<div><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2009/12/10/DI2009121003293.html">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2009/12/10/DI2009121003293.html</a></div>
<div>
<h1>Global warming: What the science tells us</h1>
<h2 style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 10px">Key Copenhagen group releases draft climate plan</h2>
<div id="byline">Thomas R. Karl</div>
<p style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 10px">Director, National Climatic Data Center <br>Friday, December 11, 2009; 11:00 AM </p>
<p>Two top Obama administration officials arrived this week at the U.N.-sponsored <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/09/AR2009120904596.html" target=""><font color="#0c4790">climate talks offering both diplomacy and a tough line</font></a>: The United States is willing to be a full partner in fighting climate change, but the real problem is with China and the developing world. </p>
<p>At a critical time, the <a href="http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-12/10/content_12625720.htm" target=""><font color="#0c4790">uproar over stolen e-mails</font></a> suggesting scientists suppressed contrary views about climate change has emboldened skeptics -- including congressional Republicans looking to scuttle President Barack Obama's push for mandatory reductions in greenhouse gases. </p>
<p>The climate skeptics gained political momentum when former Republican vice presidential candidate <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/08/AR2009120803402.html" target=""><font color="#0c4790">Sarah Palin said Obama should boycott the negotiations</font></a> in Denmark and "not be a party to fraudulent scientific practices" -- a clear reference to the purloined e-mails from computers belonging to scientists at a British climate research center. </p>
<p><b>Thomas R. Karl</b>, director of the <a href="http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/ncdc.html" target=""><font color="#0c4790">National Climatic Data Center</font></a> at NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and recently returned from Copenhagen was online <b>Friday, Dec. 11, at 11 a.m. ET</b> to discuss the scientific aspects of climate change. </p>
<p>____________________ </p>
<p><b>Thomas R. Karl:</b> Hi. My name is Tom Karl and I am the Director of NOAA's National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, North Carolina and I am also NOAA's lead for Climate Services. I've just returned from the climate conference in Copenhagen, (COP 15 <a href="http://cop15.state.gov/">http://cop15.state.gov/</a>) where approximately 15,000 people will gather over the two-week period to work together towards solving the problem of human-caused climate change. There, I gave two presentations, one on changes in climate extremes and one on climate change impacts in the U.S. - including both the impacts. I'm here today to talk about the science behind global climate change, to answer questions about what we know, what the data tells us, and to dispel misconceptions and myths. </p>
<p>_______________________ </p>
<p><b>Germantown, Md.:</b> Good Afternoon, </p>
<p>A lot has been made about the e-mails from East Anglia, (especially in Washington, D.C.). It's difficult to assess the true scope of the issue because of the plainly partisan bias at play in the government. Could you please explain what exactly the e-mails mean for the scientific community at work on climate issues, and also explain why East Anglia university is important in this debate, if it is at all. (If it had been MIT, or Harvard, how would that have affected the debate?) Thank you! </p>
<p><b>Thomas R. Karl:</b> These emails do nothing to undermine the very strong scientific consensus that the earth is warming and that human activity is largely responsible. </p>
<p><b>Washington, D.C.:</b> Everyone goes on about the Arctic ice melting and causing catastrophic flooding in coastal areas. But since most of the Arctic ice is floating ice, wouldn't this have little to no effect on sea levels? Think of an ice cube in a glass of water. When the ice cube melts, the level of water has not changed. So why the panic? </p>
<p><b>Thomas R. Karl:</b> You are absolutely correct. Melting of Arctic sea ice does not change global sea level. Sea-level rise is caused by increasing ocean temperatures, which expands the volume of water in the ocean. Additionally, melting of the world's glaciers contributes to sea-level rise, and of particular concern is the recently observed melting of major ice sheets, including Greenland. </p>
<p>Sea-level rise has been accelerating over the past two decades compared to the previous 100 years of observed data. This trend is expected to continue with potential large additional contributions of melting from the major ice sheets. </p>
<p>_______________________ </p>
<p><b>Amherst, Mass.:</b> Why isn't the raw temperature measurement data set/s freely available to anyone who wants to do own calculations? </p>
<p><b>Thomas R. Karl:</b> All original NOAA data are freely available to anyone who requests it. </p>
<p>All of the data that NOAA uses to develop our time series are openly available. NOAA operates 3 National Data Centers and 5 World Data Centers. Part of their mission is to make climate-related data available to all users. </p>
<p>Data are available at <a href="http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov">http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov</a>, phone: 828-271-4800. </p>
<p>_______________________ </p>
<p><b><a href="http://washingtonpost.com">washingtonpost.com</a>:</b> <a href="http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/ncdc.html" target=""><font color="#0c4790">National Climatic Data Center</font></a> </p>
<p>------------------------------------------</p>
<p>Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett</p></div>