[tt] the physics arXiv blog

Fri Apr 11 10:38:20 UTC 2008

----- Forwarded message from the physics arXiv blog <howdy at arxivblog.com> -----

From: the physics arXiv blog <howdy at arxivblog.com>
Date: Thu, 10 Apr 2008 17:34:03 -0500 (CDT)
To: eugen at leitl.org
Subject: the physics arXiv blog
Reply-To: the physics arXiv blog <howdy at arxivblog.com>

[1]the physics arXiv blog

   [2]Global warming: we have 10 years to avoid catastrophe

   Posted: 10 Apr 2008 12:35 AM CDT

   [3]Global warming 

   The arxiv isn't usually the place where climate scientists make
   predictions about global warming but yesterday, they made an
   exception. A group led by James Hansen, one of the world's leading
   climate scientists who works at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space
   Sciences, warned that global warming is having much worse effects on
   Earth's climate than thought. They say without immediate action,
   humanity is in danger of "seeding irreversible catastrophic effects."

   The background, in case you've been stuck on a desert island for the
   last few years, is that CO2 levels in the atmosphere have doubled from
   180 ppm in pre-glacial times to 385 ppm today, most which has come
   since the industrial age began. "Humanity today, collectively, must
   face the uncomfortable fact that industrial civilization itself has
   become the principal driver of global climate," says Hansen and co.

   So what to do? The International Panel on Climate Change suggests that
   global warming of more than 2-3 degrees C may be dangerous, the EU
   says we should attempt to limit global warming to no more than 2
   degrees C while Hansen himself has said that 1 degree C should be the
   maximum we should tolerate. This last estimate implies a maximum level
   of CO2 of 450ppm.

   Now Hansen says he was wrong and that we need to aim for a CO2 level
   of only 350 ppm to be sure of maintaining the climate in the state
   we're used to. Because if we carry on as we are, the world is going to
   change in ways that hard to imagine. I'll let Hansen do the rest of
   the talking:

     "Present policies, with continued construction of coal-fired power
     plants without CO2 capture, suggest that decision-makers do not
     appreciate the gravity of the situation. We must begin to move now
     toward the era beyond fossil fuels. Continued growth of greenhouse
     gas emissions, for just another decade, practically eliminates the
     possibility of near-term return of atmospheric composition beneath
     the tipping level for catastrophic effects."

   Frightening stuff.

   Ref: [4]arxiv.org/abs/0804.1126: Target Atmospheric CO2: Where Should
   Humanity Aim?

   Ref: [5]arxiv.org/abs/0804.1135: Supporting Material

   [6][arXivblog?i=RjBseR] 
   [7][arXivblog?i=Wre5qyG] [8][arXivblog?i=cNL7GMG]
   [9][arXivblog?i=EtnpABg] [10][arXivblog?i=bgFNIuG]
   [11][arXivblog?i=0lokCEg] [12][arXivblog?i=iClkVYG]
   [13][arXivblog?i=5LD0NCg] [14][arXivblog?i=UwPFE0G] 
   You are subscribed to email updates from [15]the physics arXiv blog
   To stop receiving these emails, you may [16]unsubscribe now. Email
   Delivery powered by FeedBurner
   Inbox too full? [17](feed) [18]Subscribe to the feed version of the
   physics arXiv blog in a feed reader.
   If you prefer to unsubscribe via postal mail, write to: the physics
   arXiv blog, c/o FeedBurner, 20 W Kinzie, 9th Floor, Chicago IL USA
   60610

References

   1. http://arxivblog.com/
   2. http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/arXivblog/~3/267486295/
   3. http://arxivblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/hansen.jpg
   4. http://arxiv.org/abs/0804.1126
   5. http://arxiv.org/abs/0804.1135
   6. http://feeds.feedburner.com/~a/arXivblog?a=RjBseR
   7. http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/arXivblog?a=Wre5qyG
   8. http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/arXivblog?a=cNL7GMG
   9. http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/arXivblog?a=EtnpABg
  10. http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/arXivblog?a=bgFNIuG
  11. http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/arXivblog?a=0lokCEg
  12. http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/arXivblog?a=iClkVYG
  13. http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/arXivblog?a=5LD0NCg
  14. http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/arXivblog?a=UwPFE0G
  15. http://arxivblog.com/
  16. http://www.feedburner.com/fb/a/emailunsub?id=8632699&key=kesJ612ZsV
  17. http://feeds.feedburner.com/arXivblog
  18. http://feeds.feedburner.com/arXivblog

----- End forwarded message -----
-- 
Eugen* Leitl <a href="http://leitl.org">leitl</a> http://leitl.org
______________________________________________________________
ICBM: 48.07100, 11.36820 http://www.ativel.com http://postbiota.org
8B29F6BE: 099D 78BA 2FD3 B014 B08A  7779 75B0 2443 8B29 F6BE