(178a) New Views on Climate Change and Societal Implications Thereof

The Sustainable Engineering Forum of AIChE's Institute for Sustainability uses a Virtual Meeting concept for vetting issues related to Sustainability. Three Virtual Meetings were held in 2005 on "New Views on Climate Change and Societal Implications." More than fifty scientists and engineers reviewed current literature on the subject and discussed whether technology advances had obviated many concerns about sources of climate change and other issues regarding sustainable decision-making. We also examined whether political pressures were shifting to favor action on the part of nations. One meeting focused on the US Climate Change Technology Program.

Major questions covered were: Is it ?Climate Change? or ?Global Warming? or ??; What technologies will be needed to minimize the odds of problems and minimize consequences if problems occur?; What choices do we have?; Are there benefits to global warming or business opportunities?; Did mankind prevent an ice age? What are the impacts on the "footprint" of society on the Earth?; What sustainability decision tools are needed to make informed choices?

This paper will present the salient points developed by this international group of engineers and scientists.