counting coots

Take a moment to ponder the following...

Fact.  During the last inter-glacial period (approximately 125,000 years ago) the global temperature was 1.7 degrees higher than it is now. At that time the sea levels were 4-6 meters higher than we have presently.

In July, the G8 bloc of industrialised countries and some major developing countries adopted a target of keeping the global average temperature rise since pre-industrial times to 2C. However, small island states think this would cause serious climate impacts from rising sea levels, and have been arguing for a lower target of 1.5C. A number of African nations also back the lower target.

In  a letter to the Times yesterday, seven Fellows of the Royal Society (all professors in their field) state that "if there is no global agreement in Copenhagen, or soon after, to limit greenhouse gas emissions, the chances of the global warming by the end of this century being much less than 4C would seem to be very small".

Eek.