Worldwide Scientific Report Underlines Urgency of Global Warming
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: On to global warming, an environmental issue that's come up in the presidential campaign before. It is likely to get renewed focus in these final days of election 2000. There's a new report out by a worldwide scientific group that says global warming is occurring faster than previously believed. The consequences could be devastating, according to this report. Our environment correspondent Natalie Pawelski joining us now with details. Natalie, good to see you.</s>NATALIE PAWELSKI, CNN ENVIRONMENT CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you too, Daryn.</s>KAGAN: We've heard global warming before. Frankly I think it makes a lot of people's eyes glaze over, as important as an issue as it is. So, why is this one different?</s>PAWELSKI: This is different in two main regards. First of all, this is sort of the gold standard of research on global warming. It's international scientists from all over the world getting together under the auspices of the U.N. and giving their best guess as to what is going on. So, there's two big headlines on this. Number one is the degree of warming is a lot greater than anything they have ever told us before.</s>KAGAN: So, we're hotter than we thought.</s>PAWELSKI: Hotter, instead of saying -- they used to say maybe six degrees, more or less, of warming over the next 100 years. Now they're talking about up to 11 degrees was of warming over the next 100 years.</s>KAGAN: Which means real things. What does that mean in terms of water rising, floods, droughts.</s>PAWELSKI: Well, it's tough to get your brain around, but, for comparison, the scientists are telling me that the Earth's global average temperature during the last ice age was only nine degrees cooler than it is now. So, you know, we have only -- we have warmed up by nine degrees, we had an ice age, now we don't. Imagine 11 degrees on top of that and you begin to get some ideas of the changes we are talking about.</s>KAGAN: When you look at this report and you are concerned, is this something that individuals can do something about or is this government action that needs to take place?</s>PAWELSKI: I think most people would probably say both. The really difficult thing about global warming is we are talking about how we power our lives, how you got to work this morning in your gas guzzler, how I got to work this morning in my gas guzzler, the energy for the lights to power this television network, all of that. It's all fossil fuels and the pollution they pump out. That's the problem and since it affects every part of our lives, it's really difficult to solve.</s>KAGAN: Very good. Natalie Pawelski, thanks for stopping in and explaining a complex scientific issue. Good to see you.