-Caveat Lector-
----- Forwarded message from [EMAIL PROTECTED] -----
Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 18:14:56 -0600 (CST)
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: EARTH HITS 2000YR WARMING PEAK AS SENATE VOTES AGAINST CARBON
Earth hits '2,000-year warming peak'
By Alex Kirby
BBC News Online environment correspondent
The Earth appears to have been warmer since 1980 than at any time in
the last 18 centuries, scientists say.
They reconstructed the global climate from data derived from ice
cores, vegetation and other records.
They believe their research provides unequivocal confirmation that
humans are affecting the climate.
But sceptics still insist that any human contribution is likely to be
too small to explain what is happening.
The scientists are Professor Philip Jones, of the climatic research
unit, University of East Anglia, UK, and Professor Michael Mann, of
the University of Virginia, US.
Their study, published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters,
supports recent findings from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change.
After studying temperature data from up to 1,000 years ago, the panel
said the late 20th century had been the warmest period on record.
To test the strength of claims that the world had in fact been warmer
before 1000 AD, Professors Jones and Mann sought to reconstruct the
global climate over the last two millennia.
Frozen evidence
They examined the trunks of ancient trees from different regions to
compile a record of local conditions - the thickness of the trees'
annual growth rings is determined by the climate
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/39469000/jpg/_39469257_iceb_203_bbc.jp
g
They also studied cores drilled from the icecaps of Greenland and
Antarctica, examining the trapped air bubbles for information about
the climate prevailing at the time the ice formed.
A third source of information was historical records, especially from
the Netherlands, Switzerland and China.
The authors were unable to find enough information to work out what
the southern hemisphere's climate had been, but are satisfied their
conclusion that the northern half of the planet is in the warmest
period of the last 2,000 years is robust.
While some parts of the Earth may have been warmer than they are now,
they say, average temperatures were cooler.
They say the Earth has warmed by at least 0.2C in the last 20 years or
so - the amount by which it has warmed or cooled over the space of a
century in the past.
Fingering the Sun
Professor Jones said: "It just shows how dramatic the warming has been
in recent years. You can't explain it in any other way - it's a
response to a build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere."
Some scientists believe the recent temperature increases are explained
by solar radiation, with emissions of carbon dioxide and other
greenhouse gases too small to account for the changes observed.
Others say the historical record proves the climate fluctuates
naturally, with human influence irrelevant to global trends.
To the argument that northern Britain was warm enough 1,000 years ago
for vineyards to flourish, the authors say there are far more now.
Seeing the whole
They say the Vikings' voyage from Iceland to Greenland in 980 AD was a
quest for land, not for a warmer climate.
They also reinterpret the fact that the river Thames used to freeze
over more often, saying the design of the original London Bridge
affected the river and made it freeze more easily.
Professor Jones told BBC News Online: "The climate sceptics are
flogging a dead horse. You can't say the whole world was once warmer
than it is now just because Europe was warmer.
"You have to aggregate the records together, as we've done. We'd like
more records, especially from the tropics - but we do think we have
enough information to say the world is now warmer than it's been for
2,000 years."
from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3198117.stm
MORE NEWS ON USENET'S MODERATED NEWSGROUP misc.activism.progressive
= = = =
STILL FEELING LIKE THE MAINSTREAM U.S. CORPORATE MEDIA
IS GIVING A FULL HONEST PICTURE OF WHAT'S GOING ON?
= = = =
Daily online radio show, news reporting: www.DemocracyNow.org
= = = =
Sorry we cannot read/reply to most usenet posts but welcome email
For more information: http://EconomicDemocracy.org/wtc/ (peace)
And http://EconomicDemocracy.org/ (general)
ANTI-SPAM EMAIL NOTE: For email "info" and "map" don't work. Email
instead
to m-a-i-l-m-a-i-l (without the dashes) at economicdemocracy.org
----- End forwarded message -----
www.ctrl.org
DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER
==========
CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic
screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are
sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis-
directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with
major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought.
That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and
always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no
credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply.
Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector.
========================================================================
Archives Available at:
http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/
<A HREF="http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A>
========================================================================
To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Om
