Blair Delivers Warning On Global Warming

Urges G-8 Leaders To Forge Deal And Find Solutions To Save Environment

(CBS/ AP)  The world already knows that global warming is a serious problem and the time has come for politicians and experts to come together to map out a practical solution, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Friday.

Urging the Group of Eight industrialized nations to stand behind his initiative, Blair said he gave Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, host of the G-8 meeting next month, a report by The Climate Group, a nonprofit organization Blair is part of, on how to forge a global deal on fighting global warming.

"Now is the time to get serious about the solution," Blair told reporters at a Tokyo hotel. "The whole world has woken up. What it needs to know is what to do."

He acknowledged that the challenges to come up with a solution were complex because technologies to fight global warming were constantly changing, and the scientific information about climate change also was evolving.

And so instead of trying to set short-term targets right away, what needs to be done is set a direction and come up with answers on what needs to be done.

"The point I'm making is: The challenge is truly profound," said Blair.

On CBS' The Early Show, Blair addressed a report that the North Pole may be briefly ice-free by September.

"I think it just demonstrates how necessary it is to take action on climate change, how urgent it is that we get a global comprehensive deal, one that has America on the one side, China and other developing countries on the other side and we take action that is realistic for sure but radical enough to prevent further damage to the planet," Blair said.

The report, released Friday, called "Breaking the Climate Deadlock," says emissions of gases that cause global warming are up not only in developing nations but also in the U.S. and Japan.

Defining and setting long-term targets for reducing such emissions apply to developed nations, it said.

Carbon dioxide and other pollutants are blamed for rising global temperatures which threaten the environment. But the challenges are enormous because poor nations need growth, which tend to boost emissions.

The Climate Group, which brings together people in politics and business, hopes to get global support for a deal to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2050.

"We've got to make sure that action is realistic. We don't want to damage our economy," Blair said on The Early Show. "But all the evidence is if we start to take these measures, actually the environment and the technology associated with it and cleaner technology actually provides jobs and a boost in the economy."

[co2max]

Well, actually, global warming or whatever the current climate trend may be is NOT a serious problem and there is no good reason for humans to try to change nature''s course. We should involve ourselves in keeping the environment clean and preserving, restoring habitats. That''s a whole different undertaking.

[goldesprit]

From this article!
"the North Pole may be briefly ice-free by September."

What kind of smart Asss comments are really valid if you UNDERSTAND that they are spinning the news to the extent that we are supposed to be so calculatedly ignorant that it seems like maybe there is no real reason to get excited about NO ICE AT THE NORTH POLE!!!!!!!

[grammawhamma]

Well, if we''re all doomed than so be it. That''s what humans get for thinking we are the superior beings and meddling with nature. The one celled organisms will probably survive.

[jimfinster]

GOD is in control!

Posted by EndTimes22


LOL!

If so, he is doing a ****-poor job, and should be fired.

[messenger9]

If global warming is caused by humans then why are the other planets showing signs of warming too? One would assume that since all the planets are showing signs of global warming the culprit is outside our solar system. Conjecture, Google search with the quotes "3.5 trillion electron volts" to see where the extra solar energy is coming from. If this is the case then nothing can be done to prevent global warming.

[downsteamjim]

How about some facts? What is the CO2 production in China & India vs the West? What is the rate of growth of the two groups? Which uses the lesser amount of CO2 and pollution to produce the same item? The article is long on talk but short on solutions.

[barocalto]

Posted by jcr103
the reality of human-induced global warming
..........................................

The claim that the debate about the severity and cause of global warming is "settled science" has taken a beating with the release of the names of 31,072 American scientists who reject the assertion that global warming has reached a crisis stage and is caused by human activity.

I''m already ready to debate but I''m afraid that it is the believers in man made global warming who only wish to call names. One poster referred to ocean data backing up global warming and when I pointed out that the Argo Sensors show that the oceans are in fact cooling off I don''t get a reply. Here is a reference to 31,000 scientist saying man made global warming is BS bet all we get back is name calling not a debate.

[jcr103]

All of these warnings regarding the reality of human-induced global warming are not likely to do much. Global warming deniers seem to have their heads up their collectives a**es and are not going to subject themselves to scientific evidence and reasoned debate any time soon.

[barocalto]

Do a little research before you decide to weight in with your "opinion" Otherwise, you are only revealing your considerable ignorance.
Posted by diatreme

Ocean data my very smart friend is showing the oceans cooling.

Argo, which looks at ocean temperatures using robotic buoys which dive down to three thousand feet to collect data. Since the study began in 2003, measurements have not only failed to find evidence of warming, but in fact have picked up a slight cooling trend.

Sorry but I have done research.

The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane. Marcus Aurelius

[barocalto]

Do a little research before you decide to weight in with your "opinion" Otherwise, you are only revealing your considerable ignorance.
Posted by diatreme

Ocean data my very smart friend is showing the oceans cooling.

Argo, which looks at ocean temperatures using robotic buoys which dive down to three thousand feet to collect data. Since the study began in 2003, measurements have not only failed to find evidence of warming, but in fact have picked up a slight cooling trend.

Sorry but I have done research.

The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane. Marcus Aurelius

[seafang]

"
Do a little research before you decide to weight in with your "opinion" Otherwise, you are only revealing your considerable ignorance.
Posted by diatreme at 01:23 PM : Jun 27, 2008 "
Maybe you need to do a little research yourself diatreme. Just look at Al Gore''s book pages 66/67 for example where he plots that paleo ice core data you mmentioned.
And it is well recognised that the data shows that surface warming occurs about 800 years prior to CO2 rising in the atmsophere, and surface cooling precedes CO2 falling by the same 800 years. So it is the surface temperature change that causes the CO2 change; not the other way round. CO2 is less soluble in warm water so when the oceans warm they outgas CO2.

And it turns out that 800 years before the present period of rising CO2 in the atmosphere (per Mauna Loa data) was the middle of the mediaeval warm period that was much warmer than it is today. And check what has been happening since Jan 2007; the earth has been cooling dramatically so it is now back to 1900 temperatures, and yet that CO2 goes on rising. How do you explain that.
CO@, Methane et al, have nothing whatsoever to do with the earth''s surface temperature which is entirely regulated by water vapor and clouds.
And mysteriously water vapor and clouds are not even included in the computer video game models that claim the earth is catastrophically warming.

[smurfcrusher]

Barocalto says: "Man made global warming is a sham and a hoax. Just today I''''m reading on various sites that the North Pole has melted... "

Actually, no, the news is that scientists expect the north pole to melt, although it hasn''t happened just yet. Maybe by September.

More importantly, because North Pole ice is floating on water, it displaces the same melted or frozen. Only ice melting on land, and running into the ocean, will increase ocean levels from melting. This is why your drinks don''t overflow when the ice in them melts.

Greater ocean temperatures also increases sea level as water expands with heat.

[badgersouth1]

People throughout the world are witnessing for themselves the adverse impacts of climate change and legitimate scientists are recording and reporting on those changes.

For example, to learn what''s happening to ice in the arctic and why, go to the website of the National Snow and Ice Data Center -- NSIDC.org.

As Sgt Joe Friday was wont to say, %u201CThe facts ma%u2019am, just the facts.%u201D

[barocalto]

Posted by frankie2fing
The Earth has a complex way of dealing with CO2
........
You''re helping to make my point. There is no man made global warming. Back when I was at university the First Earth Days was held and then we were told in no uncertain terms that the planet was headed for an ice age I of course believed being a educated university student. But since then I''ve learned a lot more...

Marcus Aurelius... "The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane."

[rf35]

I would imagine that emissions will be up 300% by 2050. At that level, humans might actually start having an impact on the climate. The developing nations like China will fuel most of the increase. The US will probably be lower becuase the majority of Americans will not be able to afford gas, so there will be few cars on the roads. Or if McCain is elected, after the revolt there will be a lot of dead people and a general reduction in consumption.

[clestes-2009]

Glad to see he finally woke up.

[frankie2fing]

Part 2: After time, the carbon will be converted to coal or oil. The Earth has dealt with the problem.
Along comes man, he not only limits the amount of plant life that can grow, slowing the Earth''s natural response to CO2, but he digs up the carbon the Earth has already dealt with. We are putting CO2 into the atmosphere at a rate unparalleled in the planet''s history. But it is not the Earth we are endangering, it will survive long after the pimple of humanity has been popped. It is our own environment. We are stewards of this Earth, being (supposedly) the highest life form here. It is time we started acting like it.

[frankie2fing]

An ignorant man would serve himself to sit down and shut up. Your ''various sites'' obviously are full of ***. But which is worse, the crappy site or the fool who repeats them. Fact: Carbon Dioxide is a naturally occuring gaseous compound that traps and holds heat. The Earth has a complex way of dealing with CO2. As levels rise, temperatures temperate and plants, which use CO2 as part of its complex food forming process, grow faster and in larger numbers. This has the effect of ''washing'' the atmosphere of CO2 as the carbon is bound up in cellulose and the oxygen is release back into the air. As the plant dies, most of the carbon becomes buried. (continued)

[barocalto]

Man made global warming is a sham and a hoax. Just today I''m reading on various sites that the North Pole has melted... Well if that''s the case where is the flooding of the beaches as the sea level rises because of this melting. Al Gore said it was going to happen but look we have no flooding which is all part of this big scam.