Friday, April 06, 2007

Global Warming Could Wipe Out ¼ Of All Species!

Will nature be reduced to a mere shadow on the deserts of the Earth?
Freemind Pictures ©



The United Nations on Friday issued its most dramatic warning yet about the potentially catastrophic effects of climate change on the planet. More than 100 countries represented in the UN's panel on climate change spent a tense Thursday night in Brussels trying to agree unanimously on the language of a final draft.

The report, prepared by more than 2,500 scientists for the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), provides the first confirmation from the entire international scientific community that the burning of fossil fuels by humans is one of the main culprits of global warming.

The report claims that global warming will lead to desertification, droughts and rising seas and that those living in the tropics will be the worst hit -- from sub-Saharan Africa to the Pacific islands. Billions could face water shortages, and ocean levels might rise for centuries to come. It could lead to a sharp drop in crop yields in Africa and bring heatwaves to Europe and North America. Europe's Alpine glaciers will disappear and much of the coral that comprises Australia's Great Barrier Reef will die from bleaching.

"The urgency of this report prepared by the world's top scientists should be matched by an equally urgent response from governments," said Hans Verolme, director of the global climate change program at the conservation organization WWF. "Doing nothing is not an option."

Read the full article "Report Confirms Climate Change Is a Fact",© SPIEGEL ONLINE 2007.


Related Articles
World Scientists: Global Warming Could Wipe Out ¼ Of All Species - NBC 10.com
Scientists, governments clash over warming report - Reuters
Emissions Already Affecting Climate, Report Finds - The New York Times

Read the Full Report at the Official Website of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

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