"The greatest environmental challenge of the new century is global warming.
Scientists tell us that the 1990’s were the hottest decade of the entire millennium.
If we fail to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, deadly heat waves and droughts
will become more frequent, coastal areas will be flooded, economies disrupted."
-President Bill Clinton

Anyone who has climbed into a closed car on a sunny day has experienced what is known as the greenhouse effect. Auto glass allows sunlight in and traps the heat inside. This is similar to the effect we are now experiencing within the Earth's atmosphere. Greenhouse gases (primarily CO2) are trapping the sun's heat. This naturally occurring phenomenon is what makes the Earth inhabitable. However, due to the emission of gases from the burning of fossil fuels and other specific industrial operations this process is now accelerating at a dangerous rate.

The evidence is overwhelming and currently, most scientists have reached a consensus on this issue. The twentieth century has been the warmest century in five hundred years. 1998 was the warmest year in recorded history! Eighty percent of the net temperature increase occurred in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

How will global warming affect us?

According to an article which appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer, "Global warming is so real and hard to stop that Americans will have to learn to cope with a hotter and quite different lifestyle in coming generations…"

We have already experienced several years of extreme weather. Between 1995 and 1998 there were over one hundred and fifty such events including floods in China which left 4 million people homeless, 11,000 hurricane casualties in Central America, the worst drought in Mexico in one hundred and fifty years; almost one event per week and each one record breaking.
Some of the other anticipated changes:



What measures are being undertaken to reverse this trend?

In the United States the federal government is contributing to funding scientific and technological research to understand climate change and to develop technologies to make us less dependent on fossil fuels.

The Environmental Protection Agency is engaged in a multitude of programs such as Climate Wise, a government-industry partnership which helps businesses turn energy efficiency and environmental performance into increased profits. Companies participating in Climate Wise are finding that improving energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions saves them money and boosts productivity. These companies expect to save more than $300 million by the end of this year

The Department of Energy also has developed many programs to reduce emissions including Energy Smart Schools, Commercial High Performance Buildings Project and State Energy Programs to name but a few.

On the state level, twenty five states and Puerto Rico are working on, or have completed action plans on how to reduce their GHG emissions. Oregon and Massachusetts have enacted CO2 regulations for the siting of power plants. New Hampshire is working on a registry for GHG emissions and reductions and there are several bills pending in State Legislatures to address these issues

Internationally there already exist many government restrictions on emissions which are enforced via caps on amounts permitted, and taxes. In many countries renewable energy standards are being implemented and mandated restrictions in the transportation sector are being implemented as well.

Currently there is an international effort to ratify the Kyoto Protocol which is a treaty to impose binding targets on countries' emissions of greenhouse gasses. Recently Japan joined the European Union and Australia in announcing plans to strive to ratify this treaty for implementation by 2002. In the meantime however, many governments along with private industries are already involved in pre-compliance measures to meet the treaty's goals.

What actions can I take?