[extropy-chat] The great global warming swindle

[BillK]

On 4/16/07, Rafal Smigrodzki wrote:
> Indeed, there are countries that are likely to suffer a net loss as a
> result of warming. I am not familiar with any credible (i.e. produced
> by professional economists and published in economics journals)
> estimates of the worldwide impact. It is important to note that the
> regions most likely to gain are the arid and semiarid regions - the
> primary mechanism of the beneficial effect of CO2 fertilization is the
> reduction of transpiration from leaves. If there is a lot of CO2 in
> the air, plants can absorb all they need while keeping their stomata
> partially closed, which leads to less evaporation. So, surprisingly, a
> lot of hot places will be better off too.
>

<http://www.physorg.com/news96003420.html>

Quote:
As the world warms, water - either too little or too much of it - is
going to be the major problem for the United States, scientists and
military experts said Monday. It will be a domestic problem, with
states clashing over controls of rivers, and a national security
problem as water shortages and floods worsen conflicts and terrorism
elsewhere in the world, they said.
At home, especially in the Southwest, regions will need to find new
sources of drinking water, the Great Lakes will shrink, fish and other
species will be left high and dry, and coastal areas will on occasion
be inundated because of sea-level rises and souped-up storms, U.S.
scientists said.

The scientists released a 67-page chapter on North American climate
effects, which is part of an international report on climate change
impact.

Meanwhile, global-warming water problems will make poor, unstable
parts of the world - the Middle East, Africa and South Asia - even
more prone to wars, terrorism and the need for international
intervention, a panel of retired military leaders said in a separate
report.

"Water at large is the central (global warming) problem for the U.S.,"
Princeton University geosciences professor Michael Oppenheimer said
after a press conference featuring eight American scientists who were
lead authors of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's
climate-effects report.


BillK