not On Oct 9, 6:30 am, "[ a patriotic Republican ]" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Evidence of Warming Growing: Pachaurihttp://www.truthout.org/100808EA > Barcelona, Spain - Evidence is mounting day by day that mankind is to > blame for climate change, and the financial crisis is a temporary > setback in the hunt for solutions, the head of the U.N. Climate Panel > said on Tuesday. > > Rajendra Pachauri, whose panel shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize > with former U.S. vice president Al Gore, said the downturn could > dominate for 2-3 months before politicians return to focus on fixing > long-term problems like global warming. > > "The evidence... is getting stronger by the day. We have much more > evidence available of what the human role is in climate change," he > told Reuters by phone from India. "One has every reason to take action > on what's already been said." > > Pachauri's panel, which draws on the work of 2,500 scientists, > said last year that it was at least 90 percent sure that mankind was > to blame for warming and forecast more droughts, heatwaves, floods and > rising sea levels. > > He said at the moment everything seemed to be "on the back burner" > because of worries about the financial system. "I'm absolutely sure > that climate change will be the last thing people will think about at > this point in time." > > "But it's not going to go away," he said. "Sooner or later, they > will come back to it." Arctic sea ice, for instance, shrank to its > smallest ever recorded area in September 2007, and came close to > breaking the record last month. > > Soul Searching > > He dismissed some skeptics' view that global warming has stopped > because the warmest year since records began in the mid-19th century > was 1998. That year was warmed by a strong El Nino weather pattern in > the Pacific Ocean. > > "Eleven of the last 12 years have been the warmest ever recorded. > The trend is very clear," he said. > > He predicted that the financial crunch would bring "soul searching > about how society might act to reduce dependence on fossil fuels" and > shift to renewable energies such as wind, solar or hydropower. > > More than 190 governments have agreed to work out a new U.N. > climate treaty by the end of 2009 to succeed the Kyoto Protocol, which > binds 37 industrialized nations to make cuts in emissions of an > average of 5 percent below 1990 levels by 2012. > > Pachauri said he hoped that the world could agree strong action by > the end of 2009. > > He said that the next U.S. president, whether Democrat Barack > Obama or Republican John McCain, would do more to fight climate > change. And he expressed optimism that McCain could fight off > skepticism by some Republicans. > > He played down the role of Republican vice-presidential candidate > Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska who says natural shifts may > explain climate change alongside human influences. > > "I wouldn't really worry too much about her," he said, predicting > she would have little influence on the issue. > > "My feeling is that, in 2-3 months from now, or soon after the new > president takes office (in January), he is going to have to look to > permanent solutions ... and climate change is going to be an important > part of this." > > He said the next president "really has a tough job on his hands." > > -------- --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum
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