History: GW0 HELSINKI
In the period 1986-1989, Sinyan Shen and Gustaf Sirén organized a series of meetings in America, Europe and Asia that eventually culminated in the development of the GW series. The GWIC network is the earliest and remains the only network of international experts from institutions, governments, international agencies, and industries, working on a wide range of fields which global warming needs to address: • Economics of Global Warming Mitigation • Advanced Clean Energy for the 21st Century • Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Air Pollution • International Law and Global Warming • Extreme Events Index • El Niño and North Atlantic Oscillation • Human Health and Global Warming • Strengthening Improvements in Energy Efficiency • Strengthening Improvements in Transportation Efficiency • Water Resource Management • The Future in Agricultural and Forestry Resources • Ecosystems and Biodiversity. In 1990, Othmar Preining and John Zerbe joined the GW International Program Committee. Shen and Preining are physicists and Sirén and Zerbe are foresters. The famous GTP utilizes advanced remote sensing and advanced forestry techniques. Now they are combating greenhouse gases release to 2060.
The keynote sessions of GW Series:
NASA's Earth Observation: How Diseases Travel Across Oceans Via Sandstorms
Many of the world's epidemic diseases are influenced by long-term changes in climate and short-term fluctuations in weather. Weather may influence exposures to microbial pathogens due to increased transport and dissemination of the agents via rainfall and runoff and the survival and/or growth through temperature changes. Watershed protection, infrastructure and storm drainage systems affected by increased rainfall may lead to an increased risk of contamination events. While disease outbreaks are apparent following severe storm events such as hurricanes and floods, there are several other climate-related factors affecting the emergence and prevalence of disease that are less obvious. Changes in the environment, whether due to natural phenomena or initiated by humans, can upset the delicate ecological balance of the Earth and its living populations. These microorganism populations may thrive due to the presence of a new survival niche or new vectors, hosts or transmission routes. In addition, the loss of predators or competing populations may promote growth, survival and the opportunity for greater transmission to new hosts. Climatic events may increase sea surface temperature and sea levels, leading to higher incidence of waterborne infections and toxin-related illnesses such as cholera and shellfish poisoning. The effect of climate stress may be confounded by changes in human susceptibility to infectious disease, through malnutrition due to climate stress on agriculture and stress due to increased flux in ultraviolet radiation.
Conditions of drought, global warming and desertification all contribute to increased disease. Evidence is mounting that unique microbial species originating in Africa, Asia or other countries can be transported by dust to the United States. Many questions remain regarding the impact of climate on public health, including: What is the current status of the nation's health and what are current stresses on our health and how might climate variability and change affect existing or predicted problems? What are the data gaps that must be investigated to accurately assess the impact of climate variability on human health? The Climate Change and Human Health Integrated Assessment team is led by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and a multidisciplinary group of researchers from 12 academic institutions around the United States.
The Hydrogen Highway: GM On-Board Hydrogen Storage Systems for Fuel Cell Vehicles
Global Surveillance: Measurements and Monitoring for Climate Change
National & International Programs- Climate Change Science Program
- North American Carbon Program
- Earth Observation Summit
- Spaceborne Earth Observation Systems
- Earth System Models