Climate Change and Global Environment

The Earth's climate system has demonstrably changed on both global and regional scales since the pre-industrial era, with some of these changes attributable to human activities (IPCC, 2001). Further amplified global warming since the 1970's, a rising sea level, regional climate shifts, and extreme climate events impacts severely the human habitat. We have an obligation to conduct research that provides a mechanistic understanding of present and past variations in regional and global climate. Of greatest concern regarding the human perturbation of climate is not what we know but rather what we do not know. While some changes are likely to be milder than expounded in the popular press, there are others that may be unexpectedly severe too.

(by Julie Brigham-Grette & Gerald Haug, 2005)