Last Updated:
February 28, 2007

GCRIO Program Overview

Library 
Our extensive collection of documents.

Privacy Policy

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

FROM VOLUME 6, NUMBER 9, SEPTEMBER 1993

REPORTS...
GENERAL INTEREST AND POLICY

Item #d93sep67

The Costs of Cutting Carbon Emissions: Results from Global Models, Org. for Econ. Coop. & Devel. (OECD), 160 pp., July 1993, $19/F80. In English and French. OECD Pubs., 2001 L St. NW, S-700, Washington DC 20036 (202-785-6323); or OECD, 2 rue André-Pascal, 75775 Paris Cedex 16, France (tel: 33-1-45-24-82-00); or other OECD outlets.

Compares on an equal basis estimates of the economic costs of reducing CO₂ emissions through carbon taxes, made by six global energy-economic models.

Item #d93sep68

Understanding and Predicting Atmospheric Chemical Change: An Imperative for the U.S. Global Change Research Program, Nat. Res. Council, 31 pp., Aug. 1993. Request from Bd. on Atmos. Sci. & Clim. (HA 370), Nat. Res. Council, 2101 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington DC 20418.

The Global Tropospheric Chemistry Program (GTCP), the U.S. Component of the International Global Atmospheric Chemistry (IGAC) Program, and U.S. participation in the IGAC are seriously underfunded and greatly weaken the U.S. Global Change Research Program. The scientific issues concerning future levels of atmospheric CO₂, CH₄, N₂O, O3 and sulfate and carbonaceous aerosols are discussed, along with the penalties of neglecting the necessary research.

Item #d93sep69

Potential Impacts of Global Climate Change on Natural Terrestrial Ecosystems: A Scientific Perspective (BR-100835), Electric Power Res. Inst., 20 pp., May 1993. Single copies free from EPRI Distrib. Ctr., POB 23205, Pleasant Hill CA 94523 (510-934-4212).

A thorough overview, with several references, of current scientific understanding of the problem and research being conducted by EPRI and other organizations. There are large areas of uncertainty, but the potential exists for three major types of disruptions of terrestrial ecosystems: changes in the geographic ranges of individual plant species and entire vegetation types; loss of biodiversity; and positive or negative feedbacks to the climate system.

Item #d93sep70

A Natural Approach: Forestry and Global Climate Change, Offsets Forum of the Alliance for Acid Rain Control and Energy Policy, 18 pp., July 1993. Contact the Alliance at 444 N. Capitol St, S. 602, Washington DC 20001 (202-624-5475).

The Forum members include state regulators, energy officials, foresters and representatives of utilities and environmental organizations. Promotes forestry as an effective way of sequestering carbon to offset carbon emissions. Properly done, forestry projects can result in a variety of environmental, social and economic benefits. To be credited toward the stabilization goal of the National Action Plan, individual projects should be evaluated against a number of criteria (described here) to ensure scientific validity, practicality, ecological sustainability, and compatibility with local communities.

Item #d93sep71

UV-B Critical Issues Workshop, 33 pp., June 1993. Available from Ctr. Global Environ. Studies, U.S. Dept. Energy, Oak Ridge Nat. Lab., Oak Ridge TN 37831 (615-576-7785).

Report of a multidisciplinary, multi-agency workshop convened by the U.S. Department of Energy (Cocoa Beach, Florida, Feb. 1993). Participants emphasized the need for a unified, technically sound research program, and made specific recommendations relating to four critical issues: (1) the existing UV instruments and network are inadequate to identify potential trends or validate radiative-transfer models; (2) biological effects research must focus on key species, process-level understanding, and identification of threshold UV-B doses; (3) existing UV-B exposure systems have significant deficiencies; (4) a critical need for integration of knowledge exists.

Item #d93sep72

China and Global Change: Opportunities for Collaboration, Off. Intl. Affairs, Nat. Res. Council., 200+ pp., 1992. National Academy Press, 2101 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington DC 20418 (800-624-6242 or 202-334-3313).

Intended to facilitate scholarly collaboration that will increase understanding of China's impact on global change and the impact of global change on China. Includes an overview on relevant institutions, Chinese participation in international research programs, summaries of research on atmospheric and other topics, and detailed supplementary information of research groups.

Item #d93sep73

Global Warming: Failed Forecasts and Politicized Science (Occas. Paper 125), P. Michaels (Environ. Studies, Univ. Virginia), 22 pp., June 1993. Available from Ctr. Study Amer. Business, Campus Box 1208, Washington Univ., St. Louis MO 63130.

Comparison of temperature records with climate model simulations for the same period demonstrates a remarkable disparity between forecasts of disastrous climate change in the future and the atmosphere's response so far. The extreme politicization of this topic can only be remedied with further research.