Agenda - 06-03-2008-5b5e - Laserfiche WebLink

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°... Few of the more than two dozen climate experts interviewed disagree with the. one-meter projection...'We're going to get a meter and there's nothing we can do about it,' said University of Victoria climatologist Andrew Weaver, a lead author of the February [2007] report from the \, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in Paris... °...All told, one meter of sea level rise in just the lower 48 states would put about 25,000 square miles under water, according to Jonathan Overpeck, director of the Institute for the Study of Planet Earth at the University of Arizona. That's an area the size of West Vrginia....° In addition to impending land loss and the economic ~i social impacts, we have the prospect of greater devastation from storm surges in low-lying coastal areas. The devastation of Hurricane Katrina is attributed to the additional energy the storm gained while passing over the warmer waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Residents of New Orleans & Biloxi may be thought of as the first wave of Climate Change refugees. (I know personally of several who have permanently relocated in North Carolina.) c) Crop lass. The Raleigh News & Observer carried an AP story 3/17/07 that worldwide production of cereal crops has declined by millions of tons over the last 2S years as a result of warming. The full negative impact on production has so far been offset somewhat by production gains from better farming practices & genetic modifications, according to a study done by the. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. "`The warming we're already experienced since 1980 [about 0.7 degrees Fahrenheit] is having a major impact on the production of crops,' the lead author, David Lobel!, said..." The N&O story mentioned that this was one of the first studies done to quantify the impact of warming on agricultural production. The question is how production of fundamental dietary components will respond not only to continuing temperature increases, but also to the massive diversion of cereal crops in the U.S. for the manufacture of \. Ethanol .for transportation. d) Scarcity of water. The March, 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) cites numerous global impacts of warming an the declining availability and quality of water for drinking and other essential uses. According to AP's Seth Borenstein, ("Global warming seen leading to water woes," Durham Herald Sun, 4!17/07), the US Southwest will have the greatest difficulty providing water for drinking, the Great Lakes will shrink, and California's Great Central Valley will not be able to meet demands for water far drinking and irrigation. A report from a panel of retired military leaders issued concurrently with the IPCC report also spoke of the impact an global security of water shortages. "`One of the biggest Likely areas of conflict is going to be over water,' said [Gen. Charles F.] Wald, former deputy commander of U. S. European Command." e) Spread of Diseases. At the same time that planetary warming is reshaping plant hardiness.zones,_it is also making possible the_migration of.tropical.disease-carrying_insects _ _._ . towards the north & south poles. An AP story written by Charles J. Hanley ("Report: Warming spurs illness," Durham Flerald Sun, 11/1S/06) reports °A warmer world already seems to be producing a sicker world, health experts reported..., citing /- surges in Kenya, China and Europe of such diseases as malaria, heart ailments and dengue fever...