Good News About Global Warming?

Tired of reading bad news and dire predictions about climate change? Here's some good news about global warming—or at least as good as it gets.

According to a new report by researchers at Duke University, the extreme global warming predicted by many previous studies is unlikely to occur.

But don't get too excited just yet.

Earth will certainly experience significant global warming over the next century. Probably between 2.5 degrees and 8 degrees Fahrenheit, if the new research is correct, instead of the 16 degrees some studies have forecast.

"This still commits us to quite a bit of climate change, but it leaves the door open to avoiding the largest and most devastating consequences," said Gabriele C. Hegerl, a Duke University climate expert who led the study, in an interview with The Washington Post.

That doesn't get us off the hook entirely, mind you, because an overall increase of even a few degrees could lead to massive storms, droughts and flooded coastal areas, but we should be able to avoid human extinction and the worst environmental disruptions if the new predictions hold true. Best of all, perhaps, Hegerl says the new research may convince governments that there is still time to take action to reduce global warming.

The Duke researchers used computer models to analyze historical climate data up to 700 years old and to predict "climate sensitivity," which shows how much the global average temperature is likely to change if carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere double.

"This is the first use of several different independent data sets to come up with a constraint on climate sensitivity," said Reto Knutti of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo. "It's a very solid piece of science."

More information:

Climate Change Will Be Significant but Not Extreme, Study Predicts – The Washington Post

Internet Brands acquires Wikitravel

Internet Brands, Inc, an operator of media and e-commerce sites for "large ticket" consumer purchases, announced the acquisition of Wikitravel and World66, two leading community travel guides of up-to-date, traveler-focused content. The sites are growing exponentially, collectively attracting more than 2 million visits per month, more than triple a year ago.

Both websites utilize wiki-based collaborative editing technology, and are built on the principle that travelers often get their best information from other travelers. The Wikitravel website offers more than 12,700 travel guides in 10 languages, with contributors working together to continually enhance the site's content. World66 delivers nearly 80,000 articles on more than 19,000 destinations all over the world. The sites have extraordinary community participation, currently receiving as many as 10,000 editorial contributions per week—meaning that on average a new addition to the travel guides arrives every 60 seconds, 24 hours per day. This rate of participation is also rapidly increasing.

Internet Brands will be investing in technology and other resources to help the sites continue to rapidly scale.

"Thanks to our active community, Wikitravel has had tremendous success, and this partnership is the best way to make the investments needed to take the site to the next level," said Evan Prodromou, Wikitravel co-founder. "Internet Brands has extensive experience with content-rich sites and is attuned to the unique needs of a community-driven site."

"We're delighted to join forces with the Wikitravel and World66 communities," said Bob Brisco, CEO, Internet Brands. "The sites are blessed with a large group of talented, passionate community leaders, and we look forward to helping by providing the needed infrastructure and support so the sites can grow even more rapidly."

"We believe that this arrangement will make the projects stronger," said Richard Osinga, co-founder and CEO, World66. "World66 and Wikitravel have complementary strengths, and Internet Brands brings the vision and resources to move ahead much more quickly."

Wikitravel founders Prodromou and Michele Ann Jenkins will continue to lead the Wikitravel site and community and will guide the integration of the World66 community. The founders of World66 will also stay closely involved with the project.

Both Wikitravel and World66 will continue to evolve under the collective guidance of the user community. "We look forward to working with the communities to develop new features, applications and content," said Prodromou. Both sites are open content travel guides available under a Creative Commons license.