbacks fossil fuels global warming going greenhouse gas emissions greenhouse gases growth human activities ice age impacts industry International Energy investment IPCC issue long-term methane National Academy natural gas natural variability nitrous oxide nology Northwest National Laboratory ocean ozone Pacific Northwest Pacific Northwest National panel PCAST percent portfolio of energy ppmv predicted PREPARED STATEMENT programs projects question range reduce regions renewable energy role Rowland scenarios Science and Technology science of climate scientific scientists sector Senator HAGEL solar stabilizing the concentration summary tech technology policies Thank tion tropospheric tropospheric ozone U.S. government uncertainties understanding Wallace
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Page 28 - The ultimate objective of the Convention is to achieve the 'stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate...
Page 14 - The IPCC's conclusion that most of the observed warming of the last 50 years is likely to have been due to the increase in greenhouse gas concentrations accurately reflects the current thinking of the scientific community on this issue.
Page 11 - In the light of new evidence and taking into account the remaining uncertainties, most of the observed warming over the last 50 years is likely to have been due to the increase in greenhouse gas concentrations'.
Page 9 - Greenhouse gases are accumulating in Earth's atmosphere as a result of human activities, causing surface air temperatures and sub-surface ocean temperatures to rise. Temperatures are, in fact, rising. The changes observed over the last several decades are likely mostly due to human activities, but we cannot rule out that some significant part of these changes is also a reflection of natural variability.
Page 28 - I thank you for this opportunity to testify. I will be happy to answer any questions you might have.
Page 13 - Nitrous oxide (NjO) is formed by many microbial reactions in soils and waters, including those acting on the increasing amounts of nitrogen-containing fertilizers. Some synthetic chemical processes that release nitrous oxide have also been identified. Its concentration has increased approximately 13% in the past 200 years. Atmospheric concentrations of CFCs rose steadily following their first synthesis in 1928 and peaked in the early 1990s.
Page 30 - Recherche sur l"Environnment et le Developpement (France), China Energy Research Institute, Council on Agricultural Science and Technology, Council on Energy and Environment (Korea), Council on Foreign Relations, Indian Institute of Management, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (Austria), Japan Science and Technology Corporation, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (Germany), Stanford China Project, Stanford Energy Modeling Forum,...
Page 17 - If a central estimate of climate sensitivity is used, about 40% of the predicted warming is due to the direct effects of greenhouse gases and aerosols. The other 60% is caused by feedbacks. Water vapor feedback (the additional greenhouse effect accruing from increasing concentrations of atmospheric water vapor as the atmosphere warms) is the most important feedback in the models. Unless the relative humidity in the tropical middle and upper troposphere drops, this effect is expected to increase the...
Page 9 - Because there is considerable uncertainty in current understanding of how the climate system varies naturally and reacts to emissions of greenhouse gases and aerosols, current esti-mates of the magnitude of future warming should be regarded as tentative and subject to future adjustments (either upward or downward).
Page 18 - Global warming could well have serious adverse societal and ecological impacts by the end of this century, especially if globally-averaged temperature increases approach the upper end of the IPCC projections. Even in the more conservative scenarios, the models project temperatures and sea levels that continue to increase well beyond the end of this century, suggesting that assessments that examine only the next 100 years may well underestimate the magnitude of the eventual impacts.