Climate change vs. Global Warming
When people ask me what I do (I study climate and ecology at the end of the last ice age), invariably the "global warming" question comes up. Recently, I've noticed people have started asking why I use the phrase "climate change" instead of "global warming," and Laurie David was asked a similar question last night, in fact. In her case, however, she opts for "global warming," and in fact went so far as to say that "climate change" is a "Bush-ism" because it's a less scary term than "global warming." It's not the first time this idea has come up, and as a climate scientist I take issue with that generalization.
The scientific community almost universally prefers the term "climate change," and we're certainly not all working for the White House (though wouldn't things be better if they had us over for tea every now and then?). This has nothing to do with trying to soften the blow, or scare the public; it's all about good science. In fact, "climate change" sounds quite a bit scarier to me than "global warming." Think about it- climate change includes changes in precipitation patterns across the globe, like deserts getting larger, crop yeilds failing, floods increasing. Storm intensities are likely to increase with increased ocean surface temperatures, and that means that Hurricane Katrina will likely not be an isolated event. Wildfires will be more common. Some places may actually be cooler, depending on changes in currents in the oceans and atmosphere.
Look at the endangered lemur, for example. An article in today's Independent says that "climate change may drive lemurs to extinction." Madagascar's lemur population is especially sensitive to minor changes in rainfall, because females need very specific amounts of water to produce breastmilk. Even a slight reduction in precipitation could push the lemur over the edge even in the absence of warming (or cooling). Some of these changes are natural at certain time scales, but the rate of change we're seeing with anthropogenic (human-caused) greenhouse gas emissions is much greater than natural systems have observed since the last ice age at least.
So, Laurie David et al, I'm really excited that you're doing the work you're doing, but let's not give the Bushies more power than they already have. Let's not allow them to co-opt a term that the scientific community uses for very good reasons. "Climate change" can be just as scary as "global warming," and should evoke a much wider range of impacts in the public's imagination. And while we're at it, let's all tell the folks at Greenpeace (who mean well, as usual, but are often a bit misguided) that telling us to "stop climate change" makes about as much sense as saying "stop plate tectonics," as one geologist has said.
So what do you put on your bumper sticker? "Stop Anthropogenic Greenhouse Gases & End Human-Induced Climate Change?" Might be a few too many syllables in there for the least common denominator in this country. "Stop Global Warming" provides an effective shorthand, even though the scientist in me cringes a little at oversimplifcation, even if it makes logistical sense. "Lower Our Carbon Emissions" doesn't really capture the scope of the problem, and "Stop Greenhouse Gases" is a bit too drastic, given that they are actually helpful in moderate amounts in trapping enough heat for life to survive on this planet.
What Would Captain Planet Do?
The scientific community almost universally prefers the term "climate change," and we're certainly not all working for the White House (though wouldn't things be better if they had us over for tea every now and then?). This has nothing to do with trying to soften the blow, or scare the public; it's all about good science. In fact, "climate change" sounds quite a bit scarier to me than "global warming." Think about it- climate change includes changes in precipitation patterns across the globe, like deserts getting larger, crop yeilds failing, floods increasing. Storm intensities are likely to increase with increased ocean surface temperatures, and that means that Hurricane Katrina will likely not be an isolated event. Wildfires will be more common. Some places may actually be cooler, depending on changes in currents in the oceans and atmosphere.
Look at the endangered lemur, for example. An article in today's Independent says that "climate change may drive lemurs to extinction." Madagascar's lemur population is especially sensitive to minor changes in rainfall, because females need very specific amounts of water to produce breastmilk. Even a slight reduction in precipitation could push the lemur over the edge even in the absence of warming (or cooling). Some of these changes are natural at certain time scales, but the rate of change we're seeing with anthropogenic (human-caused) greenhouse gas emissions is much greater than natural systems have observed since the last ice age at least.
So, Laurie David et al, I'm really excited that you're doing the work you're doing, but let's not give the Bushies more power than they already have. Let's not allow them to co-opt a term that the scientific community uses for very good reasons. "Climate change" can be just as scary as "global warming," and should evoke a much wider range of impacts in the public's imagination. And while we're at it, let's all tell the folks at Greenpeace (who mean well, as usual, but are often a bit misguided) that telling us to "stop climate change" makes about as much sense as saying "stop plate tectonics," as one geologist has said.
So what do you put on your bumper sticker? "Stop Anthropogenic Greenhouse Gases & End Human-Induced Climate Change?" Might be a few too many syllables in there for the least common denominator in this country. "Stop Global Warming" provides an effective shorthand, even though the scientist in me cringes a little at oversimplifcation, even if it makes logistical sense. "Lower Our Carbon Emissions" doesn't really capture the scope of the problem, and "Stop Greenhouse Gases" is a bit too drastic, given that they are actually helpful in moderate amounts in trapping enough heat for life to survive on this planet.
What Would Captain Planet Do?