Monday, February 02, 2004
Global climate change — 1 in 10 animals and plants extinct by 2050?
The biggest issue affecting global livelihood and employment over the next fifty years will be climate change, according to an article in the scientific journal Nature. The report, compiled by the largest collaboration of scientists ever to apply themselves to the climate change problem, studied six biodiversity-rich regions around the world — covering 20% of the planet's land area. It found that 15%-37% of all species studied could become extinct under climate warming scenarios that are likely to occur between now and 2050.
The scientists claim that, as temperatures rise, many species will simply be unable to adapt or migrate to new habitats. The global warming will therefore bring with it one of the biggest mass extinctions since the time of the dinosaurs, 65 million years ago. The sheer scale of the disaster facing the planet has shocked those involved in the research. Much of that loss — more than one-in-10 of all plants and animals — is already irreversible because of the extra global warming gases already discharged into the atmosphere.
It should be said that not everybody agrees with either global warming or the doomsday scenarios. Leading the pack is Norwegian Bjørn Lomborg. In a controversial book, The Skeptical Environmentalist Lomborg challenges widely held beliefs that the global environment is progressively getting worse. Using statistical information from internationally recognized research institutes, he examines a range of major environmental issues and documents that show the global environment has actually improved.
Lomborg criticizes the way many environmental organizations make selective and what he calls misleading use of scientific data to influence decisions about the allocation of limited resources.
In return, of course, Lomborg has come in for huge criticism from both the scientific and "green" community. The debate continues.
The biggest issue affecting global livelihood and employment over the next fifty years will be climate change, according to an article in the scientific journal Nature. The report, compiled by the largest collaboration of scientists ever to apply themselves to the climate change problem, studied six biodiversity-rich regions around the world — covering 20% of the planet's land area. It found that 15%-37% of all species studied could become extinct under climate warming scenarios that are likely to occur between now and 2050.
The scientists claim that, as temperatures rise, many species will simply be unable to adapt or migrate to new habitats. The global warming will therefore bring with it one of the biggest mass extinctions since the time of the dinosaurs, 65 million years ago. The sheer scale of the disaster facing the planet has shocked those involved in the research. Much of that loss — more than one-in-10 of all plants and animals — is already irreversible because of the extra global warming gases already discharged into the atmosphere.
It should be said that not everybody agrees with either global warming or the doomsday scenarios. Leading the pack is Norwegian Bjørn Lomborg. In a controversial book, The Skeptical Environmentalist Lomborg challenges widely held beliefs that the global environment is progressively getting worse. Using statistical information from internationally recognized research institutes, he examines a range of major environmental issues and documents that show the global environment has actually improved.
Lomborg criticizes the way many environmental organizations make selective and what he calls misleading use of scientific data to influence decisions about the allocation of limited resources.
In return, of course, Lomborg has come in for huge criticism from both the scientific and "green" community. The debate continues.
