Latest news on global warming

The Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, a four-year study involving
hundreds of scientists, has projected an additional temperature rise of
4-7C
by 2100. If the current trend can be ascribed in part to human-induced
climate
change, Mark Serreze sees major reasons for concern.

"What we're seeing is a process in which we start to lose ice cover
during the summer," he said, "so areas which formerly had ice are now
open water, which is dark.

"These dark areas absorb a lot of the Sun's energy, much more than the
ice; and what happens then is that the oceans start to warm up, and it
becomes very difficult for ice to form during the following autumn and
winter.

"It looks like this is exactly what we're seeing - a positive feedback
effect, a 'tipping-point'." The idea behind tipping-points is that at
some stage the rate of global warming would accelerate, as rising
temperatures break down natural restraints or trigger environmental
changes which release further
amounts of greenhouse gases.

So we should now all start to actually do something to combat global
warming, and reduce our consumption of fuel and energy. The KPP (Kyoto
Protocol Partnership) at www.kpp.org.uk encourages individuals and
companies to reduce their energy consumption in line with the targets
suggested by the Kyoto Protocol - contact us through the website for
our free energy saving advice sheet, and help us spread the word.
Don't wait for the politicians, they are more concerned with pumping
tax payers money into countering the effects, not considering the
causes of global warming, Katrina being a good example.