Drafting Chair

Declaration of climate change science J. Antonio Busalacchi, Jr., Ph.D. President of the National Academy of Sciences Climate Research Committee and Director of Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center (drying), the University of Maryland, before the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation U.S. Senate October 1, 2003 Hello. Thank you for this opportunity. I'm Dr. Tony Busalacchi, a professor at the University of Maryland, and I am the president of the National Academy of Climate Research. I will use my time this morning to sum up what most scientists agree that to be true about climate change on Earth. Understanding the climate and if it evolves, and why, is one of the most crucial issues for humanity in the XXI century. The issue is the subject of much scientific research and, of course, the political debate, because the economic and environmental benefits could be considerable. National Academies have produced a series of reports on understanding of the climate in recent years concentrated and testimony draws heavily from two of these: a February report from 2003 indicated that the input is to guide the design of the U.S. Climate Change Science Program Strategic Plan (NRC 2003) and A 2001 report called "Climate Change Science at the request of the White House (NRC 2001) This last report answered a number of specific issues in climate change science of identifying the greatest certainty and uncertainty was. If you have not read this report, it is a good quick (only 25 pages long) written in very understandable language. As described in "Climate Change Science" There is broad scientific consensus that climate change in the real world. Greenhouse gases are accumulating in Earth's atmosphere caused by human activities, thereby increasing surface air temperatures and sea level during soil. Our confidence in this conclusion is higher today than it was ten or even five years, but uncertainty remains because there is a level of natural variability of the climate system on time scales of decades to centuries may be difficult to interpret, precisely because they collect these data from scattered observations, numerical models, and proxy records such as ice cores and tree rings, despite the uncertainty, but there is widespread agreement that the observed warming is real and particularly strong in recent 20. They said that humans contribute to global warming Yes, humans and other natural global warming. No matter if anyone "agree" with them. Was shown to be caused by man. Conservatives are talking about their small businesses * and we have no evidence that this is not good of humanity. None. Scientists are divided on global warming. Our confidence in this conclusion is higher today than it was ten or even five years, but uncertainty remains because there is a level of natural variability of the climate system on time scales of decades to centuries may be difficult to interpret, precisely because they collect these data from scattered observations, numerical models, and proxy records such as ice cores and tree rings, despite the uncertainty, but there is widespread agreement that the observed warming is real and particularly strong in recent 20. They said that humans contribute to global warming Yes, humans and other natural global warming. No matter if anyone "agree" with them. Was shown to be caused by man. Conservatives are talking about their small businesses * and we have no evidence that this is not good of humanity. None. Scientists are divided on global warming.