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Global warming: A threat to Ice Caps
August 25th 2006: Sunlight strikes the planet most directly at the equator. The greater heat accumulating there flows toward the poles in ocean currents.Greenhouse gases (GHGs), especially carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane, determine Earth's temperature, and science has linked rising atmospheric concentrations to human activity. The Gulf Stream warms nearby land, especially Europe.
Temperature differentials establish air currents. Heat stimulates evaporation of sea water, falling later as rain. Modified by terrain, these phenomena determine weather patterns. It takes decades for oceans to warm to a new equilibrium; scientists estimate that today's GHG concentrations have 2 more degrees of warming in the pipeline.
Given the global economy's momentum, years are needed to rein in GHG emissions, and longer to reduce them by the 60 percent needed to stabilize CO2 concentrations at 550 ppm, the level scientists conjecture is the limit before irreversible damage occurs.
We face a call to act now to guard against future risks whose magnitude, probability and timing are still mostly matters of scientific conjecture, but with potential for enormous disruption.
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