Months after a U.S. report confirming the Arctic ice-cap was
shrinking at its fastest rate ever, scientists are expected to call for
tougher action to slow global warming at an upcoming conference on climate
change.
About 190 nations will meet in Canada next week to try to enlist
support for the U.N.-led effort to replace the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which
expires in 2012.
Participants at the conference are likely to use the recent data
collected on the decline of Arctic ice try to persuade the United States
to join the fight against global warming.
President George W. Bush pulled the United States out of the Kyoto
Protocol in 2001, saying it was too costly and wrongly excluded developing
nations.
The Arctic ice report, produced by the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data
Center, found that in September, polar ice contracted to its smallest size in
at least a century. The findings backed a report by 250 experts last year
that forecast that the Arctic ice could disappear in summers by 2100, possibly
driving polar bears towards extinction.
Scientists believe the shrinking ice is more alarming evidence of an
Arctic thaw that could portend worldwide disruptions including stronger
hurricanes and rising sea levels.
Bob Correll, a Senior Policy Fellow, American Meteorological Society
believes a lack of true understanding about the impact of global warming has
prevented it from becoming more a of a priority for world leaders.
"It is not just the loss of polar bear or Inuits losing their
lifestyle but it is profoundly important to the planet at large," Correll
said.
"As the arctic ice melts... it will cause sea level to rise.
These processes have profound implications on the entire planet," he
said.
Scientists are concerned about the sea level, which they expect to rise
about a meter over the next hundred years, will cause the erosion of land
areas. According to Correll, a meter rise would be enough to wipe anything
south of Miami, sixty percent of Bangladesh and much of the Seychelles.
Correll believes the need for urgent efforts to diversify energy sources
and limit energy consumption cannot be overstated.
"It took about 150 years to get this level of CO2 and these
increased temperatures. It will take a thousand years to stop it even if we
stop emitting carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases," Correll said.
Correll did acknowledge that shrinking ice caps could benefit the
commercial sector. With less ice formations to worry about, cargo ships would
have a less perilous and time-consuming journey through the Arctic, a factor
which could open exploration for oil and gas, mining, logging or trans-polar
shipping routes between the Atlantic and Pacific.
新聞單字
ice-cap 冰帽
shrink 萎縮 (衣服洗到縮水也可以用這個字)
Kyoto Protocol 京都協議書
global warming 全球暖化現象
driving polar bears towards extinction 讓北極熊瀕臨絕種
Arctic thaw 北極融化
Portend 是為…的前兆 This portends bad luck. 這是某種壞運的警示
Inuits 愛斯基摩人
erosion. 侵蝕
cannot be overstated 再強調也不為過
(很重要的意思 可是阿斗仔很愛這樣用 雙重否定)
carbon dioxide 二氧化碳
greenhouse gases 溫室氣體
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