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Contributor:
Thomas M. Gibbons, CHMM
Business Title: Senior Environmental Engineer
Contact Information:
URS Corporation - New York
1515 Broadway, 35th Floor
New York, NY 10036
Phone: 212 642 7510
Fax: 212 391 4565
Beeper: 917-802-7117
Email: Tom_Gibbons@urscorp.com
Affiliation: URS Corporation is one of the industry's leading
engineering, environmental and construction services firms serving
government agencies and private industrial and commercial companies
worldwide. Our professional staff includes engineers with expertise in
the full spectrum of disciplines, as well as planners, scientists,
environmental specialists, information management specialists,
architects and construction managers. With a network of offices in 230
key cities, we have the resources to achieve our clients' goals-whether
for a large, multiphase project or a specialized assignment.
Headquartered in San Francisco, URS is a publicly owned company listed
on the New York and Pacific Stock Exchanges as URS. The company has
15,600 employees with operations in 30 countries
Biography: Mr. Gibbons has over 14 years of experience in
environmental assessment, abatement and management consulting. His broad
base of environmental experience includes environmental assessments for
the USPS; environmental due diligence for commercial real estate
transactions; design and management of asbestos and lead-based paint
abatement projects; environmental compliance audits; operations and
maintenance planning, and training. Mr. Gibbons received an AB degree in
Engineering from Lafayette College and a Diploma from New York
University in Building Construction Management. |
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Title of Poster
Presentation: Global Warming and Land Use Change
Author: Thomas M. Gibbons
Key Words: Kyoto Protocol, Global Warming, Human Factors, Land
Use Change
Abstract:
Objective & Scope: The objective is to present a review of current
information from reports and studies regarding the causes and predicted
effects of global warming.
Issues: Catastrophic warming projections were recently reported by the
United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The
findings of some studies conflict with the IPCC's report and suggest
that the warming trend is a natural fluctuation. Other findings suggest
that land use changes have a more significant affect on climate change
than green house gas emissions. The Kyoto Protocol calls for the
reduction of such emissions by an average of 5% from 1990 levels by
2010. UN sponsored climate talks ended in November without an agreement
on how to reduce emissions.
Developments: Fear that global warming is caused by green house gas
emissions resulted in the Kyoto Protocol of 1997. Dire global warming
projections have encouraged the development of innovative technologies
such as fuel cells, high efficiency homes and on-line trading of green
house gases. In May 2001 talks will resume in Bonn.
Conclusion: Most scientists agree that the average global temperatures
will increase by about 1-degree Celsius by 2100. While green house gases
do contribute to global warming other factors such as land use change
may be more significant. |