Ice caps melting faster than forecast

Global warming of only a couple of degrees Celsius projected by the end of this century is enough to trigger widespread melting of the massive Greenland ice cap and the partial collapse of Antarctica's ice sheets, prominent climate researchers warn in two studies published yesterday. The findings are a stunning about-face from previous expert forecasts that such massive melting would take millennia to kick in, even with rising global atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. This new research, based on a comprehensive look at global warming in the distant past, says melting the two icy domains could eventually raise sea level worldwide by as much as five metres, enough to flood low-lying regions like the Netherlands and most Pacific atolls, as well push half a billion people inland.

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  thanks to Juan Cole

Experts say global warming to blame for hurricanes

"The hurricanes we are seeing are indeed a direct result of climate change, and it's no longer something we'll see in the future; it's happening now," said Greg Holland, a division director at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo.

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  thanks to Juan Cole

Bush Faces Growing Dissent From Republicans on Climate Change

Representative Bob Inglis, a South Carolina Republican, says he ``pooh-poohed'' global warming until he trekked to the South Pole in January. ``Now, I think we should be concerned,'' says Inglis, who heads the U.S. House Science Research subcommittee. ``There are more and more Republicans willing to stop laughing at climate change who are ready to get serious about reclaiming their heritage as conservationists.''

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