Page 71 - DLIS402_INFORMATION_ANALYSIS_AND_REPACKAGING

Information Analysis and Repackaging

Notes Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2007

In February 2007, the IPCC released a summary of the forthcoming Fourth Assessment Report.
According to this summary, the Fourth Assessment Report finds that human actions are “very likely”
the cause of global warming, meaning a 90% or greater probability. Global warming in this case is
indicated by an increase of 0.75 degrees in average global temperatures over the last 100 years.
The New York Times reported that “the leading international network of climate scientists has
concluded for the first time that global warming is ‘unequivocal’ and that human activity is the
main driver, very likely’ causing most of the rise in temperatures since 1950".
A retired journalist for The New York Times, William K. Stevens wrote: “The Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change said the likelihood was 90 percent to 99 percent that emissions of heat-
trapping greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, spewed from tailpipes and smokestacks, were the
dominant cause of the observed warming of the last 50 years. In the panel’s parlance, this level of
certainty is labeled ‘very likely’. Only rarely does scientific odds-making provide a more definite
answer than that, at least in this branch of science, and it describes the endpoint, so far, of a
progression.”
The Associated Press summarized the position on sea level rise:
On sea levels, the report projects rises of 7-23 inches by the end of the century. That could be
augmented by an additional 4-8 inches if recent polar ice sheet melt continues.
U.S. Global Change Research Program
Formerly the Climate Change Science Program
The U.S. Global Change Research Program reported in June, 2009 that:
Observations show that warming of the climate is unequivocal. The global warming observed over
the past 50 years is due primarily to human-induced emissions of heat-trapping gases. These
emissions come mainly from the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil, and gas), with important
contributions from the clearing of forests, agricultural practices, and other activities.

Climate Change Report in US
Climate-related changes have already been observed globally and in the United States. These include
increases in air and water temperatures, reduced frost days, increased frequency and intensity of
heavy downpours, a rise in sea level, and reduced snow cover, glaciers, permafrost, and sea ice. A
longer ice-free period on lakes and rivers, lengthening of the growing season, and increased water
vapor in the atmosphere have also been observed. Over the past 30 years, temperatures have risen
faster in winter than in any other season, with average winter temperatures in the Midwest and
northern Great Plains increasing more than 7°F. Some of the changes have been faster than previous
assessments had suggested.

Arctic Climate Impact Assessment
In 2004, the intergovernmental Arctic Council and the non-governmental International Arctic Science
Committee released the synthesis report of the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment:
Climate conditions in the past provide evidence that rising atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are
associated with rising global temperatures. Human activities, primarily the burning of fossil fuels
(coal, oil, and natural gas), and secondarily the clearing of land, have increased the concentration of
carbon dioxide, methane, and other heat-trapping (“greenhouse”) gases in the atmosphere...There
is international scientific consensus that most of the warming observed over the last 50 years is
attributable to human activities.

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