GIBS-VIEWSLETTER # 1
NASA Scientist Jim Hansen left his job so that he can
speak the truth on global warming!
American
public should know, while the Republican as well as
Democratic candidates seek the
highest office in
our nation (CEO of the
World or
“Pastor-in-Chief”) that politicians are wrong when they say that the
global war on terrorism is truly far more important than global warming.
Both are important. Denial
is a river in
Egypt as Mark Twain wisely
stated.
Al Gore was criticized squarely in the Congress
during recent
hearings both in the House and Senate for failing to promote nuclear
power-plants in our nation when he was in the
pinnacle of power as our
Vice President. Some Senators asked him to change his life-style too to
conserve energy in his luxurious
mansion.
Al Gore must be recognized as the champion to promote public awareness of global warming scenario (“Inconvenient Truth”) just as Jacques Cousteau
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| Cousteau |
kindled
interest on pollution impacts on the
wealth and health of
the ocean depths, particularly the spectacular coral reef ecosystems.
Revealing the truth about a process that is man-induced
and not natural is important but more important is to find a
solution to the problem before it really becomes an irreversible crisis.
I do not
buy the false theory that the President of the United States of America
is the one to find answers to all mankind’s problems, including global
warming. In fact the late Senator Patrick Monihan warned wisely that
trouble would begin when the Soviet Union (Russia now) is no longer a
‘Super Power’ and Americans will become the only ‘Super Power’. Our role
is responsible leadership and therefore, we should set an example by
signing the Kyoto treaty and reduce our carbon emissions with an action
plan to encourage Australia, China and India to curb carbon emission.
Our President George Bush’s term terminates in less than two years but
there is light at the end of the tunnel when the 44th
President in 2009 gives priority to global warming issue and shifts
gears to alternate energy sources such as nuclear, solar, wind farms in
the ocean, bio-fuel, hydrogen, geothermal and tidal energy.
We, no longer, can say that we lack evidence for global warming. It is not only proven in more than 900 peer-reviewed science papers but also we witness: (1) Migratory birds changing their routes and time of onset of migration (2) Boreal jellyfish taking over near North Pole (3) Polar bears drowning in the Arctic Ocean (4) Adelie penguins in Antarctica declining rapidly in the last 3 decades with
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|
“Endangered” Adelie Penguins |
concurrent
reduction of Antarctic Krill (My research from UNCW originally
established the baseline data of Krill abundance in Palmer Peninsula
region in the 1980s) and (5) Ice-caps dwindling on mountain summits (Kilamanjaro,
Alps, Himalayas and Andes) and glaciers melting faster than ever.
The brutal fact is that the United States is now far behind
many industrialized nations in mathematics and science education
in our public schools. This situation must change. Likewise, public
knowledge on our stressed and endangered ecosystems and declining
biodiversity is meager. This situation must improve. Thanks to the
wisdom of the
conservation biologist Prof. Edward O. Wilson of Harvard
University for promoting the project on the “Encyclopedia of All
Species” (1.8 million known species) which is now funded by Sloan
Foundation and administered by the Smithsonian Institution. No doubt, we
need to establish the current species composition of the earth before we
witness the demise and extinction of the bulk of the extent species due
to the ongoing climate change.
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| WILSON |
The Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change (IPCC), composed of
2000 scientists, concluded that sea-level rise would be as much as 23
inches in the 21st century but not
20 feet
as some claim. Jim Titus of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
was asked not to give public speeches of
his findings on
potential sea-level increases
and consequent damages to beaches and wetlands. The Bush
administration agenda pushed for fossil fuel in his first term and now
urges to cut
foreign oil import. Phil Cooney of American Petroleum Institute
(API) was hired to head the White House Office of Council for
Environmental Quality (CEQ).
American Public is not aware of the fact that government agencies have
two kinds of scientists, those doing hard science such as James Hansen
of NASA and others working with decision makers to formulate priorities
in science policies. Hansen is the country’s leading scientist on global
warming but he was denied opportunities to speak on climate change.
Hansen became restless and resigned his job to tell the truth on global
warming. This case in point is worth looking into because we will kid
ourselves if we as responsible citizens of this great nation fail to
tell the truth and avert impending dangers of climate change. The
solution is not just self-dependence on oil and gas but shifting to
hydrogen-cars and reductions in carbon emissions as a national policy
and at the state level, as California has done it.
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Deep-Sea
Cold Coral and fish |
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| Star-News Column on July 30, 2001 |
* Dr. Robert
Y. George, formerly Professor of Biology and Marine Biology at UNCW
(1972-2002), is now
President of the George Institute for Biodiversity and Sustainabilty
(GIBS), Wilmington, N.C. He also serves as adviser to NOAA-Fisheries and
in this capacity he is instrumental in the establishment of the
Inter-agency “Government Board on Deep-Sea Coral and Vulnerable Marine
Ecosystems”. He also serves on the Deep-Sea Ecology Working Group of the
ICES (International Council for the Exploration of the Seas).
Visit:
www.GIBSconservation.org