By Lorna Thackeray
Billings Gazette / Mont. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
April 8, 2004

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/business/national/8388980.htm

Early snowmelt has become a hallmark of Montana's prolonged drought.

Some scientists are beginning to think that it may be much more than that.

Full-fledged climate change, which could mean shorter winters and drier summers, is already under way across the Western United States, said Steve Running at the University of Montana.

"We have every reason to believe that it will continue or even accelerate," he said. "Absolutely, we are in a multidecadinal change in climate."

Running is director of UM's Numerical Terradynamic Simulation Group, which makes software for NASA's environmental satellites. The group operates the Montana Climate Center, which opened last fall in Missoula.

Evidence collected over the last 50 years suggests that rising temperatures have fostered a decline in springtime snowpack of 15 to 30 percent in Montana and that springtime peak river flows now come an average of two weeks earlier, he said.

The snowpack, which holds about 75 percent of the West's water supply, acts as a reservoir that keeps streams flowing in the summer months. If the melt continues to recede earlier into spring, resulting summer water shortages could affect everything from agriculture and hydropower to fish habitat, the professor said.

It's a fear that he shares with Belgrade native Kelly Redmond, Western regional climatologist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Climate Center in Reno, Nev.

The degree of change in spring melt varies, Redmond said, but the trend toward earlier melt is widespread across the West. Yellowstone Basin snow begins to melt five to 15 days earlier than it did 56 years ago.

The trend becomes more pronounced as waters flow west. West of the Divide in Montana and into Idaho, Washington and Oregon, spring melt comes 15 to 25 days earlier, Redmond said.

"It's kind of taken us all aback," he said in a telephone interview. "It's kind of hard to see this happening right under our nose without us noticing."

Only in the last few years has early snowmelt drawn much interest, he said, but he expects to see research and public information on the trend accelerate.

Evidence for earlier melts is strong on a lot of fronts, Redmond said.

At the top of the list are temperature statistics. Records indicate that America is warming, especially in the West, and especially in February, March and April. For most of the West, Montana included, temperatures during that critical period have increased a half-degree to a full degree every decade for the last 30 to 40 years.

March 2004 stands out as a prime example, Redmond said. It was an
"exceptional" month, the climatologist said.

All across the West, it was warm and dry. For south-central Montana, 2004 produced the fourth-warmest March since 1895. It was also among the driest.

"Normally, March is a snow production month," he said. "But this year it was a deficit month."

Montana wasn't alone in its lack of snowpack. Utah started the month expecting near average spring runoff for a change, Redmond said. By the end of the month, the state was bracing for one of the lowest runoffs ever.

Statistics from Natural Resources and Conservation Service snow surveys show that snowpack declined 16 percent in Montana between March 1 and April 1. The losses were more severe elsewhere in the West, including Nevada, 54 percent; Arizona, 51 percent; New Mexico, 43 percent; Utah, 39 percent; and Wyoming, 19 percent.

A warm March and a warm winter worked together. In Montana, the average temperature from October through March was 3 degrees above normal -- the 11th-warmest winter on record. Even winter-ravaged northeastern Montana surpassed its winter average by 1 degree.

Running said that studies of the Missoula area showed the number of frost-free days has increased 15 days there in the last 50 years and that annual snowfall has fallen from an average of 55 inches to 40 inches.

Related, but separate evidence of earlier snowmelt comes from studying peak spring flows for more than 1,000 streams in the Western states, Western Canada and Alaska over the last 50 years, Redmond said. Those studies show snowpack disappearing from one to three weeks earlier in the spring.

What researchers measured was the "spring pulse" of all those streams.

Snowmelt begins after the pack has ripened, Redmond said. It accumulates enough heat that the entire pack reaches 32 degrees, before it starts to melt.

"When the snow begins to melt, it does it in a fairly abrupt fashion,"
Redmond said.

Scientists can go back through streamflow records and mark the date when the water starts to come down -- that's its spring pulse. Records show that the pulse happens almost simultaneously throughout the region. The pulses kick in usually within two or three days of each other, he said.

Research shows that, from New Mexico to Alaska, the pulse is getting earlier, Redmond said. This spring a river gauge in California's Yosemite National Park recorded the spring pulse on March 6, the earliest ever in 87 years of monitoring.

A third body of evidence originated more than 40 years ago when then-Montana Climatologist Joe Caprio began collecting data on the life cycles of lilacs and honeysuckle, Redmond said. Caprio recruited 500 observers in 11 states to record when the plants first showed signs of life in the spring and when they blossomed.

Analysis of the information indicated that the plants are blooming seven to 10 days earlier now than they did 40 years ago, Redmond said.

"They all kind of give a consistent pattern," he said of the temperatures, spring pulses and blooming dates.

Warmer springs and earlier melts mean a longer growing season and that plants will be using more water, Redmond said. It may also mean that more moisture will go directly into the atmosphere, he said.

"The major thing to sort out here has been whether this is a natural
variation in climate or if it is something else," he said. "There is strong evidence that a good part of it is natural."

For Running, the debate has already been resolved. He said human activity is clearly playing a significant role in climate change.

"We'd better start getting serious about energy that's not based on
petroleum," he said.

If the world community doesn't find some solutions, consequences will be dire, Running said.

"People are going to have to face up to it head on or get used to less and less snowpack and more and more drought," he said.


Informant: NHNE

Scientists say the melting of the massive ice sheet on Greenland --
which has been stable for thousands of years -- could increase sea
levels by as much as 7 metres (23 feet). Such a rise would inundate
vast areas of land, including cities at sea level, such as London.
Some densely populated regions, such as Bangladesh, may disappear.

For the ice sheet to begin melting, ambient temperatures around
Greenland would need to rise more than 3 degrees Celsius, Jonathan
Gregory, a climate scientist with the Met Office Hadley Centre and
the University of Reading, said. The concentrations of man-made
greenhouse gases would probably reach levels that would trigger the
melting by about the middle of the century.

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/science_medical/story.jsp?story=509567

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4414413,00.html


Informant. Thomas L. Knapp

By Amanda Brown, Environment Correspondent, PA News

The growth of air travel and its impact on global warming is “an issue of enormous concern”, the Government’s chief scientific adviser warned today.

Sir David King, who earlier this year sparked controversy when he said climate change was a more serious threat to the planet than terrorism, told an all-party committee of MPs: “It is not perhaps unusual that the (aviation) industry would like to continue in a relatively unregulated fashion.”

He added that he believed this was “an issue of enormous concern in terms of climate change”.

Sir David also highlighted difficulties with aviation tax.

Aircraft fumes containing carbon dioxide are a major contributor to atmospheric pollution and a worsening of the greenhouse effect with extreme weather conditions such as storms, drought and flooding.

Sir David said mankind has the power to tackle the problem, but politics is a problem as far as air travel is concerned.

He told the Commons Environmental Audit Committee: “The issue of aviation is very important.

“Of course it is complicated but I don’t think because an issue is complicated, we should avoid the consequences.

“Aviation around the world is a continually growing industry and it depends critically on fossil fuel burning.

“So without going into the details, we can see that there is a net negative effect in terms of global warming.

“There are complex factors arising from water vapour production at different levels. But if we just look at carbon dioxide emissions, that in itself is a major contributory factor to our net emissions problem.

“No single country can resolve this problem. If aviation fuel tax were introduced in one country, planes would simply fly off to another to fill up.

“So it is another complex international issue and I’m afraid that as soon as I see a complex international issue, we are up against buffers and longer timescales.”

Sir David said climate change was already “irreversible”, but the Antarctic ice sheet could take about 1,000 years to melt.

He added that while the Greenland ice sheet could melt in between 50 and 200 years, sea levels could rise by six or seven metres, causing flooding over London.

“It is all happening now and it is a process that has already begun. The best way to deal with it is not to test it out. Don’t go there, keep CO2 levels down,” added Sir David.

He said that Europe is “absolutely on target” with its carbon dioxide reductions and should hold on to it without any “weakening of the knees”.

But simply “preaching” to the developing world about the need to cut back on emissions “won’t work,” he said.

©2004 Scotsman.com


Informant: NHNE

Environment News Service
March 31, 2004

http://www.climateark.org/articles/reader.asp?linkid=30615

WASHINGTON, DC. - A bipartisan coalition of 20 U.S. Representatives introduced Tuesday a companion bill to Senator John McCain and Joe Lieberman's Climate Stewardship Act. The bill, cosponsored by Maryland Republican Wayne Gilchrest and Massachusetts Democrat John Olver, would require some sectors of the U.S. economy to enact mandatory reductions of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions -- the leading greenhouse gas.

The bill would set a nationwide cap on industrial emissions of C02 and reduce those emissions down to 2000 levels by 2010 through an emissions trading system.

It does not address the C02 emissions from the nation's automobiles, which represent some 20 percent of the U.S. total.

With roughly four percent of the world's population, United States is responsible for more than 25 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Higher temperatures caused by the increased levels of greenhouse gases are expected to result in rising sea levels, the melting of the polar ice caps, erratic and severe weather patterns, northward migration of tropical diseases and a host of other environmental problems that could have far reaching impacts.

Environmentalists praised the move, even though the legislation has little chance of passing the House of Representatives.

"The announcement of House legislation to limit heat-trapping carbon dioxide pollution reflects building momentum in the United States for responsible action to address global warming," said Brooks Yeager of the World Wildlife Fund.

McCain, an Arizona Republican, and Lieberman, a Connecticut Democrat, have reintroduced the bill in the Senate. It was defeated in the Senate last October by a vote of 53 to 44, but supporters of the legislation said the vote was a watershed moment in the U.S. debate over the issue of global warming.

It was the first action on the issue by the Senate in six years.

At a hearing on the bill earlier this month, McCain described the legislation as "an incredibly modest proposal. But," he said, "we need a beginning."


Informant: NHNE

Christian Science Monitor
March 30, 2004

http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0330/p08s03-comv.html

The erratic weather of recent years in Europe, from devastating floods to lengthy heat waves, has convinced many on the Continent that human-induced climate change is no mere theory.

Then why are so many European Union leaders getting cold feet about doing something about global warming?

Because despite the change in weather patterns and Europe's green rhetoric, the EU faces a reality check on March 31, the day each member nation must submit a plan for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases.

The projected costs, as well as the likely loss of economic competitiveness with the United States, has the EU wondering if it can virtually go it alone in implementing the Kyoto Protocols on climate change. The protocol has yet to take effect as a binding treaty since the US and Russia won't sign on, and China and India were given a pass for now.

In Germany, the EU's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, the government has been in a crisis over details of its plan. Last week at an EU summit, Chancellor Gerhard Schröder asked the body to slow down implementation but was rebuffed by France. All he won was a request for a cost-benefit study on "environmental and competitiveness considerations" in meeting Kyoto's strict targets.

No EU government had submitted a plan by last week, although seven of the 15 have drafts. Many governments are as troubled as Germany's, with the result that the European Commission sent out a warning that failure to submit a plan on time could result in legal action and fines.

The required plans are only for setting up an official trading system that would allow companies to buy and sell permits to emit greenhouse gases, starting in 2005. Each government would be given emission allowances which could be traded in a market system. A company could either meet a target or else purchase a "credit" from cleaner companies and keep on polluting.

The scheme is designed to meet the EU's promise of cutting greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels by 8 percent of 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012.

But Europe's auto and electric industries recently warned of a slowdown in growth if they are forced to invest in clean energy technologies. The warnings come as the EU has acknowledged that it's falling further behind in its plan to match the US in productivity, employment, and growth.

Those kinds of warnings about slow growth are what compelled the US Senate, and President Bush, to reject Kyoto. If Europe now backpedals, the global effort to influence climate change will be driven mainly by the market, as car buyers and the auto industry choose to become less polluting. And Europe will lose its claim to global leadership in pushing Kyoto.

It could just be that government inducements, such as tax credits, may be preferable over tough regulation on greenhouse gases. But then, would that pace of change be fast enough to slow down climate change? The science is not clear yet on whether the temperature trend could be reversed even if the whole world went full bore to reaching Kyoto's targets.

At the least, this EU debate over Kyoto's trade-offs will set a useful
precedent for the rest of the world on whether it too can balance economic sacrifice against a collective will to curb human changes to Earth's atmosphere.


Informant: NHNE

March 1, 2004

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NasaNews/2004/2004030116590.html

Students, scientists, teachers, reporters and the scientifically curious can locate any kind of Earth science data much easier and quicker than ever before, using NASA’s Global Change Master Directory (GCMD). The redesigned website, a directory of Earth science data and services is being re-launched on March 1st to provide easier access to data and services.

Internet users can access the directory at http://globalchange.nasa.gov or http://gcmd.nasa.gov. The re-launched website is easier to navigate, with 9 tabs running atop the home page, including: Home, Data Sets; Data Services; Portals; Authoring; What’s New; Community; Calendar; and Links.

The GCMD, updated daily, provides Earth science data sets and services relevant to global change research. The GCMD’s 13 data set topics, found under the “Data Sets” tab, provide summaries of the data sets and specific information such as data over time and location, a citation for the creator of the database, and direct links to data and services.

Available dataset topics range from tiny airborne particles (aerosols) to the continental-sized ozone hole to global sea surface temperatures. The GCMD topics include: Agriculture, Atmosphere, Biosphere, Climate Indicators, Human Dimensions, Hydrosphere, Land Surface, Oceans, Paleoclimate, Snow and Ice, Solid Earth, Spectral/Engineering and Sun-Earth Interactions.

Users can search over 15,000 data sets and services and link to more than over 76,000 resources within the descriptions The individual data set descriptions were contributed by more than 1,300 data centers, government agencies, universities, research institutions, and private researchers around the world.

For scientists and others who want to add or modify GCMD datasets, they can do so under the “Authoring” tab by using the new “docBUILDER” web-based tools. Under the “Data Services” tab are available services from analysis and visualization tools to education and environmental advisories.

The “Portals” tab is the most important to specific groups of data users. “Perhaps the greatest contribution of the GCMD to the public has been the ability to create customized subsets of the directory that can be displayed, in turn, by special interest groups,” said Lola Olsen, Directory Project Manager at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. “These groups save major development and maintenance costs by re-using the directory capabilities.” For example, member countries of the Joint Committee on Antarctic Data Management (JCADM) contribute directory entries using the GCMD tools and may then, in turn, host individual, customized subsets of the database through “portals” through which they can display their own contribution.

Reporters and others interested in upcoming recent climate change conferences can find up to 1,000 entries under the “Calendar” tab. Under the “What’s New” tab, there are new Earth science and climate change research stories and the latest GCMD data set descriptions.

Students and teachers will also benefit from the “Learning Center” that can be found under the “Community” tab. Clicking on “FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions” at the bottom of the homepage, one can see answers to questions such as “Where can I find information about the ozone hole and ozone depletion?”† Finally, the “Links” tab acts as a web-based search engine for easy access to over 2,500 Earth science web resources.

For those who use the directory often, there is also a search box icon that permits direct access to the directory through a simple download to a user’s website. Users can also subscribe to an email notification on postings of new datasets for “Earth Science Topics” and “Geographic Locations” by clicking on “Subscribe” on the left tool bar.

The directory content is shared and available as part of NASA’s contribution to the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites’ (CEOS) International Directory Network (IDN). The content is also made available to the National Spatial Data Infrastructure’s (NSDI) Federal Geographic Data Committee’s (FDGC) Clearinghouse.

Questions can be directed to Lola Olsen, GCMD Project Manager, Code 902, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. 20771 Phone: 301-614-5361 E-mail: olsen@gcmd.nasa.gov

To access the Global Change Master Directory, please visit on the Internet:
http://globalchange.nasa.gov or http://gcmd.nasa.gov

For more information, please visit on the Internet: http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/topstory/2004/ 0301gcmd.html


Contacts:
Rob Gutro
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
Phone: 301/285-4044


Informant: NHNE

By Dennis Bueckert
Canadian Press
Saturday, March 27, 2004

http://tinyurl.com/27lfk

OTTAWA (CP) - The federal government has issued a national call to battle, a battle in which no sacrifice is too small.

It will not be fought on the beaches, but in the kitchens and laundry rooms of the nation; not in the air, but in the attics.

Under the One-Tonne Challenge program, officially launched Friday, Canadians are being urged to take on the enemy of climate change one light bulb at a time.

Ottawa wants everyone to cut by 20 per cent the greenhouse gas emissions caused by their daily activities. That would mean a one tonne reduction per capita.

"Each one of us, every time we go shopping, every time we turn on the lights, we are undoubtedly contributing to the climate-change gases in the atmosphere," Environment Minister David Anderson told a news conference.

If each household replaced a single conventional light with a fluorescent bulb, said Anderson, the country would save $73 million a year in energy costs.

"And we would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by almost 400,000 tonnes which is the same as taking 60,000 cars off the road."

Environmentalists welcome the effort, but say it would help if Ottawa provided incentives for doing the right thing.

Currently, for example, Ontario and British Columbia provide rebates for buying fuel-efficient cars, but the federal government does not.

Some provinces provide rebates for the purchase of energy-efficient appliances, but Ottawa does not.

The David Suzuki Foundation says that voluntary actions by individuals can have only limited impact on national energy consumption patterns.

"It's going to take a lot more than turning down our thermostats to solve the problem of climate change," said the foundation's Morag Carter.

"What the federal government really needs to do is make deep emission cuts and that means targeted regulations for large industry, transportation and the oil and gas sector."

Matthew Bramley of the Pembina Institute said Canada's total greenhouse emissions in 2002 were 720 megatonnes, or 23 tonnes per capita. Out of those 23 tonnes, five tonnes are directly attributable personal activities, he said.

"It's entirely appropriate to have a program focused on those five tonnes, and that's what the One-Tonne Challenge is about, but of course we absolutely have to have some tough policies to address the other 18 tonnes."

The federal government is working on a plan to curb emissions by large emitters, and is negotiating with automakers to improve the fuel efficiency of their vehicles.

Environment Canada http://www.ec.gc.ca/envhome.html has posted other tips on the its website, covering everything from good car maintenance to environmentally friendly gardening.


Informant: NHNE

NACH DEM NUN DER WIRTSCHAFTSMINISTER MIT BREITEN RÜCKHALT DIE ERSTEN ÖKOLOGISCHEN SCHRITTE WIEDER RÜCKGÄNGIG MACHEN MÖCHTE, SOLLTE UNS BEWUST WERDEN, DASS ES IMMER VORREITER GEBEN MUSS, UM ZU ZEIGEN, DASS EINE ANDERE WELT UND WIRTSCHAFTSWEISE MACHBAR IST!

WIR SOLLTEN DIESE ROLLE WEITER AUSBAUEN!

LASST DIE UMWELTVERSCHMUTZUNG NICHT FÜR DEN PROFIT STEIGEN, UNSERE KINDER WOLLEN AUCH NOCH LUFT ZUM ATMEN HABEN!

ARBEITSLOSIGKEIT HAT ANDERE GRÜNDE!

AUCH DIE OZONSCHICHT IST GEFÄHRDETER ALS LANGE ANGENOMMEN, DIE KLIMAERWÄRMUNG UND DIE DAMIT VERBUNDEN AUSKÜHLUNG IN GEWISSEN ATMOSPHÄRISCHEN SCHICHTEN BAUT UNSER STRAHLENSCHUTZSCHILD VERSTÄRK AB, SO DASS ZUKÜNFTIG NOCH MEHR ENERGIEREICHE STRAHLUNG BIS AUF DIE ERDOBERFLÄCHE STRAHLT.

MACHT JA NIX, ODER?

DAS MAGNETFELD NIMMT AUCH AB, EVTL. AUFGRUND EINER POLWANDERUNG UND SOMIT FÄLLT DANN AUCH DER MAGNETISCHE SCHUTZSCHILD AUS....

ALSO, LASST UNS ÖL VERBRENNEN, LASST UNS UNSER GRAB SCHAUFELN, DIE NATUR ÜBERLEBT´S UND SIE BRAUCHT UNS NICHT!

BERND SCHREINER


27.03.2004 - Klima und Wetter
Der Anteil von Kohlendioxid in der Atmosphäre ist weiter gestiegen.
Link: http://www.natur.de/sixcms/detail.php?id=156352

Treibhausgas auf Rekordniveau
Der Anteil von Kohlendioxid in der Atmosphäre ist weiter gestiegen.

Während Wirtschaftsminister Clement noch gegen den Emmissionshandel mauert, melden amerikanische Forscher, dass die Kohlendioxid-Werte in der Erdatmosphäre auf ein Rekordniveau angestiegen sind. Das Wissenschaftsmagazin New Scientist berichtet über die neuen Daten der US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA. Die Zahlen bestätigen, dass der CO2-Anteil im Jahr 2003 auf 376 ppm gestiegen ist. Vor 50 Jahren lagen sie noch bei 315 ppm.

Die Daten stammen vom NOAA-Observatorium in Hawaii. Der Wert des Kohlendioxids ist demnach von 2002 auf 2003 um 2,5 ppm gestiegen. Dabei handelt es sich nicht um die größte jährliche Steigerungsrate. "Aber das große Bild zeigt, dass die CO2-Werte eben permanent nach oben gehen", so Russell Schnell von NOAA. Die Klimaforscher vermuten einen Zusammenhang zwischen den Werten und der rasanten Entwicklung in China und Indien.

http://www.cmdl.noaa.gov


Viele Grüße aus Westhausen!

Bernd Schreiner



Hallo Herr Schreiner!

Sie liegen falsch. Zu Zeiten höchster CO²Emmissionen in den 50ger, 60ger und 70er Jahren gab es kein Waldsterben.

Schwefeldioxid ist ein ausgezeichneter Dünger, ohne Schwefel produzieren die Bauern so gut wie nichts.

Befragen Sie bitte hierzu einen guten Förster oder den Pflanzenphysiologen und Biologen Peter Augustin.

Richten Sie Ihre Aufmerksamkeit auf die giftige Platinoxidationskatalyse der 3-Wege-Kats und auf die Mikrowellen, Kunstdünger und synthetische Bakterien in allen Kläranlagen.

Größte Fruchtbarkeit findet man immer in der Nähe von Vulkanen, die immense Mengen an CO², Schwefel etc. produzieren..

Düngen Sie Ihren Garten mit Asche aus Kohlekraftwerken, die keinen Müll verbrennen und Sie werden ein grünes Wunder erleben. Ähnliches gilt für den Einsatz von EX1 Keimen von Prof. Higa.

Wir sollten uns nicht weiter veralbern lassen.


Beste Grüße

Gerd Zesar

By Peter N. Spotts | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

Few effects from global warming raise more red flags than rising sea levels. The topic has led to a growing pile of conflicting research trying to answer the questions: How fast, and why?

Now, a pair of US scientists conclude that the oceans rose at a global average rate of 1.5 to 2 millimeters a year (6 to 8 inches a century), confirming a hotly debated, decade-old estimate. But their work also points to the key driver of this change: water from melting glaciers and not, as some have argued, a natural swelling of the oceans caused by higher temperatures.

Pinpointing glacial melt as the leading source of the oceans' rise is a new finding that contradicts several past studies.

The work "is a major contribution, and will go a long way toward explaining some of the current enigmas in our understanding of the earth's system," says Mark Meier, a glacier expert at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

"This was a surprise to us," says Laury Miller, an oceanographer with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Laboratory for Satellite Altimetry in Silver Spring, Md. "But it just popped out of the data." And, he notes, it dovetails with studies that show oceans now contain more fresh water than 40 years ago.

The difference between these findings and the findings of other scientists who argue for a slower, 4-inch-per-century rise in sea level may seem small, Dr. Miller notes, but it's significant. More than 100 million people worldwide live within a mile of a coastline and would be first affected by any rise.

"The estimate for the past 100 years forms the basis for future predictions" of the impact of changing climate on the world's oceans, he says. Miller and Bruce Douglas of Florida International University conducted the study, which appears in Thursday's edition of Nature.

The debate over the rate of the oceans' rise emerged in the mid- to late 1990s, researchers say. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which distills the latest research and lays out related policy issues for government leaders, noted in 1995 that the best evidence argued for an increase of 6 to 8 inches a century. The gains were measured at tide gauges worldwide.

Improved measurements of global ocean heat, however, indicated that the ocean had not warmed nearly enough to rise at the rate the tide gauges indicated. And glacial runoff was still thought to be a tiny contributor to ocean mass.

The situation grew muddier with a study published in 2002 by French researchers who compared satellite data with a new catalog of ocean temperature and salinity estimates and concluded that tide gauges overestimate the rate of sea-level rise.

Miller and Douglas, by contrast, used the tide gauges and raw oceanographic measurements of temperature, salinity, and density to reach their conclusions.

The tide gauges do not appear to be unduly influenced by local conditions, and the combined sources of direct data argue for the higher rate of increase, they say, and glacial melt as the leading cause.

from the March 25, 2004 edition -
http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0325/p17s02-sten.html

see also:
THE GREAT WARMING
http://www.thegreatwarming.com/


Informant: NHNE

In an attempt to help us stay abreast of all aspects of climate change, NHNE now has a "Climate Change Reference Page":

http://www.nhne.com/climatechange/index.html

The goal is to create a quick way to access the Net's best, most reliable information on all aspects of climate change.

While this new page is still a teeny weenie baby, I did come across a few outstanding resources that I wanted to tell you about. Chief among them is a website called, "Climate Ark". Along with maintaining a daily news feed of climate change, global warming, and related stories, Climate Ark also has a fantastic database of stories that date back to 1999. If you want to stay abreast of climate-related news, or locate an obscure story from the past, here's where to go:

Climate Ark:
http://www.climateark.org/news/

Climate Ark Archive:
http://www.climateark.org/articles/recent/

And here are a few other great links:

Tide Pool:
http://www.tidepool.org/subjects/id.artshow.cfm?category=climate

Yahoo:
http://news.yahoo.com/fc?tmpl=fc&cid=34&in=world&cat=climate_change

Washington Post: http://tinyurl.com/39eem

The Guardian:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/0,12374,782494,00.html


David Sunfellow