ABSTRACT
Scientists have gained a great deal of understanding on how the climate is changing. They are now confident that the ‘global average net effect of climate since 1750 has been one of warming’ (IPCC, 2007, p3). Most atmospheric scientists concur that ‘[A]t continental, regional and ocean basin scales, numerous long-term changes in climate have been observed. These include changes in arctic temperatures and ice, widespread changes in precipitation amounts, ocean salinity, wind patterns and aspects of extreme weather including droughts, heavy precipitation, heat waves and the intensity of tropical cyclones’ (IPCC, 2007, p7).
