permaculture

[Lawrence London <lfljvenaura@gmail.com>]

Panel Says Global Warming Carries Risk of Deep Changes
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/04/science/earth/panel-says-global-warming-risks-sudden-deep-changes.html?_r=0

"Continued global warming poses a risk of rapid, drastic changes in some
human and natural systems, a scientific panel warned Tuesday, citing the
possible collapse of polar sea ice, the potential for a mass extinction of
plant and animal life and the threat of immense dead zones in the ocean."

"In a report <http://www.nap.edu/download.php?record_id=18373> released
Tuesday, the panel appointed by the National Research Council called for
the creation of an early warning system to alert society well in advance to
changes capable of producing chaos. Nasty climate surprises have occurred
already, and more seem inevitable, perhaps within decades, panel members
warned. But, they said, little has been done to prepare."

"While most climate scientists believe the human release of greenhouse
gases has made immense changes in the earth inevitable, they hope many of
these will happen slowly enough that society can adapt."

"Among the greatest risks in coming years, the panel said, is that climate
change could greatly increase the extinction rate of plants and animals,
essentially provoking the sixth mass extinction in the earth’s history. The
panel said many of the world’s coral reefs, a vital source of fish that
feed millions of people, already seemed fated to die within decades."

"Another risk, judged to be moderately likely over the coming century, is
that rising heat in the upper ocean could result in reduced oxygen in the
deep. The worst-case scenario would be the creation of huge zones with too
little oxygen for sea creatures to survive, with unknown consequences for
the overall ecology of the ocean, the panel said."