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– Sad to say that many people are now recognizing that things have gone too far to stop climate change so they are beginning to think pragmatically about how we can best cope with the changes that are coming. Sad, because avoiding the problem was always within our grasp if we could but find the wisdom and the will to reach out and act. Idealistically, I still hope we will find the will and act. But, pragmatically, I suspect we do need to recognize that the changes are coming.

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Science Daily — Temperatures are rising on Earth, which is heating up the debate over global warming and the future of our planet, but what may be needed most to combat global warming is a greater focus on adapting to our changing planet, says a team of science policy experts writing in this week’s Nature magazine.

While many consider it taboo, adaptation to global climate change needs to be recognized as just as important as “mitigation,” or cutting back, of greenhouse gases humans pump into Earth’s atmosphere. The science policy experts, writing in the Feb. 8, 2007 issue of Nature, say adapting to the changing climate by building resilient societies and fostering sustainable development would go further in securing a future for humans on a warming planet than just cutting gas emissions.

“New ways of thinking about, talking about and acting on climate change are necessary if a changing society is to adapt to a changing climate,” the researchers state in “Lifting the Taboo on Adaptation.”

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BEIJING (AFP)—Skating has been banned on the melting ice of Beijing’s lakes, trees are blossoming early and people are shedding their heavy clothes as China experiences its warmest winter on record.

The temperature in the capital hit 16 degrees Celsius (60 degrees Fahrenheit) on Monday, far above the historical average of just below freezing for this time of year and the highest since records were first compiled in 1840.

The head of the Beijing Municipal Observatory, Guo Hu, said the record high was part of a consistent trend this winter, while state-run media reported similar phenomena across the country.

“In January and February, Beijing experienced its highest temperatures in 167 years,” Guo told AFP on Tuesday.

“Beijing has basically seen warmer winters from the late 1980s. This is due to the influence of global warming.”

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– Over the last few days, while I’ve been traveling, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, has released its fourth report and you will probably have been living under a rock to have not heard about it. The report, which draws on the expertise of 2500 scientists, worldwide simply makes no bones about it. Global warming is real, humans are the cause of it and we haven’t much time to do something about it if we want to leave anything better than a disaster to our children.

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PARIS, Feb. 2 – In a grim and powerful assessment of the future of the planet, 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.

They said the world was in for centuries of climbing temperatures, rising seas and shifting weather patterns — unavoidable results of the buildup of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere.

But their report, released here on Friday by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, said warming and its harmful consequences could be substantially blunted by prompt action.

While the report provided scant new evidence of a climate apocalypse now, and while it expressly avoided recommending courses of action, officials from the United Nations agencies that created the panel in 1988 said it spoke of the urgent need to limit looming and momentous risks.

“In our daily lives we all respond urgently to dangers that are much less likely than climate change to affect the future of our children,” said Achim Steiner, executive director of the United Nations Environment Program, which administers the panel along with the World Meteorological Organization.

“Feb. 2 will be remembered as the date when uncertainty was removed as to whether humans had anything to do with climate change on this planet,” he went on. “The evidence is on the table.”

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research thx to John P, & Lisa G.

– The first two of the articles linked to, above, are from the NY Times and they insist that folks have an ID and a PW in order to read their stuff. You can get these for free just by signing up. However, recently, a friend of mine suggested the website bugmenot.com as an alternative to having to do these annoying sign ups. Check it out. Thx Bruce S. for the tip.

– You can also find a PDF based copy of the full IPCC report here: ➡

Mountain glaciers are shrinking three times faster than they were in the 1980s, scientists have announced.

The World Glacier Monitoring Service, which continuously studies a sample of 30 glaciers around the world, says the acceleration is down to climate change.

Its announcement came as climate scientists convened in Paris to decide the final wording of a major report.

There is reported to be some disagreement over what forecasts they will make for sea level rise.

But whatever form of words they agree on, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will declare that human-induced climate change is happening and needs to be tackled.

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