Breaking News: Climate Changing

IPCC synthesis report confirms global warming is a force to be reckoned with

Posted at 2:43 PM on 16 Nov 2007

And now, ladies and gents, the moment you've all been waiting for. The Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, with input from delegates of more than 140 countries, has synthesized three previous reports into one 70-page summary document and a 20-page summary of that summary, meant to be an "instant guide" to policymakers who will meet in Indonesia next month to discuss climate-change next steps. The synthesis, approved and being formally adopted on Saturday, declares: "Warming of the climate system is unequivocal." Human activity is more than 90 percent likely to be the cause, and "could lead to abrupt and irreversible climate changes and impacts." Says Hans Verolme of WWF, "After this report, there are no politicians left who can argue they don't know what climate change is or they don't know what to do about it." Oh? We bet we know at least one.

sources: Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, BBC News

ADVERTISING POLICY

Comments: (7 comments)

You are not logged in. Thus, you cannot post a comment. If you have a Gristmill account, log in below. If you don't have a Gristmill account, well, by all means go make one! Meet you back here in five.

Propogation of Error

has synthesized three previous reports into one 70-page summary document and a 20-page summary of that summary

So, therefore, any error in the initial reports is magnified that much more.

by jabailo at 9:45 PM on 17 Nov 2007

Media blackout on climate change?

Can someone please explain to me why there is no extensive coverage in the media of the UN report? It's almost a complete miss in the press. I also noticed virtually no mainstream media coverage of Powershift which I find shocking.

If you've read any good coverage please post the links. I'd love to know who is publishing it.

by wendypenner at 3:52 AM on 18 Nov 2007

BBC Coverage

You have merely to read the first few pages of the summary report and examine the charts contained to see the significance. The BBC has the most reporting I have seen. A sobering report indeed.

mspelto

by mspelto at 4:39 PM on 18 Nov 2007

Wendy,

I'm afraid your question reveals a very dark and haunting truth about you: You live in America.

American news sucks. It's not biased, so much as it is useless and full of irrelevant bull$#!!.

I know, because I live in America, too. :)

Mspelto (M. Spelto? Ms. Pelto? Misspelt-o?) is right; go with BBC. I won't say they'll tell you everything you need to know, but they do cover everything that's news.

by Pathos at 7:55 PM on 18 Nov 2007

IPCC needs to hire a media specialist

One big problem w/ the IPCC is that they have released their AR/4 reports on Friday or Saturday. These are the absolute worst times to release news if you want to get coverage. I cannot figure out why they continue to shoot themselves in the foot by doing this.

by Andrew Dessler at 8:41 PM on 18 Nov 2007

Yes

I agree with all but Andrew makes a great point. Why oh why did they release the report for the Satuday news cycle? Still-hard to imagine it didn't seem to be the lead story almost anywhere (Friday's NYTimes is an exception-but nothing on the front page Saturday or Sunday).

I keep trying to imagine what sort of staged media event about climate change could ever attract the attention of the "cop kills wife" or "britney's acting looney" news. Maybe if we could get people to have group sex in their Priuses at a Hummer dealership would get some attention? How about a solar powered sex toys? Ideas anyone?

by wendypenner at 6:55 AM on 19 Nov 2007

ideas, sure lots of ideas

Ideas, but would any of them get the information across that we need to get across.

This is only a summary of the other 3 reports, so has already been reported. And the other 3 reports were in the summer, when it was hotter. We had cool breezes around here this week.

global warming is just not funny enough. to much like work.

by trock at 8:13 AM on 19 Nov 2007

The comments of Grist users reflect the opinions of those individuals only, and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoints of Grist, its staff, its board members, their psychotherapists, or their aestheticians. Got it?