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"Discovery Files" Features from the National Science Foundation
"Changing Change"
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GLOBAL WARMING: THE BALL IS IN OUR COURT... THE "DISCOVERY FILES": NEW ADVANCES IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, FROM THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION. FRESH INFORMATION IN A STUDY LED BY THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH INDICATES THAT THE TIME FOR JUST TALKING ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING IS OVER. THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT ACTION NOW COULD STABILIZE THE THREAT OF CLIMATE CHANGE--ACCORDING TO SUPERCOMPUTER SIMULATIONS. IF YOU WERE LOOKING FOR A WAY TO ASSESS THE EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE, YOU'D WANT TO KNOW SOME NUMBERS--LIKE THE "P-P-M", OR "PARTS PER MILLION", OF GREENHOUSE GASES: PRE-INDUSTRIAL EARTH HAD A "P-P-M" OF 284; TODAY, IT'S 380; AND, BY THE YEAR 2100--IF WE CONTINUE ON OUR CURRENT PATH--IT COULD BE A WHOPPING 750. THIS SCENARIO COULD CAUSE A SIGNIFICANT RISE IN TEMPERATURE--WITH POTENTIALLY CATASTROPHIC EFFECTS ON CLIMATE. BUT--BY RAPIDLY IMPLEMENTING "GREEN" TECHNOLOGIES GLOBALLY, TO REDUCE GREENHOUSE-GAS EMISSIONS--SCIENTISTS BELIEVE THAT WE COULD GET THE "P-P-M" NUMBER TO GO NO HIGHER THAN 450--AND KEEP THE GLOBAL TEMPERATURE INCREASE TO ABOUT ONE DEGREE, FAHRENHEIT, OVER THE NEXT 90 YEARS. THAT WOULD SAVE ARCTIC ICE, REDUCE SEA-LEVEL RISE, AND CUT SEVERE REGIONAL-WEATHER CHANGES IN HALF--COMPARED TO DOING NOTHING. BUT, IT WON'T BE EASY: TO HOLD GREENHOUSE-GAS LEVELS TO 450 "P-P-M", THE WORLD WILL HAVE TO CUT CURRENT LEVELS OF HEAT-TRAPPING EMISSIONS BY 70-PERCENT. THE RESEARCHERS SAY THAT IT'S ALREADY TOO LATE TO STOP SIGNIFICANT WARMING THIS CENTURY; HOWEVER, WE CAN STILL AVOID THE WORST IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE--BUT ONLY, PERHAPS, IF COOLER HEADS PREVAIL. THE "DISCOVERY FILES" COVERS PROJECTS FUNDED BY THE GOVERNMENT'S NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH BROUGHT TO YOU BY YOU! LEARN MORE AT "N-S-F"-DOT-GOV--OR ON THEIR PODCAST.
For additional "Discovery Files" features from the National Science Foundation, click here.
