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QSE 3 Unit 01 +wk_scen_LB_QSE 3 Unit 01 +wk_scen_LB.qxd 2/1/2011 1:09 PM Page 5

Environment

NORTH AMERICA, EUROPE MAY COOL IN WARMER WORLD

Alistair Doyle, Reuters the surge in the human
arts of Europe and population to six billion
PNorth America could people, ranging from
get drastically colder if stripped forests to rising
warming Atlantic ocean temperatures.
currents are halted by a “A major finding is that
surprise side-effect of global change will not be
warming, scientists said on progressive. There will be
Wednesday. The possible abrupt changes and tipping
shutdown of the Gulf points,” said Will Steffen,
Stream is one of several executive director of the
catastrophic changes – International Geosphere-
ranging from collapses of Biosphere Program, which
fish stocks issued the book based on
to more frequent forest work by 5,000 scientists.
fires – that could be Warm and cold water currents “Never before have we seen the
triggered by human activities, they in the world’s oceans. range of change or the rate of change
said in a book launched in Sweden. at the same time,” he told Reuters.
“In the worst case it (the Gulf average temperatures by 1.4-5.8 ºC by “You can get to a point where forests
Stream) could shut down... it might 2100. are too hot and too dry and sudden
even happen this century,” said Stefan Rahmstorf's study was included in a fires rip through them,” he said,
Rahmstorf of the Potsdam Institute new book, Global Change and the referring to blazes last year in nations
for Climate Impact Research in Earth System: A Planet Under from Australia to France. “Global
Germany. “This would trigger a Pressure, which looks at the impact of warming may make these events more
regional cooling, but not an Ice Age.” frequent.”
Climate models indicated a surge OPEN TO ATTACK
of fresh water into the North Atlantic
from a melting of northern glaciers Rachel Novak, New Scientist, UK
caused by global warming could stop
the current that sweeps warm waters atural or manmade, infectious unwittingly providing a blueprint for
from the Gulf of Mexico toward Ndiseases showed they still have us the ultimate bioweapon.
Europe. at their mercy. The fear of infectious Then there were the agricultural
“The Eastern coast of Canada and disease has largely faded epidemics. A particularly virulent
the United States would also be in the wealthy West over the past strain of foot and mouth disease hit
affected. This is sometimes wrongly century, thanks to sanitation, Britain after rampaging through Asia
perceived as a European problem by antibiotics and the like. But it re- and the Middle East. It probably
American politicians,” he told emerged with a vengeance in 2001 arrived in contaminated meat
Reuters. when some humans switched products, and got into the swill fed to
He said the Gulf Stream had allegiance and began working on the pigs. Four million animals were
collapsed about twenty times in the side of the killers. slaughtered, and around £3 billion lost
past 100,000 years, most recently at Weapons-grade anthrax sent in trade, tourism and in eradicating
the tail of the last Ice Age about 8,000 through the mail in the US has killed the disease.
years ago after an abrupt melting of five people so far. Although the The events of 2001 are forcing
icecaps. If the Gulf Stream stopped, perpetrator's identity remains a governments to change their attitude
average temperatures might fall by mystery, the FBI suspects a rogue towards epidemics – be they natural
5-10 Celsius (10-20 ºF) in Scandinavia scientist. And it’s not just rogue or deliberate, animal or human. And
or by 3-4 ºC in Germany. By scientists that have been giving for the first time since genetic
contrast, global warming, widely infectious agents a helping hand – far engineering became routine in the
blamed on emissions of gases like from it. New Scientist revealed that 1970s, molecular biologists are talking
carbon dioxide from cars and Australian scientists had accidentally seriously about the need
factories, is expected to raise global created a killer mousepox virus, to police their patch.

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