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The findings will prove humiliating to the Bush administration, which has repeatedly denied that climate change even exists. Experts said that they will also make unsettling reading for a President who has insisted national defence is a priority.

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We'll have a better idea of the situation in November.

[ 28 February 2004: Message edited by: Mike Keenan ]

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Not a problem; Bush doesn't read any reports.

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Imagining the Unthinkable

The purpose of this report is to imagine the unthinkable – to push the boundaries of current research on climate change so we may better understand the potential implications on United States national security.

We have interviewed leading climate change scientists, conducted additional research, and reviewed several iterations of the scenario with these experts. The scientists support this project, but caution that the scenario depicted is extreme in two fundamental ways. First, they suggest the occurrences we outline would most likely happen in a few regions, rather than on globally. Second, they say the magnitude of the event may be considerably smaller.

We have created a climate change scenario that although not the most likely, is plausible, and would challenge United States national security in ways that should be considered immediately.

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Originally posted by SHH:
It appears the Pentagon outsourced this project to some so-called Futurists who fabricated the extreme case of the extreme case. Those boys, always thinking ahead.

The Report.

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Originally posted by SHH:
It is not so. I’m currently desperate about nothing. I’ve seen so many Chicken Littles lately that I’m left wondering where are all the Pollyanna’s?

I’ve found over the years that a wait-and-see approach usually works best. It is so...I’m not yet a member of the club.

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Any idiot can tell you that if the CO2 content is only about 0.2% (or 0.02, I don't have my chemistry text in front of me and can't be buggered to go get it right this moment) to begin with, then perhaps even very small changes in that amount can have rather large results.

SHH, climate change means not just global warming, but in general, more volatility in the climate whether cold or warm. So just because last winter 6 feet of snow fell down on the ground, that does not and I mean that emphatically, not mean that global warming is nonexistent.

Has it ever occurred to you that the rate of water circulation as the vapor phase in the atmosphere is affected by the rate of heat transfer between the oceans and the atmosphere, which is in turn affected by, wait for it.... the proportion of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere!

WHOA! DAMN!

So maybe climate change manifested itself that year as more frequent and more violent precipitation.

Oh, but I'm just an alarmist chicken little left-wing nuclear chemist. Discount everything I say.

[ 29 February 2004: Message edited by: DrConway ]

The summary of the above statement runs as follows:

Water moves from high density (high salt concentration) to low density (low salt concentration), carrying thermal energy with it. Anything that changes this flow rate will screw up the climate due to ocean-atmosphere heat transfer.

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Originally posted by DrConway:
Even kids can read simple charts . . .
[ 29 February 2004: Message edited by: DrConway ]

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http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/images/blbushbookupsidedown.htm

[ 29 February 2004: Message edited by: redshift ]

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"As long as Tuvalu is above sea water there will be people staying here. We will not move," he said.

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So. Companies will keep burning it for fuel while it is in shorter and shorter supply.

Good thing we don't need it for things like plastics... what good have they ever done?

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Originally posted by CMOT Dibbler:
This news is very depressing. It's even more depressing because I can't do anything about it. I am a poor student. I don't belong to Greenpeace or any of the other powerful environmental organizations. I live at home. It would be very difficult for me to head to Vancouver and participate in protests.

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That's okay, because that won't help either. It may make the protesters feel better, but it's not really going to do anything to help the environment, because those who have the power to change things won't be listening to them.

The best thing you can do for the environment is to change the way you live, and perhaps, if you can, influence those around you to change, too. Do the three r's. Walk, bike, or take public transit. Buy organic if you can afford it, or at least eat lower on the food chain if you can't afford organic (I can't). Stop buying stuff you don't need.

In the long term, Swiss Re said, greenhouse gases widely thought to trigger global warming will need to be reduced, the use of fossil fuels cut and new energy technologies developed.

"The role of the insurance industry is through establishing risk adequate tariffs and to give the risk taker the opportunity to implement appropriate measures to reduce the chance of possible losses," Heck said."

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0303-07.htm