Winners of Environmental Prize Warn of Climate Problems

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-05-06-voa56.cfm

Winners of Environmental Prize Warn of Climate Problems

By Mike O'Sullivan
Los Angeles
06 May 2009

Two American scientists have received a major environmental award, the Tyler Prize, for their work in tracing global warming and chronicling the effects of pollutants on the atmosphere and ice sheets.

…

They say there is no doubt the earth's climate is warming. The probable results include a dangerous rise in sea levels and coastal flooding, changes in weather patterns, droughts and flooding. The scientists say humans are largely responsible for the changes. Alley says only some details of the process are not yet understood.

"But the broad picture, are we changing the atmosphere in a way that turns up the temperature? Yes. And we have only started. If we find all of the fossil fuels that are out there and we burn them, we can make very, very, very much bigger changes than we have done so far," he said.

…

"Temperatures are rising, the rainfall is getting more intense, and to me, the most serious of the changes happening now is the dramatic retreat of Arctic sea ice, and the snowpacks in the Sierras here (in California), but more importantly, the whole glacier and snowpack retreat, which is happening in the Himalayan Tibetan region," he said.

…