Editorial: Urgent response is required

Sunday, Feb. 4, 2007 | 7:48 a.m.

Friday's alarming report on global warming by a panel of international scientists required far more from the Bush White House than this remark from Sharon Hayes, the president's associate science adviser: "This summary for policy makers captures and summarizes the current state of climate science research and will serve as a valuable source of information for policy makers."

Her statement reminds us of Bush's remark upon release of the Iraq Study Group's report.

"It is a report that brings some really very interesting proposals, and we will take every proposal seriously ..." Bush had said. He then proceeded to escalate the Iraq war, exactly the opposite of what the report had recommended.

The global warming report - part one of a four-part volume to be released in phases by Nov. 16 - was prepared by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. By rule, its editors - scientists representing 113 countries - had to agree on every word before it was published.

Through use of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas, man is "very likely" the root cause of global warming, the report concluded. The life-threatening impacts - including drought, rising sea levels, hurricanes, heat waves, melting polar ice caps - are projected in the report to continue for centuries even if efforts to reduce greenhouse gases begin immediately.

But that is not a reason for complacency. "If (nations) decide not to do something, the impacts will be much larger than if (they) do something," said scientist Jonathan Overpeck of the University of Arizona, an author of the report.

The Bush administration claims it has devoted billions to studying global warming. It touts its speeches "calling for" solutions. But it cannot point to any actual policy that constitutes "doing something."

In reality, the Bush administration has strongly opposed caps on greenhouse gas emissions and, worse, it has acted to cast doubt on whether man-made global warming is even occurring.

The best hope for urgent action lies with Congress, which under Democratic control is now holding serious hearings on global warming.