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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 2, NUMBER 6, JUNE 1989

PROFESSIONAL PUBLICATIONS...
OF GENERAL INTEREST

Item #d89jun28

"Environmental Impact Statements and Climate Change," G.T. Prickett (Nat. Resour. Defense Council, 1350 New York Ave., NW, S. 300, Washington DC 20005), D.A. Wirth, Environ., 31(2), 44-45, Mar. 1989.

A commentary suggesting that the Bush Administration should reverse a Reagan Administration decision against consideration of global climate change by federal agencies in the preparation of environmental impact statements, under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Authors maintain that government agencies must consider these impacts in planning for energy programs, transportation programs, public land management, coastal development, agricultural support programs and water resource management.

Item #d89jun29

"Sensitivity of Tropospheric Oxidants to Global Chemical and Climate Change," A.M. Thompson (NASA/Goddard Space Flight Ctr., Code 616, Greenbelt MD 20771), R.W. Stewart et al., Atmos. Environ., 23(3), 519-532, 1989.

A photochemical model has been used to quantify the sensitivity of the tropospheric oxidants O3 and OH to changes in CH₄, CO and NO emissions and to perturbations in climate and stratospheric chemistry, for a number of "chemically coherent" regions (nonpolluted continental, nonpolluted marine, urban, etc.). Authors conclude that in most regions, NO, CO and CH₄ emission increases will suppress OH and increase O3, but these trends may be opposed by stratospheric O3 depletion and climate change. A recent survey of OH and O3 levels suggests that the tropics have a pivotal role in determining the earth's future oxidizing capacity.

Item #d89jun30

"Influence of Long-Range Transport of Combustion Emissions on the Chemical Variability of the Background Atmosphere," H. Levy II (Geophys. Fluid Dynamics Lab./NOAA, Princeton Univ., POB 308, Princeton NJ 08542), W.J. Moxim, Nature, 338(6213), 326-328, Mar. 23, 1989.

Recent measurements of soluble nitrogen (principally HNO3) at the Mauna Loa Observatory show mixing ratios rising from their expected background values of 0.02-0.03 ppbv in the winter to 0.07-0.12 ppbv in late summer with three-hour events as high as 0.25 ppbv. A general circulation model shows that United States emissions are responsible for the late summer increase and Asian emissions cause a smaller increase in the spring, indicating frequent contamination of the Mauna Loa Observatory by the long-range transport of reactive trace gases. Results suggest a highly variable background atmosphere which should be considered when determining anthropogenic effects on the atmosphere.

Item #d89jun31

"The Greenhouse Effect and Biological Diversity," A. Dobson (Dept. Biol., Univ. Rochester, Rochester NY 14627), A. Jolly, D. Rubenstein, Trends Ecol. Evolution, 4(3), 64-68, Mar. 1989.

Reports presentations made at the October 1988 World Wildlife Fund Conference held in Washington, D.C. Discusses effects of climate change in terrestrial and aquatic environments and reviews research and policy needs.

Item #d89jun32

"Global Warming and Rising Sea Levels: The Policy Implications," G.P. Hekstra (Dutch Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning & Environ., POB 450, 2260 MB Leidschendam, Neth.), Ecologist, 19(1), 4-13, Jan./Feb. 1989.

Presents scenarios for sea level rises of 0.5 meter and 1.0 meter over the next century. Cautions that global averages may mask substantial variability among different coastal regions as well as effects of storm surges, which in certain locations can magnify the damage caused by rising sea levels to human settlements, cropland and the integrity of ground waters. Discusses the impact of sea level rise on society, and ways of limiting greenhouse gas emissions and sea level rise and of strengthening the biosphere.

Item #d89jun33

"Nuclear Power--A Victim of Greenhouse Warming?" P. Hatchwell, ibid., 14.

The majority of Britain's nuclear reactors are at risk from sea level rises. Suggests that the risks to the reactor from flooding and damage from surges and saline groundwater intrusion will increase considerably.

Item #d89jun34

"Tropical Deforestation and Climatic Change," N. Myers (Environ. & Develop. Consultant, Upper Meadow, Old Rd., Headington, Oxford OX3 8SZ, UK), Environ. Conserv., 15(4), 293-297, Winter 1988.

Reviews tropical deforestation rates and local, regional and global impacts. Assesses the consequences on agriculture, energy and human settlements. Appraises policy responses to date, but suggests that choices should be based on the results of more scientific research.

Item #d89jun35

"The United States Department of Energy and the People's Republic of China's Chinese Academy of Sciences Joint Research on the Greenhouse Effect," F.A. Koomanoff (Dept. Energy, Off. Energy Res., Washington DC 20545), Y. Duzheng et al., Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 69(11), 1301-1308, Nov. 1988.

Reviews the program resulting from an agreement signed in August 1987 intended to 1) analyze general circulation models, 2) prepare and analyze proxy and instrumental data, 3) study the relationship between large and regional scale climates and 4) measure CH₄. Describes the program structure, technical tasks and progress to date. Notes that the efforts of scientists in both countries have been accelerated and results of the research will continue to be presented in the open literature.

Item #d89jun36

"The CO₂ Greenhouse Effect on Mars, Earth, and Venus," S.B. Idso (U.S. Water Conserv. Lab., 4331 E. Broadway, Phoenix AZ 85040), Sci. Total Environ., 77(2/3), 291-294, 1988.

Presents a comparative analysis of the mean surface air temperatures, atmospheric pressures and composition on Mars, Venus and Earth. Suggests that the greenhouse warming due to a 300-600 ppm doubling of the CO₂ concentrations on the earth should be only about 0.4° C. Maintains that the National Research Council committees have overestimated the strength of the greenhouse effect on our planet by almost a full order of magnitude.

Item #d89jun37

"Soviet-American Conference on Investigation of the Stratospheric Ozone Layer (Moscow, February 4-6, 1987)," G.A. Kokin, V.U. Khattatov, V.V. Filyushkin, Izvestiya, Atmos. and Oceanic Phys., 930-933, June 1988 (English trans. from Russian, 23(11), 1987).

The Soviet-American conference presented reports in the following fields: 1) measurements of ozone and other minor gas components (MGCs) and evaluation of trends in their concentrations based on empirical data; 2) photochemical models and theoretical evaluations of trends in MGCs and the transport dynamics of ozone and MGCs; 3) monitoring of the ozonosphere and 4) an aggregate evaluation of the consequences of changes in the ozonosphere.