MADCOW

Tempature rising

A climate change of the magnitude currently underway has not been seen since the last ice age. This level of change and increase in temperature historically has occurred over thousands of years. While average global temperatures have increased by about .6°C over the past 100 years, the warming trend in Siberia, Canada's Arctic, and Antarctica has been more than double that, which will ultimately lead to a rise in sea levels. Climate models predict that the average annual global temperature will increase by about 2° Celsius (3.6° F) by the year 2100 if current emission trends continue (based on 1990 as a baseline). This projected change is larger than any climate change experienced over the last 10,000 years.

By forgoing its participation in the Kyoto Protocol -- the international climate change treaty -- the U.S. essentially denied its contribution to global warming, despite its emission of 53% of the global carbon dioxide emissions that cause global warming.

RECOMMENDED READING:

Stephen Schneider on Climate Change - A website from a professor at Stanford spanning media, science and policy
IPCC Study: Climate Change - A study by a body of over 2000 scientists on climate change science and predictions about its impacts
Nature Magazine - Article on species extinction and climate change