ABSTRACT
There is a consensus among environmental scientists that we are in the midst of a global warming period and human activity is a primary cause of this phenomenon. While scientists cannot predict with certainty the degree of adjustment that will be required of life forms during the developing warm period, we are being warned with increasing frequency that proactive social-political change must occur soon if a disastrous future is to be avoided. The National Research Council, in a 2011 report on climate, urges widespread action now to minimize the eventual magnitude of climate change and to be ready for the resulting impacts on society. The Council places top priority on stabilizing atmospheric greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations. Leadership and coordination at the level of the national governments will be needed. Regardless of how quickly that leadership emerges, it is important that organizations in the private sector take action now to minimize GHG emissions and reduce vulnerability to climate change (Committee on America’s Climate Choices, 2011).
