We've Got 10 Years to Beat Global Warming!

Posted on Wed Nov 22 2006

By: Ashley Mikulik in Climate Change, Environment

Share: Digg | Hugg | Del.icio.us | Reddit | Email

The world has less than a decade to take decisive action in the battle to beat global warming or risk irreversible change that will tip the planet towards catastrophe, a leading U.S. climate scientist said on Tuesday.

And the United States, the world' biggest polluter but major climate laggard, has a vital role to play in leading that fight, James Hansen, director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, told Reuters on a visit to London.

"The biggest problem is that the United States is not taking an active leadership role -- quite the reverse," he said.

"We have to be on a fundamentally different path within a decade," said the man who earlier this year caused an outcry when he revealed that scientific warnings on the climate crisis were being rewritten by White House officials.

He said reliance on -- and growing use of -- fossil fuels like coal both in the United States and in boom economy China had to be stopped and reversed to avoid the planet's climate tipping into catastrophe with floods, droughts and famines.

I think that everyone, not just the US needs to step up on their efforts to combat global warming. However, since the US is such a global leader, they really should be stepping up to the plate and setting a good example for other countries to follow.

Read the rest of the article here.