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To Open The Sky

The Front Pages of Christopher P. Winter
THE
U.S.
GOVT'S
LATEST
Even today, the federal government maintains this
Web site for its Global Change Research Program.
Find reports on Global Climate Change Impacts
in the United States as well as other information.
Climate
Changes

Earth's climate has changed a great deal since I began these Web pages ten years ago — not, it is true, as much as it changed in prehistoric times, but in ways that are easily noticed. Spring comes earlier in the year; rainstorms are wetter; animals, birds and fish are moving out of their traditional ranges; coastal cities are flooding during high tides. Other things have changed too. Some of these changes were good, others were bad. One good thing is that there is far less doubt about the reality that our climate is changing and that we are mainly responsible for the change.

Accordingly, there is less need to explain the science behind the changes. I can turn to what can be done, or should be done, to respond to them. How can we cut our carbon dioxide emissions, and how much will it cost? Is it feasible to remove carbon dioxide already in the atmosphere? Will we be able to convince other nations to do their part? Is holding back sea-level rise affordable? Will geoengineering save us?

I'm preserving the old pages on global warming, and may do some updating on them. A link to them is below. And I'm keeping the link to the federal government's Global Change Research Program here as well as there, because those pages document the ongoing impacts in the U.S. But it is time to get pragmatic about policies of mitigation and adaptation.

The Bottom Line

The bottom line is that the consensus on climate science has not weakened significantly. In fact, what we have learned since I began these pages makes the picture even grimmer. But the broad outlines of the picture are still clear: The world is getting warmer, and the best evidence shows the cause to be rising CO2 levels due to human actions. The effects of AGW are seen in ocean waters rising, in glaciers melting, and in springtimes coming earlier. Another trend is equally clear: over the past several decades, most scientists — even if skeptical at first — have joined the consensus. The majority of the public also believes that global warming is a real concern, although not an immediate threat.

The bottom line is that there is even less of a rational basis for disputing the view that global warming is a problem demanding action — not a crash program, but thoughtful, step by step action. For those who continue to insist that the only cause for concern is the majority of people who believe something should be done about global warming, this cartoon remains relevant:

Despite this, denial of the reality or severity of AGW (Anthropogenic Global Warming), aka climate change, has not ended and won't for some time. So there is still a need to explain why it is wrong and counterproductive.

It seems Clay Bennett's cartoon is even more relevant today:

Two Theaters
(Clay Bennett, Christian Science Monitor)
Now found at The Internet Archive (for e.g. 10 April 2007)

About this Web site

My objective in assembling this site on global warming was to pull together the facts of global warming as I understand them and present them in a well-organized fashion. This site is intended to be a resource for those who are still undecided. Of course, it's only one of many that provide the straight dope on global warming (a few are linked in these pages), but there's value in redundancy. And I hope that my design will provide a unique perspective that helps visitors understand the big picture.

The opinions expressed here are solely my own.

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This page was last modified on 30 July 2019.