Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the Kyoto Protocol and how its formation can be considered a turning point with regard to climate change and global warming. It also describes the aims and goals of the Kyoto Protocol and whether it can be implemented successfully. The paper suggests that it will take many more decades before global warming and other climate changes which are caused by greenhouse gases will begin to decline.

From the Paper:

"If it is true that humans are the ones who are affecting global warming, then humans must turn this detrimental propensity around. It has taken 150 years to get to this point, and it will take at least half as long to undo what has been done. That is why the Kyoto Protocol is so crucial at this point in history. The formation of the Kyoto Protocol is considered a turning point when humans decided to change longstanding harmful habits. The Kyoto Protocol cannot have any immediate results because nations throughout the world have just begun to harness and control their emissions. Fifty years ago one could hardly breathe in Tokyo, the air was so thick and it was not that long ago that the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles had yellow skies daily throughout the summer, with warnings to remain indoors. It has taken those cities a decade or two to cut back and clean up. It will take smaller, poorer nations, heavily yoked to industries run on fossil fuel for their livelihood much longer to change their energy sources and their economies."

Sample of Sources Used:

• AR4, 2007. IPCC Working Group 1 Report: The Physical Basis of Climate Change. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Found on the web at <http://ipcc-wg1.ucar.edu/wg1/wg1-report.html>.
• EIA. Energy Information Administration. October 1998. A Briefing Paper on the Energy Information Administration's Analysis and Report Prepared for the Committee on Science, U.S. House of Representatives (Completed Kyoto Report). Completed by the Department of Energy and available at <http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/kyoto/kyotobrf.html>.
• International Ad Hoc Detection and Attribution Group (IAHDAG), 2005. "Detecting and Attributing External Influences on the Climate System: A Review of Recent Advances." Journal of Climate Vol 18(9) May 2005. pp. 1291-1314. Found on the web at <http://ams.allenpress.com/perlserv/?request=get-abstract&doi=10.1175%2FJCLI3329.1&ct=1>.
• Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 1998. Document found on the web at: <http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/convkp/kpeng.html>.
• Perlman, David, 18 Dec 2003. "Earth warming at faster pace, say top science group leaders: Statement by American Geophysical Union's council warns temperature change is real and human-caused." San Francisco Chronicle. Found on the web at <http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2003/12/18/MNGNV3PH9D1.DTL&type=printable>.

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