지구온난화의 긍정적인 효과?!?!

최근 발표된 어느 지구온난화 보고서에는 부정적 효과 외에 긍정적인 효과도 포함되었었다고 한다. That's a first.  
(영국 관점에서의 글)

- 여름과 겨울이 조금 더 따뜻해진다
- 지중해쪽의 습도가 지나치게 올라가면 영국의 관광 수입이 올라갈 가능성이 있다
- 영국에서도 블루베리를 재배할 수 있다
- 녹은 빙하로 인해 아시아와 태평양에 새로운 해로가 개방될 수도 있다.

하지만 지구온난화의 리스크가 훨씬 훨씬 훨씬 더 많다는 것은 변함없는 사실.
다만, positive effects 에 블루베리 재배가 언급되었다는 것이 흥미롭다.


[전체기사]

Climate change
Heating up

The Climate Change Risk Assessment issued this week is a brave document. Put out by Defra (the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs), this report claims to be the first attempt by government to assess the “potential risks and opportunities” for Britain arising from climate change.

It’s that word “opportunities” that makes this study courageous. Few organisations willingly talk about the upsides of climate change — though it is inevitable that some people and even some countries will be advantaged by the effects of global warming, even if the overall global impact is vastly more detrimental.

So what are those upsides? Summers and winters will be a little warmer; the Med could become too sweaty for many, so Britain should pick up more tourist dollars (its seaside towns will need to pick up their act, though). Blueberries should be able to grow in Britain — and other foodstuffs that don’t work so well at the moment. Melting of Arctic sea ice could open up new shipping routes to Asia and the Pacific.

Some of these are bigger benefits than others. But the good thing about pointing out such things is that, unlike much reporting of climate change, which lays itself open to accusations of presenting only one side of the story, this document identifies many of the possible effects, good and bad. (Climate sceptics would still think this an unbalanced report, as it follows the prevailing vast body of scientific evidence that global warming is a real and present danger.)

But blueberries and suntans will not compensate for the far greater havoc global warming will wreak in Britain. Flooding already causes £1.3 billion of damage a year; by the 2080s this could rise to anything from £2.1 billion to £12 billion, the report predicts. More than 27m may have limited access to clean water by the 2050s. Sewers will fill more often, and rotting waste will pour into rivers and the sea; viruses and bacteria will thrive in the heat. And though cold winters get press coverage as the poor and elderly shiver in their homes, in fact over-warm summers are a far bigger health hazard already — that will only increase. Britons will also use ever more energy in cooling their homes.

On balance, the risks Britain faces from global warming vastly outweigh the benefits. Defra's findings in this survey are perhaps not that surprising, but they are sobering, as are the number of people and sums of money involved. Eating blueberries while sunbathing in the Lake District may sound like fun. But all holidays must come to an end — and the rest of the picture looks pretty bleak.


(Photo: extremeinstability)
(Article: economist)