14 DAY TRIAL // A report published on March 31 by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says that climate change and global warming are already happening, and that it is only a matter of time until they affect the natural world and human society more than they already have.
This piece of news has spooked quite a lot of folks, and many have demanded that measures to limit greenhouse gas emissions be implemented without delay. Still, there are some people who refuse to take the Intergovernmental Panel's words for granted.
These people refer to themselves as the Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change (NIPCC), and they have recently released a new report saying that, regardless of what the IPCC might say, climate change is no reason to worry and stop polluting the environment.
This is because, contrary to what some scientists might say, having loads of carbon dioxide float about in our planet's atmosphere is by no means a bad thing, specialists with the NIPCC maintain.
Thus, the NIPCC report on climate change argues that, first off, atmospheric carbon dioxide is not a pollutant. On the contrary, it is merely a naturally-occurring compound that is neither toxic nor irritating. Hence, there is no reason to worry that quite a lot of it is floating about.
The NIPCC goes on to argue that increased atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide and global warming are highly unlikely to have a negative impact on food security. This is because laboratory peas have been shown to sprout faster when exposed to extreme carbon dioxide concentrations, and warm temperatures benefit crops.
What's more, elevated carbon dioxide concentrations and rising temperatures will not affect marine wildlife, seeing how aquatic organisms have been documented to be well able to adapt to changing conditions, and global warming will surely translate into a drop in cold-related mortality rates.
“If you look at the real world data it shows that rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere actually have a positive effect,” study leader Craig Idso summed up the findings of the NIPCC's latest investigation into the effects of climate change and global warming on human society and the natural world.
According to The Guardian, the findings of the new NIPCC report were detailed during a conference held in Washington, this past Tuesday. Unfortunately, the event did not receive all that much media attention, and, by the looks of it, the scientific community also decided to let this presentation escape their attention.
Granted, the report in question is a Heartland Institute publication, and this conservative think tank is funded by the Koch brothers, whose working agenda includes refining and distributing petroleum, but some might argue that this is no reason to dismiss the NIPCC specialists and their claims.