Dear Climate Scientist:

            Climate has profoundly impacted and shaped human existence and in turn humans via their activities have impacted local and regional and now even perhaps global climate.  Beginning around 10,000 years ago, the Agricultural Revolution and resultant growth in population altered the local and regional climate of many regions around the world including islands. 

World population history

For example, as huge tracks of forest were cut down to make way for agriculture to support growing populations (see below), the climate was altered from a wet to the present relatively dry climate.

Extent of forest lost compared to 8,000 years ago

In the past half-century, humans have increased their monitoring of various aspects or indicators of climate change to understand further how climate not only changes, but also to predict what impact these changes might have on the world around them.  One area of monitoring focus has been on greenhouse gases.  Atmospheric levels of gases, such as carbon dioxide (CO₂ - see below), methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O), chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), and sulfate (SO₄) aerosols have all been sampled and concentrations recorded for the past half-century or longer. The measured increases in atmospheric concentrations of these gases and aerosols along with historical comparisons from proxy records have led the world’s community – on local, regional, national, and international levels – to consider the potential climatic implications of past, current, and future increases in greenhouse gases.

Atmospheric carbon dioxide at Mauna Loa Observatory

One of the more notable global efforts has been through the United Nations and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.  Nations around the world gathered in Kyoto, Japan, in December, 1997 to discuss the importance of these climatic changes.  The report links increases in the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to the observed increase in the average surface temperature of the earth.

You are about to undertake a scientific investigation to help us better understand how the climate in different regions of the world may be affected as average surface temperature of the earth continues to rise.  After your thorough briefing, we would like to request your help in providing us with your professional knowledge about climate change in order to evaluate its effects here in Hawaii and around the world.  Your findings will cover the following topics: (1) the science of greenhouse gas forcing on climate; (2) the evidence of human influence on greenhouse gas concentrations; (3) the global response to mitigating future climatic impacts due to human forcings on greenhouse gas concentrations; and (4) the regional and global impacts of projected human-induced climate change on water resources and water resource sustainability. (5) local (Hawaii)  impacts of human-induced climate change and what can be done to prevent it.

Thank you for your time and cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your report after completing your study and data analyses.

Sincerely,
Fredrick A. Daniel, Director
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change