Damage from climate change

Skeptics like to point out that global warming has only measured 0.6 degrees Celsius this past century, as if this seemingly small increment of change is inconsequential. The average temperature increase however, understates the magnitude of change in various regions closer to the poles. For example, the temperature is rising in the Arctic regions at more than twice the rate of the rest of the world, according to the 2004 Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, a comprehensive study by scientists from eight nations. Warming is accentuated in high-latitude regions partly because of thinner atmospheres that concentrate the greenhouse gases, and also because of the nature of atmospheric currents.

Atmospheric temperatures in Alaska, the northernmost U.S. state, have risen by approximately 2 degrees Celsius (more than 3 degrees Fahrenheit) over the past 5 decades. Alaska in particular will suffer harm due to collapsing bridges, bursting sewer pipes and crumbling roads as its permafrost melts. See Damage from climate change may cost Alaska $10 bln.

Surprise news on May 31, 2007:

So my proposal is this: By the end of next year, America and other nations will set a long-term global goal for reducing greenhouse gases...

Bush said this in a speech outlining his agenda at next month's meeting of leaders of the Group of Eight industrialized nations in Germany. Do you believe him? See this news brief from MarketWatch. For a more detailed treatment of the situation and its context, read: Bush Calls for Global Emissinons Goals.