Andre faktorer lige så væsentlige som CO2

Det ekstreme fokus på CO2 i medierne og fra FNs klimapanel virker mærkeligt, når man tager i betragtning, at over halvdelen af opvarmningen i for eksempel USA skyldes ændringer i måden man bruger de store landområder på. Afskovning og urbanisering er også på et globalt plan faktorer, man bør - og i fremtiden vil - give mindst lige så meget opmærksomhed, som man for tiden giver kuldioxid.

"Across the U.S. as a whole, approximately 50 percent of the warming that has occurred since 1950 is due to land use changes (usually in the form of clearing forest for crops or cities) rather than to the emission of greenhouse gases,"

"Most large U.S. cities, including Atlanta, are warming at more than twice the rate of the planet as a whole – a rate that is mostly attributable to land use change. As a result, emissions reduction programs – like the cap and trade program under consideration by the U.S. Congress – may not sufficiently slow climate change in large cities where most people live and where land use change is the dominant driver of warming."

"Treaty negotiators should formally recognize land use change as a key driver of warming,"

"The role of land use in global warming is the most important climate-related story that has not been widely covered in the media."

---Professor Brian Stone

Så medier, nu har I noget nyt at skrive om. Og husk at fortælle hvor i Danmark i læste om det først.

Reducing greenhouse gases may not be enough to slow climate change - Because land use changes are responsible for 50 percent of warming in the US, policymakers need to address the influence of global deforestation and urbanization on climate change, in addition to greenhouse gas emissions. [EurekAlert!]