THE CSIRO and Bureau of Meteorology have joined forces and come out swinging to defend the science behind global warming.
They want the science to do the talking to put to rest recent attacks on climate-change science. While debate should be encouraged and people with different views should feel free to speak openly, attacks on the science and climate-change supporters are unjustified. The time has come to look at the science.
The bureau and CSIRO state the science is clear. Scientists are now 90 per cent sure that the planet’s warming is linked to greenhouse gas emissions by human activity.
The bureau claims to have some of the best climate measurements in the world, with more than 100 climate reference stations around Australia.
The bureau’s director Greg Ayers says a century’s worth of climate records show definitively that weather patterns are shifting and the planet has already been warming.
Combining this data with the modelling conducted by some of Australia’s leading scientists at the CSIRO reaffirms climate change predictions of increased temperatures and reduced rainfall.
Both the bureau and CSIRO have data to confirm:
* temperatures in Australia have increased by about 0.7C since the 1960s, with some areas experiencing warming of 1.5C to 2C,
* sea levels are rising between 1.5cm and 3cm per decade in the south and east and between 7cm and 9cm in the north of Australia,
* that on its current path, the planet is heading for a rise in temperature of a further two degrees this century.
Climate change will have a major impact on our city, with sea level rises placing our beautiful beaches and promenade at risk.
Reduced rainfall will threaten food production in the region.
The opposing debate that the planet is undergoing a natural process of global warming as it moves out of the ice age has produced little, if any, peer-reviewed science to back the claim that humans are having no influence.
The rate at which global warming is happening is unprecedented, with scientists now 90 per cent confident greenhouse gas emissions from human activity are linked. I welcome anyone to present peer-reviewed journal articles proving otherwise.
The time has come to trust the science and acknowledge global warming is linked to human activity and act accordingly.
This Saturday 8.30pm to 9.30 pm is Earth Hour — a time when people are asked to turn off their lights and reflect on environmental issues such as global warming.
Locally the Warrnambool Environmental Action Group has been instrumental in raising awareness of many environmental issues, including global warming.
The group has encouraged local businesses to sign up, with more than 100 expected to take part.
An Earth Hour concert will be held on the Civic Green on Saturday from 7pm.
Why not join in and make a commitment?
Email a friend