Scientist: 'We're toast' if no action on global warming

[riggins44]

I want mine with butter and jelly 

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/06/24/globalwarming.ap/index.html

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Exactly 20 years after warning America about global warming, a top NASA scientist said the situation has gotten so bad that the world's only hope is drastic action.

 James Hansen told Congress on Monday that the world has long passed the "dangerous level" for greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and needs to get back to 1988 levels.

He said Earth's atmosphere can only stay this loaded with man-made carbon dioxide for a couple more decades without changes such as mass extinction, ecosystem collapse and dramatic sea level rises.

"We're toast if we don't get on a very different path," Hansen, director of the Goddard Institute of Space Sciences who is sometimes called the godfather of global warming science, told The Associated Press. "This is the last chance."

[ldysknzfn]

This global warming stuff is alarming when you sit and think about it.  It's going to get worse.  Hopefully we won't fry upon stepping outside.

[blitzfiftysix]

Ya know, while I agree with this the idea of global warming for the short term, I think that eventually the buffering properties of the atmosphere, ocean and Earth will restore balance, returning most of the liberated carbon to long-term storage and allowing the orbital rhythm once again to dominate.

However, please note that the complex interplay of greenhouse gases, orbital shifts and other influences on climate remain poorly understood. In fact, some experts say, there is a chance that human-induced warming could shut down heat-toting ocean currents that keep northern latitudes warmer than they otherwise would be. The result could be a faster descent into glacial times instead of a delay.

I'm no scientist, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night.