Some happy news to start the day:
The world's temperature has increased to levels not seen in at least 12,000 years, U.S. climate scientists report in today's issue of "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences." Rapid warming has occurred in the past 30 years, the researchers said, and there is little doubt that human activities are the primary factor.
Furthermore, the warming in recent decades has brought global temperature to a level within about 1.8 degree Fahrenheit (one degree Celsius) of the maximum temperature of the past million years.
"That means that further global warming of 1 degree Celsius defines a critical level," Hansen said. "If warming is kept less than that, effects of global warming may be relatively manageable."
During the warmest interglacial periods, the climate was "reasonably similar" to today, Hansen added.
"But if further global warming reaches 2 or 3 degrees Celsius, we will likely see changes that make Earth a different planet than the one we know," he said. "The last time it was that warm was in the middle Pliocene, about three million years ago, when sea level was estimated to have been about 80 feet higher than today."
Yes, but I'm sure we'll be fine. No need to do anything rash.
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