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Information Analysis and Repackaging

Notes The changing climate will inevitably affect the basic requirements for maintaining health: clean air
and water, sufficient food and adequate shelter. Each year, about 800,000 people die from causes
attributable to urban air pollution, 1.8 million from diarrhoea resulting from lack of access to clean
water supply, sanitation, and poor hygiene, 3.5 million from malnutrition and approximately 60,000
in natural disasters. A warmer and more variable climate threatens to lead to higher levels of some
air pollutants, increase transmission of diseases through unclean water and through contaminated
food, to compromise agricultural production in some of the least developed countries, and increase
the hazards of extreme weather.
American Astronomical Society
The American Astronomical Society has endorsed the AGU statement:
In endorsing the “Human Impacts on Climate” statement [issued by the American Geophysical
Union], the AAS recognizes the collective expertise of the AGU in scientific subfields central to
assessing and understanding global change, and acknowledges the strength of agreement among
our AGU colleagues that the global climate is changing and human activities are contributing to
that change.
American Statistical Association
On November 30, 2007, the American Statistical Association Board of Directors adopted a statement
on climate change:
The ASA endorses the IPCC conclusions.... Over the course of four assessment reports, a small
number of statisticians have served as authors or reviewers. Although this involvement is
encouraging, it does not represent the full range of statistical expertise available. ASA recommends
that more statisticians should become part of the IPCC process. Such participation would be mutually
beneficial to the assessment of climate change and its impacts and also to the statistical community.
Engineers Australia (The Institution of Engineers Australia)
“Engineers Australia believes that Australia must act swiftly and proactively in line with global
expectations to address climate change as an economic, social and environmental risk... We believe
that addressing the costs of atmospheric emissions will lead to increasing our competitive advantage
by minimising risks and creating new economic opportunities. Engineers Australia believes the
Australian Government should ratify the Kyoto Protocol.”
International Association for Great Lakes Research
In February 2009, the International Association for Great Lakes Research (IAGLR) issued a Fact
Sheet on climate change:
While the Earth’s climate has changed many times during the planet’s history because of natural
factors, including volcanic eruptions and changes in the Earth’s orbit, never before have we observed
the present rapid rise in temperature and carbon dioxide (CO ).
2
Human activities resulting from the industrial revolution have changed the chemical composition
of the atmosphere....Deforestation is now the second largest contributor to global warming, after
the burning of fossil fuels. These human activities have significantly increased the concentration of
“greenhouse gases” in the atmosphere.
As the Earth’s climate warms, we are seeing many changes: stronger, more destructive hurricanes;
heavier rainfall; more disastrous flooding; more areas of the world experiencing severe drought;
and more heat waves.
Institute of Professional Engineers New Zealand
In October 2001, the Institute of Professional Engineers New Zealand (IPENZ) published an
Informatory note entitled “Climate Change and the greenhouse effect”:

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