Moment of truth
No sooner did James McCarthy s name turn up in an Associated Press story on the outlook for global warming than he started getting outraged emails from colleagues. All that McCarthy, a Harvard oceanographer who studies how climate change affects marine life, told the AP last week was that the worst stuff is not going to happen ... not that I think the projections aren t that accurate, but because we can t be that stupid. The overwhelming response, he said, was, What do you mean, we can t be that stupid? Just look around!
On that very question could hinge the fate of much of life on Earth. Last week was bracketed by two events that could make 2007 a turning point in the effort to control global warming. On Monday, by a 54 vote, the Supreme Court ruled that the federal government had the power under the Clean Air Act to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles. This victory for environmentalists was quickly snatched away by President Bush, who announced the next day that his administration had no intention of doing anything of the sort. But the ruling set an important precedent for treating carbon dioxide as a threat to human welfare, and opens the way to regulating it by tightening fuel economy standards. On Friday, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, marshaling the research of nearly 1,000 scientists from 74 countries, issued a long awaited report on climate change impacts, adaptation and vulnerability .The study found that global warming was already affecting the Earth s ecosystems; it predicted that continued climate change, in combination with other environmental stressors such as population increases and greater urbanization, would lead to more severe and widespread drought, greater coastal and riverine flooding, and increased risk of extinction for 20 to 30 percent of plant and animal species. Depending on how much temperature rises, food production in the temperate regions could actually increase, but would probably decline in much of the tropics.
Yet at least since last year s congressional elections it s been clear that 2007 would be a critical year for what former vice president Al Gore has called the planetary emergency . A half dozen bills to control greenhouse gases have already been introduced or are being prepared for introduction to the Senate, according to the National Environmental Trust. Some version of the cap and trade market based system that has already shown its value in reducing acid rain pollution is virtually certain to pass this Congress. The key question now ,says NET president Phil Clapp, is, will President Bush sign a meaningful bill? But I don t think there s any question that if this Congress doesn t produce one, the next one will and the next president will sign it. We re in the endgame now, after 10 years on this issue.
Madcap: 疯子
Ginormous: 特大,无比大
Fair dinkum: 真实的,光明正大的
中国文化词汇:古代典籍
俄罗斯向税吏发放纸币香味的香皂以激励他们收税
Teen: 少年
Cockamamie: 荒谬的
现在走路就能赚钱啦!
高价跑鞋一定更好?不一定!
习近平在二十国集团领导人第十次峰会第一阶段会议上的讲话
《神探夏洛克》圣诞特辑含秘密典故 向中国粉丝致敬
伦敦咖啡店禁止顾客穿雪地靴
美国药企辉瑞并购案创最大“税收倒置”交易
Malarkey: 空话
By and large: 总体上来说
Gerrymander:重划选区
Highfalutin: 爱炫耀的
六句话学会fine line用法
我国“一人户”超5800万 占全国总家庭数14%
感恩节晚餐聊什么?
习近平定调国防和军队改革
路易威登新款鳄鱼皮包贵过奔驰车
木头制成的面条,你想吃吗
研究称智能设备让时间变快了
Sundae: “圣代”冰激凌
全球最大“克隆工厂”将落户天津
中国“黑户”人口超1300万
Crotchety: 钩子;怪念头
“致癌门”两周后,香肠培根销量暴跌300万英镑
Peccadillo: 小过失
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