- January 9, 2003: Dr. Andrew Derocher of the University of
Alberta, Canada, says the polar bear could be driven to extinction
by the loss of Arctic ice, which is melting at a rate of up to 9 per-
cent per decade. Arctic summers could be ice-free by mid-century
(BBC). - February 14, 2003: In China, severe floods that used to occur
once every 20 years now occur in 9 out of every 10 years. The
number of people devastated by hurricanes or cyclones has
increased eightfold to twenty-five million a year over the past 30
years. The oceans currently absorb fifty times more carbon diox-
ide than is contained in the atmosphere (Guardian International). - February 26, 2003: Changes in forest productivity, the migration
of tree species and potential increases in wildfires and disease
could cause substantial changes to U.S. forests. The timber
industry in the Southern United States is particularly vulnerable
(Pew Center on Global Climate Change). - March 7, 2003: Climate change effects could include a “big chill”
for the Northeastern United States and Western Europe, with tem-
peratures plunging as much as 9 degress F. The colder tempera-
tures would be caused by the failure of the Gulf Stream to carry
warm water from the tropics. The Gulf Stream makes an epic jour-
ney, traveling west over the top of Australia, around the Cape of
Good Hope at South Africa’s tip and up into the Atlantic Ocean.
The moving water is cooled by the northern chill and becomes
increasingly salty, sinking to lower depths for the return journey to
the Pacific. This process has changed little since the last Ice Age,
but global warming is throwing in a monkey wrench by melting
ice in the Arctic Ocean. A UN assessment says Arctic sea ice in
summertime could diminish 60 percent by 2050. This fresh water
could dilute the salinity of the Gulf Stream, which would mean that
it would not longer sink to the bottom of the ocean near Iceland
and begin its return trip to the Pacific. According to Robert B.
Gagosian, director of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution,
“We’re seeing huge freshening in the North Atlantic. The sinking
of the cold, salty water has slowed 20 percent in the last 30 years”
(Wall Street Journal).
x Preface