GUEST COLUMN: Global warming a real danger
As the state of Utah climatologist and director of the Utah Climate Center at USU, I am often asked for an opinion about whether global warming and impending climate change are real and should be of concern to society.
My response has always been that it is not a matter of belief or opinion. The massive and growing scientific evidence has convinced the atmospheric science community that climate change is occurring and is the result of human activities, specifically the release of greenhouse gases.
In fact, the recent report released Friday, Feb. 2 from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states there is adequate evidence from observations and climate simulations to conclude the atmosphere, ocean and land surfaces are warming. In addition, they conclude the warming is not simply due to natural fluctuations of climate but rather that humans have significantly contributed to this change; the results of greenhouse gas emissions.
The planet is now on a road to some degree of climate change despite anything we do now, but the amount of future change will depend on the amount of carbon the people of Earth put into the atmosphere in the near future. Climate change will continue to have important impacts on human society, economies and the environment through the 21st century and beyond.
The report restates the consistent predictions that the patterns of temperature and precipitation will change in many regions. The exact details are not yet clear, but such shifts in regional climate will undoubtedly affect many ecosystems that support us as well as critical water resources we depend upon.
Extreme events such as droughts, floods, heat waves, etc. are also predicted to increase. Since climate is a complex, interconnected system, it may also deliver other surprising responses to the “big experiment” that the human race is currently conducting.
Jim Steenburgh, chair of the meteorology department at the University of Utah, wrote an article published Sunday, Feb. 4 in the opinion section of The Salt Lake Tribune titled “Climate science supports decisive action.” In this article, he praised the action of Gov. Jon Huntsman in forming a Blue Ribbon Advisory Council on Climate Change. This will review the science on climate change and evaluate potential policy options for Utah.
The Utah Climate Center and the climate faculty in the plants, soils and climate department at USU share and endorse the views expressed by Dr. Steenburg and the department of meteorology of the University of Utah.
We would also note that any debate about global warming, the effects of greenhouse gases and the reality of climate change has essentially disappeared in the scientific community. The scientific information and knowledge is being transmitted to society. The moment has arrived to move the discussions to ways we can prepare for an altered climate and explore options to reduce the magnitude of climate changes.
We must also note that the window of time is quite short in which people can take actions to significantly reduce future climate changes. The future events of this story will largely be determined by what happens in the next 10 to 20 years.
Robert Gillies is the state of Utah climatologist and director of the Climate Center at Utah State University. The academic and research climate professors in the department of Plants, Soils and Climate unanimously support the above statement.