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Global Climate Change Digest
A Guide to Information on Greenhouse Gases and Ozone Depletion
Published July 1988 through June 1999

FROM VOLUME 1, NUMBER 3, SEPTEMBER 1988

PROFESSIONAL PUBLICATIONS...
COMMENTARY

Item #d88sep25

"Global Warming: Uncertainty and Action" (Editorial), G.F. White, ibid., 30(6), inside cover, July-Aug. 1988.

Urges positive action to reduce or adapt to global warming such as highly efficient end use of petroleum, substitute renewable energy sources for fossil fuels, better management of forest cutting, and water management.

Item #d88sep26

"Does the Past Spell Out the Future?" J.Maddox, Nature, 334(6179), 191, July 21, 1988.

The general principle that statistical analysis can only test the validity of hypotheses, not prove them to be correct, raises questions about the consequence of carbon dioxide and the prospect of climatic change.

Item #d88sep27

"CO₂ and Climatic Change," S.B. Idso (US Water Cons. Lab., Phoenix AZ 85040), BioScience, 38(7), 442, July 1988.

Direct experiments have shown that the stimulatory effects of atmospheric CO₂ enrichment on plant growth and development are augmented by increasing air temperature. Water-use efficiency in a CO₂-enriched environment can actually double the amount of plant dry matter produced per unit of water transpired, in almost all plants. Perhaps CO₂ buildup is a blessing in disguise.

Item #d88sep28

"Preparing for Effects of Human-Induced Climate Change," E.M. Rasmusson (Dept. Meteor., Univ. Maryland), U.S. Water News, 4(12), 7, June 1988.

Global warming is a complex political and scientific issue which cannot be deferred until the changes are actually observed, as it may take decades or more to adjust to or reverse these climate trends. Scientists must reduce the degree of uncertainty facing decision makers as much and as quickly as possible.

Item #d88sep29

"Planning Needed to Manage Impacts of Warming," D.C. Hofman (N.J. Dept. Environ. Protection), ibid.

As first vice chairman of the Interstate Conference on Water Policy, Hofman urges scientists to provide planners, engineers and regulators with vital impact information on climatic change. Already some states are considering coastal setback requirements, and strategies to deal with saltwater intrusion caused by a sea-level rise are being developed.

Item #d88sep30

"Ozone Depletion," J.C. Farman (British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK), Nature, 333(6172), 390, June 2, 1988.

Insufficient funds to fully study effects of ozone depletion should not delay our action to decrease halocarbon emissions and restore the ozone layer.

Item #d88sep31

"The Rise of Eco-Diplomacy," R. Cowen, Tech. Rev., p.18, May/June 1988.

Studies by Rowland and Blake of the University of California at Irvine estimate that, due in part to increased methane, the stratosphere contains as much as 28% more water than during the 1940's. This could aid formation of stratosphere clouds over Antarctica which are believed to be sites for ozone depletion. Nations must work out global energy-use and development strategies that will minimize release of CO₂ and methane and their effect on climate.

Item #d88sep32

"The Hole in the Ozone Layer--A Much Discussed Phenomenon of this Decade," O.N. Singh (Dept. Appl. Phys., Banares Hindu Univ., Varanasi, India), Naturwissenschaften, 75(4), 191-193, Apr. 1988.

Atmospheric variations and chlorine-bromine chemistry contribute to Antarctic springtime ozone depletion. Deepening of the hole and the prolonged existence of the polar vortex indicate that global effects on circulation and world climate are likely.

Item #d88sep33

"The CO₂/Trace Gas Greenhouse Effect: Theory Versus Reality," S.B. Idso (U.S. Water Cons. Lab., Phoenix, Ariz.), Theor. Appl. Clim. (Austria), 38(1), 55-56, 1987.

Evaluates predictions of the theory by considering the 100-year time span from 1880 to 1980.

Item #d88sep34

"An International Program on `Global Change': Can it Endure?" S.H. Schneider (NCAR, POB 3000, Boulder CO 80307), Climatic Change, 10(3), 211-218, July 1987.

The long-term success of global change studies will depend on the quality of individual scientific efforts of interdisciplinary teams. Teams will be necessary to first find which sub-systems of the geosphere/biosphere are most important from the point of view of society; identify which collection of subsystems have promise of predictability; and make credible forecasts needed by society to plan more efficiently how to deal with its interactions with nature.