UN Report: Humans Cause Spike in CO2 Levels

By Lauren Melcher

Layout and Online Editor

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued a new report from Brussels, Belgium on April 5, concluding that increased emissions of carbon dioxide into Earth’s atmosphere are already affecting climate patterns and ecosystems. The report, the second in a series of three by the panel expected this year, attributes the higher levels of carbon dioxide to human activities like fossil fuel-burning power plants and millions of cars on the Earth’s roads.

The new report was compiled by scientists from across the globe who are evaluating climate change research under the direction of the United Nations. A report released in February was the first report by the IPCC to say there is a consensus in the scientific community about the human impact on climate change. Critics say the IPCC does not represent the research of scientists who say that global warming is part of a natural climate cycle and not caused by human emissions of carbon dioxide.

Global warming is a complex scientific issue that incorporates analysis of ocean currents, polar ice cores, temperature measurements, levels of precipitation and tropical storms. The planet has experienced eras of warming before, as well as eras of cooling - most recently in the 1970s when Americans were concerned that falling temperatures would have catastrophic climactic consequences. Global warming has the potential to affect various feedback systems in climates around the world - meaning, the science is impossible to predict because one change can ripple through the system and cause innumerable other changes.

There are scientists who do not agree with the IPCC, and say that global warming is part of Earth’s natural climate cycle. In the book "Unstoppable Global Warming Every 1500 Years," authors S. Fred Singer and Dennis Avery say that although there is evidence the Earth is warming, it is not caused by “human-emitted CO2” but is actually “part of a natural 1,500-year climate cycle.” Their book supports the research of hundreds of scientists, whose work does not corroborate a “consensus” about global warming as the IPCC claims, calling it “sheer fantasy” to think that the majority of scientists believe global warming is an alarming threat.

According to polling data released by Zogby International last November, the 2006 midterm elections were the first major appearance of global warming as a voting factor. Their post-election poll shows that half of midterm voters said the issue of global warming made a difference in who they voted for - and 85% of those voters chose Democratic candidates, including 7% of registered Republican voters.

John Zogby, President of polling organization Zogby International, said “this is the first time a national consensus has developed on the human impact of climate change.” He warns that the issue is becoming one of “science versus anti-science,” and predicts that it will be “difficult for the Republican party to continue running as the anti-science side.” Most importantly, Zogby said, is that “looking ahead, politicians in both parties ignore this issue at their peril.”

Until the release of Al Gore’s Academy Award-winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth and efforts like Laurie David’s Virtual March on Washington campaign, the public’s attitude towards global warming was characterized by lethargy and skepticism rather than pre-emptive action. As recently as April 2000, only 32% of all registered voters said that environmental issues were key factors in determining their vote for major political office - including 19% of Republicans, 41% of Democrats, and 34% of Independents.

But as the debate about the scientific basis for global warming becomes more polarized, media coverage is increasing and more Americans are learning about how global warming might affect their lives. According to a Gallup poll in March, 76% of Americans feel that they understand global warming very well - an increase from 68% just four years ago.

William K. Stevens, a retired New York Times science reporter who covered the climate change beat, also cites the “dramatic evidence of melting ice in the Arctic” as a powerful influence on public opinion in recent years. “This issue is embedded in public and political consciousness as never before,” he said.

But blaming global warming entirely on the American way of life - driving cars, living in big suburban houses, eating food grown thousands of miles away - does not rest well with everyone. Sean Miller, Director of Education at the Earth Day Network, agrees that global warming is a “natural check, one of the first in a long time and certainly first in the global era,” and no one is certain how it will end. Even if the realities of global warming do not play out as some scientists predict, with coastal cities underwater and the polar ice cap decimated, the trend is clear: this “slow crisis” is quickly becoming a national debate with a powerful potential in the voting booth.

“The education is finally happening on a wide basis, and it is pushing the move for action,” says Miller. “We cannot assume that our society will still be the same if global warming changes our coastline. Our society will give before the planet gives.”

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