Climate Change: Science, Education and Stewardship for Tomorrow's Estuaries. National Estuarine Reserve System.

摘要

Climate change is a fact for our times. Among scientists, only the degree and timing of impacts remains uncertain. There is no question that the Earth as a whole is warming more rapidly than has been recorded in geologic history and that this warming has and will continue to produce significant environmental effects in most parts of the planet. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), representing over 1,500 scientists from 60 countries, is in agreement that some portion of this warming trend is due to human activities. 1 The IPCC was established by the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environmental Program to assess scientific, technical and socio-economic information relevant for the understanding of climate change, its potential impacts and options for adaptation and mitigation. One of the world's leading scientific journals, Science, reviewed all credible articles on climate change published between 1993 and 2003; none took issue with the consensus in the science community that humans are contributing to climate change. Due to this respected evidence, it is incumbent on scientists and coastal managers to use their skills to measure the impacts of climate change and inform coastal decision-makers in order to facilitate adaptation, develop mitigation plans and educate the public.