How does rising atmospheric CO2 affect marine organisms?

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Volume 6 Number 45:  5 November 2003

Temperature Record of the Week
This issue's Temperature Record of the week is from Aledo, Illinois. Visit our U.S. Climate Data section to plot and view these data for yourself.

Major Report

Hardly a heat wave passes but what climate alarmists are quick to blame global warming for any excess deaths that may have been associated with it.  If the whole truth be told, however, global warming would likely reduce the number of lives lost to extreme thermal conditions, considering what happens at the cold end of the temperature spectrum.  In addition, CO2-induced changes in the composition of the plants we use for food and medicine may actually be improving human health and extending human lifespan.

Editorial
Stephen Schneider on The Case for Climate Change Action: We post the last of five consecutive Editorials dealing with testimony presented at the 1 October 2003 hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, which was chaired by Senator John McCain of Arizona, who along with Senator Joseph Lieberman is seeking to enact legislation mandating reductions in anthropogenic CO2 emissions within the United States.

Subject Index Summaries
Sea Level (North American Measurements): Assessments of sea level trends along North American coasts provide no evidence of an anthropogenic-induced increase in the mean rate of sea level rise.  They do, however, provide evidence of decreased storminess in response to global warming.

Decomposition (Processes and Properties): What are the factors that influence the rate at which plant organic matter decomposes in soils?  How are these factors influenced by the air's temperature and CO2 concentration?  And what is the net result for the rate at which carbon is sequestered in the planet's soils?

Journal Reviews
Is Stratospheric Ozone Loss Driving Antarctic Cooling?: Whether it is or it isn't, the results of this study should serve as an impetus to open our minds to the realization that we yet have much to learn about earth's climate system that could radically alter our current views on CO2 and climate.

Global Warming and the Outlook for Malaria in Britain: Will malaria return to ravage Britain, as it did in times past, in response to the supposedly unprecedented global warming of the past century?  Climate alarmists say it will.  People who know what they're talking about say otherwise.

Response of Transgenic Rice Plants to Elevated CO2: Will genetically-engineered plants maintain their ability to respond to atmospheric CO2 enrichment?  Or will this ability be reduced in CO2-enriched air?  Or possibly increased?

Are Physical Properties of Stomata Unresponsive to CO2?: Have the physical properties of leaf stomata changed over the ages as the air's CO2 content has fluctuated from significantly less than what it is today to several times more than its current concentration?  Some studies say yes, others say no.

The Power of Plants to Alter Their Physical Environment: Earth's plants are well-equipped to deal with a number of climate change phenomena that have for years been considered to be highly detrimental to them.