Bush climate advisor says temperature change won't 'affect people's lives, not linked to events'
 "Not actually linked to regional events."
That's the quote Bush's top science adviser made yesterday, saying there's no conclusive evidence that limiting the earth's temperature increase of two degrees Celsius would actually do anything.
His remarks run counter to that of most scientists and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change -- which won the Nobel Peace Prize last week.
Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
John H. Marburger III said Thursday the target of limiting planetary heating to two degrees Celsius or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit "is going to be a very difficult one to achieve and is not actually linked to regional events that affect people's lives."
While admitting that humans are producing too much carbon dioxide, he added, "you could have emerging disasters long before you get to two degrees... There is no scientific criterion for establishing numbers like that."
According to the Washington Post, "the atmosphere has already warmed by 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit compared with pre-industrial levels. In its April report, the IPCC outlined a range of environmental impacts that could transpire if temperatures rise 1.8 to 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit above 1980 levels. These include placing between 20 and 30 percent of all species "at increasing risk of extinction" damaging most coral reefs; and "increased morbidity and mortality from heat waves, floods and droughts."
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