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"Unmistakable Signs of a Warming World"

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If increases in global air temperatures or decreases in Arctic sea ice aren’t enough to convince you of the clear and present danger of the climate crisis, then maybe looking at eight other indicators that show the same trend might be.

“Past Decade Warmest on Record According to Scientists in 48 Countries – Earth has been growing warmer for more than fifty years.”  That’s the message from the US’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in its 2009 State of the Climate report released yesterday.

Jane Lubchenco, NOAA administrator, said “The records come from many institutions worldwide. They use data collected from diverse sources, including satellites, weather balloons, weather stations, ships, buoys and field surveys. These independently produced lines of evidence all point to the same conclusion: our planet is warming.”

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Dr. Peter Stott, from the UK’s Met Office, said here “Despite the variability caused by short-term changes, the analysis conducted for this report illustrates why we are so confident the world is warming.”

These analyses won’t dissuade the climate change denialists nor much impede the fossil fuel interests who have been liberally financing the disinformation campaign for twenty years, but they just might help get the general public to think a lot harder about pounding down the doors of the folks in the US Congress whose recalcitrance is endangering the future of this fine old planet.

 

Author

Bill Hewitt

Bill Hewitt has been an environmental activist and professional for nearly 25 years. He was deeply involved in the battle to curtail acid rain, and was also a Sierra Club leader in New York City. He spent 11 years in public affairs for the NY State Department of Environmental Conservation, and worked on environmental issues for two NYC mayoral campaigns and a presidential campaign. He is a writer and editor and is the principal of Hewitt Communications. He has an M.S. in international affairs, has taught political science at Pace University, and has graduate and continuing education classes on climate change, sustainability, and energy and the environment at The Center for Global Affairs at NYU. His book, "A Newer World - Politics, Money, Technology, and What’s Really Being Done to Solve the Climate Crisis," will be out from the University Press of New England in December.



Areas of Focus:
the policy, politics, science and economics of environmental protection, sustainability, energy and climate change

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