CSC graduate warns about global warming

Mahlman is a Crawford native and a 1962 graduate of Chadron State College. For 16 years, he was director of the federal Geophysical Dynamics Laboratory at Princeton, N.J. About three years ago, he and his wife Janet moved to Colorado and he is now a senior researcher at the National Center for Atmospheric Research at Boulder. He’s recognized as one of the leading experts on the atmosphere and climate change. His focus these days is on global warming, scientists say is the overriding concern.

Late last year, the New York Times carried a 1,390-word interview with Mahlman on global warming and in early March he appeared before the Senate committee. While the consequences of global warming that he discussed may not have an immediate impact, it is considered an insidious threat that is expected to have horrific long-range implications.

The Times article labels Mahlman “a reluctant activist.”

“I don’t like having to talk to people about something they don’t particularly want to hear,” he said. “But I see what the climate models are telling us. I think that by ignoring projections on global warming, we are making a negative gift to our successors---human, animals and plants---of enormous dimension.”

Mahlman says the earth’s climate has been heating up during the past century. He said if the trend continues, sea levels will rise, the glaciers will melt faster and there will be dramatic increases in the intensity of rainfall rates and hurricanes in tropical regions. On the other hand, the interiors of continents will dry out in the summers, threatening agriculture.

If sea levels rise as fast as projected, Mahlman said the Florida Everglades are doomed, low-lying countries such as Bangladesh and Holland will be in serious trouble and islands formed by corals will be under water.

Mahlman told the senate committee that “global warming is real and is a phenomenon that humans have created.” He said the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas) is the undisputed direct cause of the ever-increasing concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The added carbon dioxide causes the greenhouse effect that traps heat within the atmosphere and warms the planet.

“There is no scientific controversy about these facts,” Mahlman testified. He added that twice the amount of carbon dioxide is expected to enter the atmosphere is expected in this century, causing a 3 to 6-degree Fahrenheit global warming.

Mahlman, who was presented an honorary doctorate from Chadron State in May 2000 when he was the graduation speaker, calls global warming “a very important, but widely evaded global problem.” He said he feels it is the obligation of scientists to communicate the hazards of evading the matter.

He said a world-wide effort is needed to reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases substantially over the next 50 years and probably much longer.

He had some other suggestions for the senators:

--More efforts to repair and enhance the long-term climate observing system.

--Funding for climate modeling efforts that is consistent with the demands being placed upon them.

--New resources are needed to enhance research to evaluate the environmental impacts of global warming.

Mahlman said the current national and international strategy, although unstated, appears to be “proceed with business as usual and let the detrimental consequences be dealt with by future generations.” He noted that the Bush Administration’s Climate Change Science Plans speaks of the importance of corrective measures, by commits no new budget resources to assist with them.

“My opinion is that our descendants are likely to judge us harshly for our not yet having begun to address this problem meaningfully,” Mahlman said. “I look forward to the day when I might see the public policy process responding within the U.S. and the world to address these serious challenges to the future of our planet.”