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LOS ANGELES, 19 FEBRUARY 2007
Dear EarthTalk: Are the recent cyclones and droughts in Australia and
elsewhere more evidence of global
warming?
Billy Hulkower, Los Angeles, CA
Scientists can't blame
individual storms or droughts on climate change, but many believe that
human-induced global warming is increasing the severity and frequency of
such weather "anomalies." Indeed, on February 2, 2007 scientists with the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a long-awaited
21-page report confirming "with 90 percent certainty" that increases in
man-made greenhouse gases since the mid-20th century are raising the
planet’s temperature and destabilizing the climate.
Besides
hurricanes like Katrina that have affected the northern hemisphere, a
number of high-impact tropical cyclones and typhoons have occurred around
the world in just the last few years, with Australia’s mammoth Cyclone
Larry topping the list in terms of intensity. That March 2006 storm
battered the northern Queensland coast with 180 mile-per-hour winds,
causing hundreds of millions of dollars in property damage and virtually
wiping out Australia’s banana crop. Thanks to Australia’s top-notch
weather forecasting and emergency preparedness, however, unlike Katrina,
Larry claimed no human lives.
Meanwhile, higher global
temperatures have at least worsened if not outright caused drought
conditions around the world, and Australia has been no exception. A 2003
report by the Australia chapter of the World Wildlife Fund found global
warming to be a key factor in the severity of the country’s 2002 drought,
one of four especially harsh droughts in just the last 50 years. The 2002
drought, which many scientists consider to be still in effect, was
particularly memorable as Australians endured higher daytime temperatures
than had ever been recorded during any March-November winter season.
Besides causing countless bush fires in the Australian Outback, the
drought has led to a significant drop in agricultural production, causing
hundreds of millions of dollars in economic losses, according to
government data.
An original 1997 signatory to the landmark
Kyoto Protocol calling for reduced greenhouse gas emissions, Australia’s
government nevertheless has refused to ratify and adhere to the terms of
the treaty. Prime Minister John Howard has taken a position similar to
that of U.S. President George W. Bush, who considers the terms of Kyoto
bad for industry.
But just because Australia hasn't ratified
Kyoto doesn't mean it has refused to acknowledge the potential
environmental impacts of global warming. The country has pledged $300
million over three years to implement various strategies to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions. It has also signed onto the Asia-Pacific
Partnership on Clean Development and Climate, an agreement with India,
Japan, China, South Korea and the U.S. to develop technology that helps
reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Whether such an agreement has enough
teeth to take a bite out of global warming is anybody’s guess, but it and
other endeavors to fight global warming will undoubtedly pick up momentum
with the release of the landmark IPPC report.
CONTACTS:
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, www.ipcc.ch; World Wildlife Fund Australia
drought report, www.wwf.org.au/publications/drought_report;
Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate, www.asiapacificpartnership.org.
GOT
AN ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTION? Send it to: EarthTalk, c/o E/The Environmental
Magazine, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; submit it at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/thisweek/, or
e-mail: earthtalk@emagazine.com. Read past columns
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