[silk] Scientists Gather to Finalize Climate Report
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/29/science/29cnd-heat.html Scientists Gather to Finalize Climate Report By JAMES KANTER and ANDREW C. REVKIN Published: January 29, 2007 PARIS, Jan 29 Scientists from across the world gathered here today to hammer out the final details of an authoritative report on climate change that is expected to project centuries of rising temperatures and sea levels unless curbs are placed on emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases that trap heat in the atmosphere. According to scientists involved with writing or reviewing the report, the fourth since 1990 from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a body overseen by the United Nations, it is nearly certain to conclude that there is at least a 90 percent probability that human-caused emissions are the main driver of warming since 1950. The report, according to several authors, who spoke only on condition of anonymity saying that details could still change, will describe a growing body of evidence showing that warming is likely to profoundly transform the planet. Three large sections of the report will be forthcoming during the year, with the summary for policymakers and sections on basic climate science coming on Friday. Among findings in recent drafts are that the Arctic Ocean could largely be devoid of sea ice in summers later in the century; the Alps could shift from snowy winter destinations to summer havens from the heat; growing seasons in temperate regions will expand, while droughts will likely further ravage semi-arid regions of Africa and southern Asia. Concerns about climate change and public awareness on the subject are at an all time high, the chairman of the IPCC, Rajendra Pachauri, told delegates today. It would perhaps be no exaggeration to suggest that at no time in the past has there been a greater global appetite for knowledge on any subject as there is today on the scientific facts underlying the reality of global climate change, Dr. Pachauri said. But scientists involved in the effort warned that squabbling between teams and representatives from governments of more than 100 countries over how to portray the most probable amount of sea-level rise during the 21st century could distract from the basic finding that a warming world will be one in which retreating coasts are the new normal for centuries to come. Jerry Mahlman, an emeritus researcher at the National Center For Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo., who was a reviewer of the reports single-spaced, 1,644-page summary of climate science, said that most of the leaks to the press so far were from people eager to find elements that were the scariest or most reassuring. He added in an interview yesterday that such efforts distract from the basic, undisputed findings, saying that those point to trends that are very disturbing. Mr. Mahlman pointed to recent disclosures that there is still uncertainty about the pace at which seas will rise due to warming and melting of terrestrial ice over the next 100 years. That span, he said, was just the start of a process of a rise in sea levels that would then almost certainly continue for 1,000 years or so. The latest draft of the IPCC summary highlights the hazardous consequences of business as usual, finding that twice the pre-industrial concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will likely warm the climate by between 3.5 degrees and 8 degrees Fahrenheit, with a greater than one-in-ten chance of much higher temperatures. Even the mid-range projection for warming, according to many climate experts and biologists, is likely to powerfully stress ecosystems and disrupt longstanding climate patterns related to water supplies and agriculture. Many economists and energy experts long ago abandoned any expectation that it would be possible to avoid a doubling of pre-industrial carbon dioxide concentrations given growth of human populations, use of fossil fuels, particularly coal, and deforestation in the tropics. As a result, a significant focus of the summary coming this week and of other sections of the report will be the necessity to boost the resilience of agriculture and water supplies to inevitable shifts, while trying to slow and, as soon as it can be affordably done, reverse the century-long climb in releases of the heat-trapping gases. Many experts involved in the IPCC process said there is hope that with a prompt start on slowing emissions, the chances of seeing much great warmer and widespread disruption of ecosystems and societies can be cut. Outside experts agreed. ``We basically have three choices - mitigation, adaptation, and suffering, said John Holdren, the president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and an energy and climate expert at Harvard University. ``Were going to do some of each. The question is what the mix is going to be. The more
[silk] My intro
Hello all, Uday asked me to post an intro, so here I go. I'm fortunate to have a name similar to our beautiful, diverse country of rich cultures, traditions, heritage and history. The name is Bharat. Currently I work for IBM, Bangalore. When free from work, I try to divide time between books, photography and travel. I blog here: http://colono.livejournal.com/ My site: http://freeshell.in/~codo/ Danke, Uday!. Looking forward to active participation in this mindboggling list. Amen. -- Bharat Shetty | http://freeshell.in/~codo *The greater our knowledge increases the more our ignorance unfolds. - John F. Kennedy.*
Re: [silk] My intro
Welcome Bharat, do you pronounce it as Bh-a-rat as in Ram's brother, or Bh-aa-rat as in the country? Silk is more mind...er...boggling than you may realize... How do you know Udhay? I am carefully not asking why you know Udhay Deepa. On 1/30/07, Bharat Shetty [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hello all, Uday asked me to post an intro, so here I go. I'm fortunate to have a name similar to our beautiful, diverse country of rich cultures, traditions, heritage and history. The name is Bharat. Currently I work for IBM, Bangalore. When free from work, I try to divide time between books, photography and travel. I blog here: http://colono.livejournal.com/ My site: http://freeshell.in/~codo/ Danke, Uday!. Looking forward to active participation in this mindboggling list. Amen. -- Bharat Shetty | http://freeshell.in/~codo *The greater our knowledge increases the more our ignorance unfolds. - John F. Kennedy.*
Re: [silk] My intro
On 1/30/07, Deepa Mohan [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Welcome Bharat, do you pronounce it as Bh-a-rat as in Ram's brother, or Bh-aa-rat as in the country? Er, please note that I said, my name was *similar* to our country:P. So as for pronounciation, the first one is more commonly used, although some more patriotic fellas use the later one :P. Silk is more mind...er...boggling than you may realize... Hmm, nice to know. How do you know Udhay? I am carefully not asking why you know Udhay I don't know Udhay personally. I just joined this list and thats when Uday asked me to post an intro. But aside that, I took a peep at http://silk.arachnis.com/community.html . I've known these guys personally - Thaths, Jace, Kalyan and Amoghavarsha. I have also heard a great deal of details about other prominent members in this list, but haven't met them personally. Thats it! :-). Deepa. On 1/30/07, Bharat Shetty [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hello all, Uday asked me to post an intro, so here I go. I'm fortunate to have a name similar to our beautiful, diverse country of rich cultures, traditions, heritage and history. The name is Bharat. Currently I work for IBM, Bangalore. When free from work, I try to divide time between books, photography and travel. I blog here: http://colono.livejournal.com/ My site: http://freeshell.in/~codo/ Danke, Uday!. Looking forward to active participation in this mindboggling list. Amen. -- Bharat Shetty | http://freeshell.in/~codo *The greater our knowledge increases the more our ignorance unfolds. - John F. Kennedy.* -- Bharat Shetty | http://freeshell.in/~codo *The only way to have a friend is to be one. - Ralph Waldo Emerson.*
Re: [silk] Charles Haynes introduction
On 29/01/07, Madhu Menon [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Charles Haynes wrote: http://edgeplay.blogspot.com/ I'll warn you it's mostly about food so far, I'm pretty passionate about food and cooking. Oh good. We could use a few people like that. ;) Yeah, most of us are just passionate about food and *eating*. ;-) Welcome Charles! (Chuck? Charlie? Chas? Charles seems so formal -- I feel like I'm addressing a beheaded English king.) -- b
Re: [silk] Charles Haynes introduction
Biju Chacko wrote [at 10:04 AM 1/30/2007] : Welcome Charles! (Chuck? Charlie? Chas? Charles seems so formal -- I feel like I'm addressing a beheaded English king.) OTOH, try saying Bond. [Jim|Jimbo|Jimmy|Jamie] Bond. Udhay -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
[silk] My intro
Hello all, Should have posted this sometime back. Now seeing the recent intros I better do so. My name is Shyam and my only connection with Bangalore is that my Dad was brought up there and I visited Bangalore and Mysore decades ago when both were sleepy Malgudi-like towns. I have puttered around in several disciplines including medicine, biophysics, and machine learning. Currently I am in Pittsburgh dividing my time between neurology and machine learning. I maintain an alumni website - Jipmer Net - for my med school in India which is now more than 12 years old now. It is through that website I met the inimitable Shiv who is a regular here at silklist. - Shyam Don't pick lemons. See all the new 2007 cars at Yahoo! Autos. http://autos.yahoo.com/new_cars.html
Re: [silk] My intro
Hi, Welcome to Silk, I am an ex-burgh, ex-bangalore, now in HYD person. Where do you spend your day? At school? Work? Cheeni Shyam Visweswaran wrote: Hello all, Should have posted this sometime back. Now seeing the recent intros I better do so. My name is Shyam and my only connection with Bangalore is that my Dad was brought up there and I visited Bangalore and Mysore decades ago when both were sleepy Malgudi-like towns. I have puttered around in several disciplines including medicine, biophysics, and machine learning. Currently I am in Pittsburgh dividing my time between neurology and machine learning. I maintain an alumni website - Jipmer Net - for my med school in India which is now more than 12 years old now. It is through that website I met the inimitable Shiv who is a regular here at silklist. - Shyam
Re: [silk] My intro
On 30/01/07 09:42 +0530, Bharat Shetty wrote: snip Thaths, Jace, Kalyan and Amoghavarsha. I have also heard a great deal of details about other prominent members in this list, but haven't met them personally. You do know quite a few others actually. It's a small world. Devdas Bhagat
Re: [silk] My intro
Details? Is Udhay telling tales? Danese On Jan 29, 2007, at 9:46 PM, Devdas Bhagat wrote: On 30/01/07 09:42 +0530, Bharat Shetty wrote: snip Thaths, Jace, Kalyan and Amoghavarsha. I have also heard a great deal of details about other prominent members in this list, but haven't met them personally. You do know quite a few others actually. It's a small world. Devdas Bhagat
Re: [silk] My intro
Danese Cooper wrote [at 11:24 AM 1/30/2007] : Details? Is Udhay telling tales? I can neither confirm nor deny that there might exist lurid tales about some people who may or may not be on this list. Udhay -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
[silk] What to Eat
Read the whole thing - it makes for fascinating food (sorry!) for thought. Udhay http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/28/magazine/28nutritionism.t.html?ei=5090en=a18a7f35515014c7ex=1327640400partner=rssuserlandemc=rsspagewanted=all Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. That, more or less, is the short answer to the supposedly incredibly complicated and confusing question of what we humans should eat in order to be maximally healthy. I hate to give away the game right here at the beginning of a long essay, and I confess that I'm tempted to complicate matters in the interest of keeping things going for a few thousand more words. I'll try to resist but will go ahead and add a couple more details to flesh out the advice. Like: A little meat won't kill you, though it's better approached as a side dish than as a main. And you're much better off eating whole fresh foods than processed food products. That's what I mean by the recommendation to eat food. Once, food was all you could eat, but today there are lots of other edible foodlike substances in the supermarket. These novel products of food science often come in packages festooned with health claims, which brings me to a related rule of thumb: if you're concerned about your health, you should probably avoid food products that make health claims. Why? Because a health claim on a food product is a good indication that it's not really food, and food is what you want to eat. Uh-oh. Things are suddenly sounding a little more complicated, aren't they? Sorry. But that's how it goes as soon as you try to get to the bottom of the whole vexing question of food and health. Before long, a dense cloud bank of confusion moves in. Sooner or later, everything solid you thought you knew about the links between diet and health gets blown away in the gust of the latest study. snip -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
Re: [silk] test
On 30/01/07, shiv sastry [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Enter one cchoice: 1) Pass 2) Fail 3) All of the above [X]
