Mike.
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Sea levels and temperature to rise - no matter what
News
New reports from the National Center for Atmospheric Research tell that sea levels and temperatures will rise over the next century, no matter what we do.
According to a new study, we are past the point of no return in regards to Global Warming. Nothing we do will stop the inevitable rising oceans and warming temperatures. The study which was posted in the journal Science by the National Center for Atmospheric Research, indicates that even if greenhouse gas levels remained as they are today, it still would not help the outcome. North America could face excessive heat waves and swarms of insects that could decimate crops.
"If you take your foot off the accelerator, the vehicle doesn't stop; it just keeps going for a while. That's essentially what's happening because of the massive thermal inertia of the ocean." stated Tom Wigley, one of the authors of the study explained.
"Many people don't realize we are committed right now to a significant amount of global warming and sea level rise because of the greenhouse gases we have already put into the atmosphere," says study author Gerald Meehl of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colo. "The longer we wait, the more climate change we are committed to in the future."
The report expects that sea levels will have risen by 25cm on average while temperatures will rise at least 0.5 degrees Celsius.
Researcher Wigley points out that this is one of the more optimistic forecasts - a worst-case scenario would be a 30cm sea level rise and a global temperature increase of 3.5 degrees Celsius.
