Transcript:

Is the temperature of the world rising, and if it is, why? And how will this effect future generations? This week we’ll be exploring global warming. I’m Jim Metzner and this is the Pulse of the Planet.

ambience: Adelie Penguins

To put us in the right frame of mind for global warming, we’re listening to the sounds of penguins, recorded in the Antarctic. The next human voice you hear will be George Woodwell, director of the Woods Hole Research Center.

“The world is warming; it’s been warming for the past several thousand years during the retreat of the most recent glaciation. It’s warming particularly rapidly now due to the accumulation of heat trapping gases in the atmosphere. The evidence is direct evidence, measurements of the temperature of the Earth accumulated from hundreds of stations around the world. There’s also evidence from the maximum extent of sea ice in the Arctic Seas and Antarctic Seas, and there are various other measurements of changes in the character of the surface of the Earth, all consistent with the warming.

"Continued warming of the Earth at rates that are projected for the next years will mean that climatic zones will migrate, that agricultural areas will migrate, that areas that are suitable for human habitation will change, and change quite rapidly. Continuous warming means that we simply will not be able to support on Earth as many people as we support now.”

We’ll hear another point of view on global warming in our next program. Pulse of the Planet is presented by the National Science Foundation.