Article 13
A Contrarian Spin on the Next Big Climate Report
Topic: Climate Change
Author: Justin Gillis
Date: December 14,2012
This article talks about a leak of draft on the next big United Nations report on climate change. Climate change contrarian named Alec Rawls states that the group putting the report together, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, is about to acknowlege the fact that cosmic rays have a huge influence on the earth's climate. UN reports come out every five years and they have become political lightning rods. Some scientists thinks that the I.P.C.C. reports have become a too-convenient target. Some other scientists, and a lot of environmental campaigners, feel the I.P.C.C is just too cautious and too bureaucratic to make contributions to the global discourse that matter in real time. However, the majority of climate scientists hold a moderate view that the I.P.C.C. remains a valuable forum for helping government and the public understand the vast complexities of climate change. The last report in 2007 made headlines by going beyond the previous three reports, concluding on the basis of accumulating evidence that "most of the observed increase in global average temperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic greenhouse concentrations."
I decided to pick this article because it talks about the I.P.C.C which I recently learned in AP Environmental Science. They monitor climate change and reports about it every five years. Alec Rawls stated that they will acknowledge the fact that cosmic rays have a huge influence on the earth's climate will cause many controversial arguments and ideas. In addition, the draft that they currently are working on can still be changed, so there is not sufficient information whether this statement is true or not.
Topic: Climate Change
Author: Justin Gillis
Date: December 14,2012
This article talks about a leak of draft on the next big United Nations report on climate change. Climate change contrarian named Alec Rawls states that the group putting the report together, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, is about to acknowlege the fact that cosmic rays have a huge influence on the earth's climate. UN reports come out every five years and they have become political lightning rods. Some scientists thinks that the I.P.C.C. reports have become a too-convenient target. Some other scientists, and a lot of environmental campaigners, feel the I.P.C.C is just too cautious and too bureaucratic to make contributions to the global discourse that matter in real time. However, the majority of climate scientists hold a moderate view that the I.P.C.C. remains a valuable forum for helping government and the public understand the vast complexities of climate change. The last report in 2007 made headlines by going beyond the previous three reports, concluding on the basis of accumulating evidence that "most of the observed increase in global average temperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic greenhouse concentrations."
I decided to pick this article because it talks about the I.P.C.C which I recently learned in AP Environmental Science. They monitor climate change and reports about it every five years. Alec Rawls stated that they will acknowledge the fact that cosmic rays have a huge influence on the earth's climate will cause many controversial arguments and ideas. In addition, the draft that they currently are working on can still be changed, so there is not sufficient information whether this statement is true or not.