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Scientists say global warming changing life on Earth
By Associated Press
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From the micro to the macro, from plankton in the oceans to polar bears in the far north and seals in the far south, global warming has begun changing life on Earth, international scientists will report next Friday.

"Changes in climate are now affecting physical and biological systems on every continent," says a draft obtained by The Associated Press of a report on warming's impacts, to be issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the authoritative U.N. network of 2,000 scientists and more than 100 governments.

In February the panel declared it "very likely" most global warming has been caused by man-made emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

Animal and plant life in the Arctic and Antarctic is undergoing substantial change, scientists say. Rising sea levels elsewhere are damaging coastal wetlands. Warmer waters are bleaching and killing coral reefs, pushing marine species toward the poles, reducing fish populations in African lakes, research finds.

"Hundreds of species have already changed their ranges, and ecosystems are being disrupted," said University of Michigan ecologist Rosina Bierbaum. "It is clear that a number of species are going to be lost."

The IPCC draft estimates that if temperatures rise approximately 2 to 4 degrees Fahrenheit more, one-third of species will be lost from their current range, either moved elsewhere or vanished.

From Associated Press bureaus around the world, here are snapshots of animals and plants the IPCC will identify as already affected by climate change:

Silence in Puerto Rico

Back in the Puerto Rican rain forest for the first time in five years, biologist Rafael Joglar sensed something was wrong. He wasn't hearing the frogs whose nocturnal calls he had long recorded in the misty highlands.

It was as if a small orchestra had lost key players, he recalled.

After that discovery in 1981, Joglar and wife Patricia Burrowes, a fellow University of Puerto Rico amphibian specialist, found that other populations of frogs in the genus Eleutherodactylus - known locally as coquis for the distinctive co-kee sound made by two species - were also mysteriously absent. Similar reports trickled in from frog specialists worldwide, particularly in Central and South America.

Working their way through such suspected culprits as pollution and habitat loss, researchers here eventually zeroed in on climate change. The average minimum temperature had risen from 1970 to 2000 by 2 degrees Fahrenheit, a significant rise for climate-sensitive amphibians.

Scientists believe higher temperatures lead to more dry periods and a chain reaction, at higher elevations, that leaves the frogs vulnerable to a devastating fungus, Burrowes said.

GreatBarrier bleach

The rainbow world of the Great Barrier Reef may fade away.

Scientists say rising sea temperatures worldwide are causing more coral bleaching - the draining of color when the fragile animals that form reefs become stressed and spew out the algae that give coral its color and energy to build massive reef structures.

Oceans are also absorbing more carbon dioxide, increasing their acidity and eroding coral's ability to build reef skeletons.

Because just a 2-degree-Fahrenheit shift can trigger a major bleaching event, the behavior of corals is an early sign that global warming is already changing our world, experts say.

"We've got about 20 years to turn (greenhouse gas emissions) around or it's going to cost the world a lot environmentally but also economically," said Terry Hughes, a leading Australian coral specialist.

The 1,250-mile-long Great Barrier Reef, off Australia's northeast coast, produces $4 billion a year in tourism revenues. Forecasts vary, but many experts say ocean temperature rises projected for the next 50 years could strip this natural wonder of most of its color. The changes will affect countless millions of fish and other marine organisms that depend on the reef.

Many reefs worldwide will fare worse, since they don't have the protection against pollution and overfishing provided by the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.

Bloodthirsty parasites in Sweden

A bloodthirsty parasite is popping up in parts of Sweden where deep winter chills used to make survival difficult, if not impossible.

Ticks are spreading north along the Scandinavian country's shorelines, pestering pets and spreading infectious diseases to humans.

"It probably has to do with the greenhouse effect," said Thomas Jaenson, professor in medical entomology at Uppsala University. "The fact that we've seen ticks in January indicates that there has been a major change."

Swedish studies have shown that ticks have multiplied countrywide in recent decades, spreading north from traditional breeding grounds in the Stockholm archipelago. The pinhead-sized arachnids have even turned up near the Arctic Circle.

"There are more of them now. And they show up earlier in the year," said Marja Lodin, 69, who has a summer house near the northern city of Umea. Two years ago she was infected with Lyme disease, which causes fever, headache, fatigue and skin rash, from a tick lodged in her navel.

Sweden's disease control agency doesn't keep records on Lyme disease, but said the potentially deadly tick-borne encephalitis virus, known as TBE, is on the rise. Reported annual cases more than doubled from 60 in the late 1990s to 131 in the 2001-2005 period. In 2006, there were 155 cases, two of which turned fatal.

"It is possible that these people would be alive if we had had a more stable climate," Jaenson said.

Canadian polar bear migration

Inuit hunters in Canada's Arctic say they have seen polar bears moving farther north as the polar ice cap recedes, or farther south in search of new sources of food.

The northern people who have hunted these majestic marine mammals for thousands of years say they haven't seen a dramatic decline yet in their numbers. But scientists worry that the polar bear will be pushed steadily toward extinction by 2050, to be found only in zoos, as Arctic waters grow warmer.

The bears depend on sea ice for survival. They have their pups and they hunt seal and walrus on ice floes. But the summer ice cap is about 20 percent smaller today than in 1978, the U.N. climate panel reported in February. And as sea ice shrinks, bears are forced to hunt and to fast for longer periods.

Biologists believe 20,000 to 25,000 polar bears roam the frozen Arctic, about 60 percent in Canada. The research group Polar Bears International says one polar bear population, in Canada's western Hudson Bay, has dropped 22 percent since the 1980s, about the time Inuit hunters started noticing dramatic changes in wind and weather patterns.

The trends are so troubling that the U.S. government has proposed listing polar bears as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

Changing climate, vanishing plankton threaten cod

LONDON (AP) - Overfishing has cut deeply into the North Sea's cod population in recent decades, and scientists now say this important food fish faces a second challenge - climate change.

North Sea water temperatures have climbed 1 degree Fahrenheit over the past 100 years, and that has shifted currents, carrying a major food source, plankton, away from the cod, said scientist Chris Reid of the Partnership for Observation of the Global Oceans in Plymouth, England.

"The only way that these increases can be explained is by greenhouse gas emissions," Reid said. In their larval stage, the cod feed on the minute plants and animals known as plankton. Chances of survival without them are slim. North Sea cod that do survive today are smaller and less successful at mating and reproducing, Reid explained. In addition, warmer temperatures increase cod metabolism and the larvae's need for nutrition, he and other marine scientists noted in a 2003 research paper.

Because the European Union's 2003 cod recovery plan isn't working, scientists and fishing industry representatives met March 9-10 to discuss new ways to counter the threats and help the cod.

The dimb's demise tells of African climate change

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) - It's getting harder for villagers in the north of this dry West African country to find a favored ingredient for a traditional couscous dish - the fruit of the dimb tree.

The once-prevalent tree with its meaty fruit has disappeared from all but one village in an area the size of Connecticut, as shifting rainfall patterns have made northern Senegal drier and hotter, research has found.

Many tree species like the dimb are retreating from the Sahel, the arid region south of the Sahara Desert, losing ground to more arid species. In the zone that climate change scientist Patrick Gonzalez studied, the dimb's range decreased 96 percent between 1945 and 1994 - from 27 villages to one.

Gonzalez said he looked at many factors, including population shifts and tree cutting, but "precipitation and temperature explained most of the variance in the data."

The greenhouse effect has warmed the southern Atlantic Ocean, source of the African monsoon, causing more rain to fall over the sea and less over the Sahel, said the Nature Conservancy's Gonzalez, who did the research while with the U.S. Geological Survey.

Fig and firewood species also are dying, forcing women gatherers to range farther and spend more time hunting firewood. "Once you don't have that, people start burning cow dung. And that's when environmentally the area is in great trouble," Gonzalez said.

This report was written by AP correspondents Charles J. Hanley, New York; Ben Fox, San Juan; Rohan Sullivan, Sydney; Karl Ritter, Stockholm; Beth Duff-Brown, Toronto; Courtney French, London; and Heidi Vogt, Dakar.

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Reader comments on this story - 27 total

Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.

Joann Bear wrote on Apr 14, 2007 3:56 PM:

" If global warming is caused by emissions from vehicles, factories, etc., why aren't all ways being used to cut down on them ( common sense ones like one car per family, the dreaded car pooling and taking the bus, bicycles, and shank's mare)? There is a man in Utah who ( in the 80s or 90s) invented a filter that filters 98% of the metals & chemicals spewed by those huge chimneys seen all over the world. It can be used on house chimneys and miniaturized for vehicles. He patented and demonstrated it, but refused to sell the patent. Backers from Japan & Europe were eager to get in on it, but every time they were about to sign contracts...they backed out. It happened time and again. Since then he's refined it so it will burn the residue turning it into electricity. Still it is ignored even though it has been proven. I was told by others the EPA said when he began manufacturing the filter they would make it mandatory for all factories, etc to use it. Check with patent office for confirmation of patent. "

To James wrote on Apr 3, 2007 8:40 AM:

" It's quite evident you have never read up on possiable other causes. I think you would be shocked to learn that a single volcano can put enough polution in the atmosphere in one day then all the man made polution in 3 years. The ocean alone contributes over 1/2 of all co2 gases emmited in any given year. I could go on and on on this subject but I think too many like you believe anything an Al Gore states as the gospel. Enough said ! "

James wrote on Apr 3, 2007 1:23 AM:

" I can't believe there are still skeptics out there arguing that "Global Warming" (I prefer the term Climate Change) isn't a by product of man's senseless activity on this planet. I mean, how many automobiles turn on the ignition every morning in this country? How much pollution do all these exhaust pipes emit into the American skies? I just don't understand the stupidity of some people. Are you blind or what? Are you deaf? It sounds to me that these skeptics are just immature adolescents who have an axe to grind but in fact have are empty-headed and have nothing of real value to say. Get a life! "

to:to reader and Michael wrote on Apr 2, 2007 12:10 AM:

" Yes, Think more internationally. You automatically relate global warming with Al Gore. Al Gore is a hypocrite. I agree with you. The issue of Global Warming is much bigger than this. Like I said, you need to learn to think more internatioanally. Touché. Maybe you should try to travel outside of Bloomington-Normal and see what a big world it is out there and learn that the American way of doing things is not always the right way of doing things. Wait a second, this would mean that you could not drive your SUV around. On second thought, you should just stay in Bloomington-Normal. It is your kind of people who give Americans a bad name overseas. "

Michael Schumann wrote on Apr 1, 2007 10:48 PM:

" Part 2: Now, a lot of posters here just decide to harp on Al Gore. Why? He only quotes the scientists. His work has a place and he has years of experience in thinking about the environment. For all, that when I read in a news article that this or that scientist or group of scientists, expresses a concern. I follow up, read their websites, papers, some of the papers and books that they cite, etc. I never see them quoting Gore. Global Warming is a Global issue. (Duh!) So, if you cannot stand Gore, go see what others are saying and doing. How many here even know that Sydney, Australia just shut down its lights to bring attention to this issue? Are you really going to argue that Gore threw the switch? "

Michael Schumann wrote on Apr 1, 2007 10:36 PM:

" No, I do not think I am right most of the time. I only know I am trying to be as near to right as one person can. That means I read and listen, watch, study and try to learn. Thus, I hope to reach a more complete understanding of complex and difficult problems. What I do not understand is why people who have access to the same resources as I do, will not exert themselves to examine the issues more fully. Its free and its easy in a town with five libraries and everyone on here having the internet and the WWW. "

Michael Schumann wrote on Apr 1, 2007 10:23 PM:

" $60,000.00 a year is not making anyone rich and I never said it does. Still, when it is announced this very week that the top 1% of the population is 400x richer than the rest of us combined, for the first time since 1930- Well. If you cannot figure that while $60k is on the low side of this equation AND still millions more make do with far less, you really need to wake up and smell the coffee. As I said in a letter to the editor very recently, Greed abides. The poor are not eating your lunch, the wealthy are; and YOU WANT TO KEEP ON FEEDING THEM? "

J. Frank wrote on Apr 1, 2007 10:01 PM:

" Happy to see all the posts showing that more and more people are getting wise to the global warming scam. Go to youtube and do a search on Great Global Warming Swindle. Great stuff! "

Sky Is Falling *again* wrote on Apr 1, 2007 9:49 PM:

" And it will keep falling until the Democrats get elected and save us! Or - the US gets put in its place (behind Europe/U.N.). Same goals. India and China get a pass - half of the worlds population polluting at will and with industrial abandon. These fairy tales would be easier to believe if we still had 4 TV stations preaching the lib garbage and no way to research for ourselves. The US was an ocean at one time, tropical at another and covered in ICE 10K years ago. Even Al Gore should know that! "

I agree with Smart One wrote on Apr 1, 2007 9:05 PM:

" We have places that need more heating and our ways of cooling our indoor areas produce lots of heat ,as well. And, we take away vegitation and lay down rock(roads,buildings,etc)especially in cities,causing "heat islanding". Greenhouse gases are not the problem.If we had the proper amount of plant life,greenhouse gases would absorbed by them.....it's loss of vegitation,mark my words. "

Why wrote on Apr 1, 2007 3:37 PM:

" What a surprise! Another global warning story! Stop already. Please. "

to Michael wrote on Apr 1, 2007 3:00 PM:

" You got me. We should put harsher restrictions on Companies to meet EPA requirements, making it even harder for them to compete in a global economy. While we are at it, open the boarders. Everyone should get to enjoy America. Also, start taxing the rich more, you know, us rich folks making an average household income of $60,000. Thats right. That is rich to you oh so concerned Dems. Get real. "

Ya...OK wrote on Apr 1, 2007 2:18 PM:

" When did we decide that we are at the ideal temperature? Isn't the earth pretty much always warming or cooling? So what makes us so sure we know why it's warming? "

Tom Terrific wrote on Apr 1, 2007 1:52 PM:

" I like the part that says most global warming is man-made. Yet no one can answer the question-How did the previous ice ages end? Seems to me the earth goes through cycles of warming and cooling. Whatever happened to that ice age we was supposed to get back in the early 80s? "

Smart One wrote on Apr 1, 2007 12:01 PM:

" I have two questions. By 2015, despite a low expected 1% growth rate, experts estimate there will be 7 billion people on the planet. By 2050, there may be as many as 10 billion people living on Earth. Won't they require more heated living space and use more energy (which gives off heat)? Most people don't argue the fact that cities are warmer than countryside so how can the population grow without adding warmth to the planet? "

Sorry folks, I'm not buying into the guilt wrote on Apr 1, 2007 10:24 AM:

" Someone please tell me why man is responsibile for the sun getting hotter? The surface temp of Mars has risen the same percentage as the Earth's. Yes, this will change life on this planet. No, man cannot stop it. Don't be fooled folks, this is all about politics and all about money. Ask Algore! "

to: reader wrote on Apr 1, 2007 9:56 AM:

" Hey don't trash the Easter Bunny like that. Global Warming is much more unbelievable. Shame on you. "

Well... wrote on Apr 1, 2007 9:55 AM:

" What about the scientists that say global warming doesn't exist, which was the vast majority of them? Man made global warming is just a lie that has been repeated so often and so loudly that most average people believe it since they never do any research on their own. KSeriously, look where this report comes from - the UN. Pretty much everyone at the UN hates the United States and one good way to really hurt our country is to claim that we are responsible for global warming and sanction us into the ground. "

reader wrote on Apr 1, 2007 9:43 AM:

" the major earthquake in indonisian area did cause a slight shift in the earths axis. i do believe if i am not mistaken that that will cause climate changes. i tend to believe that there are weather and climate shifts that are natural due to the age of earth. i imagine global warming does affect this yet i tend to belive the shift in the earts axis is far more the reason for these changes. these weather and climate shifts were long ago predicted. i just think the earths natural physical changes are more reponsible for this. "

Michaael Schumann wrote on Apr 1, 2007 9:32 AM:

" Nasty Democrats, always making things up. Like the Depression Hoover said would never happen? Kennedy and Cuba? Nixon's Imperial Presidency which went south with the Pentagon Papers and Watergate? Reagan's Iran-Contra and lack of response to AIDS? Bush Lite and his WMDS in Iraq, Maybe? Seems it is silly Republicans who wouldn't know a real crisis until it bit them. "

to to reader and Michael wrote on Apr 1, 2007 9:17 AM:

" Be more international ah? Like China and India? Those two countries pollute without conscience. The US is doing our part. We have cars and trucks that run cleaner each year. We have more strict standards on power plants and other industries. You greenies need to stop living in glass houses, just like your buddy Al Gore. Move out of your 3000 sq ft. house to something smaller, sell the Volvo and ride a bike. Otherwise, you are just a hypocrite. The world runs in cycles. Al claimed he has been preaching to the world about global warming. Funny, every other scientist at the time was talking about global COOLING. You are all just a bunch of alarmist. You are never happy unless you have something to complain about. "

To Michael Schumann wrote on Apr 1, 2007 9:07 AM:

" I'd buy the book you should write. I probably won't agree 100 per cent, but you DO make sense a lot of the times you blog. At the very least, you provoke thought. At the very worst, you think you're right all, or, maybe most of the time. At best, though, you in there plugging the holes in illogic and offering a little of your own which leaves to to folks like myself, who is naturally right all the time to straighten you out! Hey..just offering some support and encouragement to a fellow I agree with a lot. Now, if we can both just work on our humility! "

Ribit wrote on Apr 1, 2007 8:15 AM:

" Thanks Mike. "

to: Reader wrote on Apr 1, 2007 5:30 AM:

" It is this type of arrogant ignorant attitude I cannot stand. Americans are far behind in thinking from most parts of the world. They believe the world revolves around the US. This, despite what you may think, is not true. You need to learn to think more internationally. "

Save Your Breath wrote on Apr 1, 2007 1:35 AM:

" Save the whales, save the Easter Bunny, save Al Gore's reputation! Haven't the Democrats already invented enough crises? "

Michael Schumann wrote on Mar 31, 2007 10:15 PM:

" Like any more evidence of the impact of global warming will sway the willfully ignorant. What do they care about frogs in Puerto Rico when they do not even know that honeybee populations here in the US have suffered huge declines, threatening food supplies? Or that wasp colonies are running amok, growing to such huge numbers as to be a threat to public safety in places? No, unless and until they are starving, displaced or physically threatened, far too many will ignore all the facts that they are confronted with. JUst watch this space for the proof! "

reader wrote on Mar 31, 2007 9:01 PM:

" i'll bet the same people that believe in global warming believe in the easter bunny. "
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