| Radio programs for the week of 28 February 2000 (fe00228 - fe00229) | For more information: | ||
Global Warming and its threat to Florida I'm Kevin Pierce with the Florida Environment. New research finds an increase in Global Warming. Climate scientists say that for 16 consecutive months, starting in 1997, each month set a new global temperature record. And they don't think it's an isolated event. If that's true, Florida will be among the first places in the nation to feel the effects (Ezra Millstein, Program Officer, Climate Change Campaign, World Wildlife Fund)... "Florida is, in fact, ground zero within the United States for climate change impacts." Ezra Millstein watches Florida for the World Wildlife Fund's Climate Change Campaign. "If you go down the list of impacts of global warming, you can see that almost all of them apply to Florida: Sea level rise... increasing ocean temperatures will result in loss of habitats like the Everglades, bleaching of coral reefs, beach erosion, threats to species like the panther and the manatee." More research points to human rather than natural causes for Global Warming, and the rate of change brings the threats nearer... "Increasing sea level will threaten fresh water drinking supplies, it will threaten public health in terms of the increase in range of vector-borne diseases, and there's going to be an increase in extreme weather events like hurricane activity, which obviously has great effect in the state of Florida." For more information, visit floridaenvironment.com. With help from its Environmental Studies Program, we're produced at the Whitaker Center at Florida Gulf Coast University and funded by the Southwest Florida Council for Environment Education. |
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 ue00229Global warming picks up speed I'm Kevin Pierce with the Florida Environment. New research shows the world's average temperature set 16 consecutive monthly records starting in 1997, continuing concern not only about Global Warming, but also the speed with which it's happening. That rate of change brings Global Warming problems much closer -- especially to Florida, says World Wildlife Fund's Climate Change Campaign director Jennifer Morgan (Jennifer Morgan, Director, Climate Change Campaign, World Wildlife Fund)... "Things that Floridians are likely to see are higher temperatures -- five to six degrees Fahrenheit by the end of this century, which doesn't sound like much but is happening at a much more rapid rate than before." That rapid rate of change brings about new problems... "Trees can adapt for example to changes in climate over centuries. But they don't have legs, they can't pick up and move somewhere else in a 10 year time frame or a 20 year time frame." And with global temperature change coming faster, Florida could see the nation's first impacts, sooner... "Some of these temperature changes and impacts that we're seeing really stretch the ability of places like the Everglades and the coral reefs to be able to thrive in their ecosystems." For more information, visit floridaenvironment.com. With help from its Environmental Studies Program, we're produced at the Whitaker Center at Florida Gulf Coast University and funded by the Southwest Florida Council for Environment Education. |
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fe00301 Global warming's future... and present I'm Kevin Pierce with the Florida Environment. New research says it is unlikely that natural causes brought 16 consecutive months of record global temperatures, adding more credibility to claims that humans and pollution are causing global warming. The World Wildlife Fund's Jennifer Morgan says that's just the latest in a series of studies giving new insight to global warming... "This big rise in temperature that we've seen over the past couple of years probably isn't just nature. There is a link with global warming. So there's more and more research coming out that... where these models that scientists are putting out are really matching what's happening in reality." She says that reality raises questions about the world's climate -- and Florida's climate -- today... "The fires that have been occurring in Florida over the past couple of years... while you certainly cannot take any event and say 'This is global warming,' if you combine and look at these types of things that are happening, they are certainly things we'd have to get used to in a warmer world." With confirmation of a warming world and an accelerated rate, the key questions have changed... "The question is how much are we as humans contributing to it, and what's the rate -- how fast are things going to happen in the future." For more information, visit floridaenvironment.com. With help from its Environmental Studies Program, we're produced at the Whitaker Center at Florida Gulf Coast University and funded by the Southwest Florida Council for Environment Education. |
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| fe00302 Greater awareness for global warming I'm Kevin Pierce with the Florida Environment This week's report of an increase in the rate of global warming is just one of a number of research efforts pointing to greater global global temperatures, a more rapid rate of temperature increase and a greater likelihood that humans and pollution are part of the cause. Jennifer Morgan with the World Wildlife Fund says the research is matching the reality (Jennifer Morgan, Director, Climate Change Campaign, World Wildlife Fund)... "We've been seeing some very unusual weather and events that are fingerprints of global warming." World Wildlife Fund's Ezra Millstein says that while initial reports of global warming pointed to the distant future, current efforts point to the present (Ezra Millstein, Program Officer, Climate Change Campaign, World Wildlife Fund).... "You've seen a lot of serious heat waves over the past couple of summers that have resulted in a high mortality rate, and increased hurricane activity during hurricane season in Florida. So people can actually grasp the problem more." And to keep that grasp the problem, just listen to the news about continuing research (Millstein)... "11 out of the past 15 years have been the highest recorded temperatures on record over the past thousand years. There are very tangible increases in temperature that we can see." For more information, visit floridaenvironment.com. With help from its Environmental Studies Program, we're produced at the Whitaker Center at Florida Gulf Coast University and funded by the Southwest Florida Council for Environment Education. |
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fe00303 A double-benefit from fighting Global Warming I'm Kevin Pierce with the Florida Environment. Florida's economy can grown 40,000 new jobs and residents can save hundreds of dollars a year -- all by fighting global warming. So says a report from the World Wildlife Fund. Their climate change campaign director is Jennifer Morgan (Jennifer Morgan, Director, Climate Change Campaign, World Wildlife Fund)... "It catches people by surprise just a little bit to hear that you could actually have a gain from fighting global warming, but common sense tells us it's a natural... Because of the places we can save energy, save money at the gas pumps and put more money in the pockets of Floridian families." Instead of targeting consumers, the group's report on economic benefits of fighting global warming, is aimed at government and industry. Ezra Millstein heads up World Wildlife Fund's campaign in Florida (Ezra Millstein, Program Officer, Climate Change Campaign, World Wildlife Fund)... "It's very realistic and it's something that in reality will be very beneficial to businesses that implement it." Even with more research pointing to the problems of global warming, possible solutions could have multiple benefits (Millstein)... "There are solutions and not only do they have a positive impact on the environment but they really have a positive impact on the state's economy and the whole country's economy." For more information, visit floridaenvironment.com. With help from its Environmental Studies Program, we're produced at the Whitaker Center at Florida Gulf Coast University and funded by the Southwest Florida Council for Environment Education. |
