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Endless Bummer
by Mike Papciak
Surf's up. And rising. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a group of hundreds of scientists convened by the United Nations, sea level could rise about 34 inches this century thanks to global warming. Tens of millions of people inhabiting coastal and lowland areas may be poling gondolas where they once walked. Here's where you can go to learn still more about climate change:
The EPA's global-warming site, is an excellent starting point, offering a wealth of information in easily navigable categories, with special sections for kids, coastal residents, and health professionals. The site's "Uncertainties" page provides a cool-headed summary of what's known, what's likely but not empirical, and what's unknown about the issue.
Ross Gelbspan's "Heat Is Online" contains a thorough and impassioned rundown of the many facets of global warming. He provides detailed information about its effects on weather, disease, and oceans and other ecosystems, along with a scary record of extreme weather events since 1995. Of particular interest are Gelbspan's "Disinformation," wherein he tackles some of the doubters' arguments one by one, and his "Solutions." (See "A Modest Proposal to Stop Global Warming.")
The Sierra Club Web site offers a plethora of global-warming information, including the "Clean Energy" pages, which explore the benefits of wind and solar power over greenhouse-gas-producing fuels. Also presented is the Club's report "Driving Up the Heat," an expos‚ of sport-utility vehicles' contribution to global meltdown.
And, finally, if you'd like to keep tabs on the global-warming skeptics, check out the Greening Earth Society, a group funded and housed by the Western Fuels Association, which believes that CO2 is beneficial and works to prevent "dangerous human interference" with climate.
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