Next100 - A Dialogue on the Next Century of Energy

Jan 23 2009

Climate Changes

Several stories on the science and policy of climate change caught our attention this week:

Higher temperatures and scarcer water supplies linked to global warming have doubled the death rate of trees in Western U.S. forests over the past three decades, according to a study by 11 scientists published in Science magazine.
Contrary to previous belief, Antarctica is warming along with the rest of the planet, according to new findings published in the journal Nature. West Antarctica is warming twice as fast as the eastern portion of the continent, but nude sunbathing has not yet caught on.
Scientific consensus around the reality and causes of global warming appears to be be strong. A survey of more than 3,000 earth scientists, undertaken by a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago and published by the American Geophysical Union, found 82 percent in agreement with the proposition that human activity has been a significant factor in changing average global temperatures.
However, the scientific consensus around global warming seems not to impress the American public. According to one recent survey, 44 percent of U.S. voters believe warming is caused by longterm planetary trends, compared to 41 percent who blame human activity. That marks a reversal from July 2006, when 46 percent of voters pointed to human activity as the cause, versus 35 percent who cited planetary trends. Only a fifth of Republican voters acknowledge human activity as the primary cause.

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