Here We Go Again

Well, it's almost 2 February, 2007, which means the next round of the IPCC's periodic assessment reports of all things climate change is almost here. In reality, though not officially available for public consumption, the report has already been with us for a couple of weeks, as information has been leaked to the press on a daily basis. In fact, it's hard to recall anything more leaky than the IPCC and its authors, but hey, they're excited, right? So six year's after the last go, what's new in the world of climate science? The answer - all kinds of stuff, provided you're really into the subtleties. If however, you're looking for dramatic new projections of future climate change, sea-level rise, and global consequences, you'll have to wait another five years (or more). For the moment, it's largely status quo, with the exception of a few minor adjustments here and there and modestly more definitive language regarding confidence in the attribution of observed climate change to human activity.

Now of course, this is not what you'll hear from the media or be reading about over the next few weeks. No, instead you'll be bombarded by stories regarding the "new" findings, showing "catastrophic" consequences, that will "certainly" befall humankind if we don't act "immediately". But unless one does more than scratch the surface, she'll be hard pressed to find the the stuff that actual does expand upon what we new back in 2001.