The Latest Report on Climate Change
As expected the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes that there is more than a 90% chance that global warming has a human cause. The panel said that temperatures were probably going to increase by 1.8-4 degrees Celsius (3.2-7.2 degrees Fahrenheit) by the end of the century. It also projected that sea levels were most likely to rise by 28-43cm, and global warming was likely to influence the intensity of tropical storms.
The findings are the first of four IPCC reports to be published this year.
Also as expected, the attacks on the report began even before it was published. Some radio critics have committed a fundamental mistake of saying that people have been warning of this for years and nothing has happened. First, something has happened, and second, the report is careful to say that precise estimates are difficult. It is the direction of change which should be of greatest importance.
The Mail and Guardian Online is reporting that some scientists and economists have been offered $10 000 each by a lobby group funded by one of the world’s largest oil companies – ExxonMobil – to undermine the report.
There is also a very well reasoned article about the semantics of climate change. The precise language of science and the quite different way in which politicians and many marketing people use language. It is well worth reading.
My main concern remains the impact of climate change on health and well-being. And many parts of the world, from Florida to the Horn of Africa are already experiencing that.
Dr. Richard G. Petty, MD is a world-renowned authority on the brain, and his revolutionary work on human energy systems has been acclaimed around the globe.
He is also an accredited specialist in internal and metabolic medicine, endocrinology, psychiatry, acupuncture and homeopathy. He has been an innovator and leader of the human potential movement for over thirty years and is also an active researcher, teacher, writer, professional speaker and broadcaster. He is the author of five books, including the groundbreaking and best selling CD series Healing, Meaning and Purpose. He has taught in over 45 countries and 48 states in the last ten years, but spends as much time as possible on his horse farm in Georgia.
