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...exposed soil was capable of receiving and accumulating more solar energy than wooded areas (Ludlum, 1998). More than 20 years ago, Kellogg and Schware (1982) asserted that since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the burning of fossil fuels had contributed to significant increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide and projected that these increased emissions would cause mean global temperatures to rise. Such early insight into the impact of anthropogenic (human-induced) activities on the environment is enlightening, given that some still reject the notion that humans have any evident effect on climate.
Kates (1997) suggests that two schools of thought have emerged on the subject of global warming, one held by preservationists and the other by adaptationists. The preservationists believe that the continual accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is likely to have catastrophic results and that everything possible should be done to reduce emissions. Conversely, the adaptationists argue that the predicted environmental changes will be slow enough to allow for adjustment to the new conditions citing the resiliency of nature and humans in the wake of fires, floods, earthquakes, volcanoes, and other destructive forces. With the correct view quite likely somewhere between these two extremes, it seems logical to seek a common middle ground for dealing with the dilemma of global warming. This paper considers some of the solutions being offered to mitigate climatic change and the role of vegetation in these proposals.
Assessing the Risks
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climatic Change (IPCC) (2001), average global surface temperatures have increased by approximately 0.6[degrees]C since 1890, with an uncertainty of roughly 0.2[degrees]C in either direction. The best estimate includes the possibility of a number of error sources, such as urban heat island bias, station relocation, and changes in measuring practices. Associated with this rise in global temperatures is the assumption that since the early 1800s and especially during the last few decades, human activities have increased the levels of several greenhouse gases.
The IPCC (2001) reports that carbon dioxide levels rose from 280 parts per million (ppm) in the year 1800 to more than 360 ppm in 2000, and at the present rate, carbon dioxide levels could reach 540 to 970 ppm by 2100. Methane levels increased from roughly 0.8 ppm in 1800 to more than 1.7 ppm in 2000, while nitrous oxide rose from a pre-industrial level of about 0.275 ppm to 0.315 ppm in 2000. If the current trend in the emission of greenhouse gases continues, the cumulative warming effect is expected to raise the mean surface temperature of the planet between 1.4[degrees]C and 5.8[degrees]C by the end of the century. Similarly, Chin (2002) confirms that global climate models predict carbon dioxide values will reach 560 ppm within the next 50 to 100 years and could cause global average surface temperatures to increase 1.5[degrees]C to 4.5[degrees]C.
Putting the scenario in perspective, Oeschger and Mintzer (1992) point out that a fluctuation in average surface temperature of just 1[degrees]C is all that separates the present climate from that of the Little Ice Age, which occurred between the 14th...
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