Dr.Margaret Leinen available to speak to reporters regarding the latest United Nations Report on Climate Change and Global Warming

SAN FRANCISCO, California (February 5, 2007)– Dr. Margaret Leinen, formerly the Assistant Director for Geosciences at the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), is available to speak with interested reporters regarding the recent report by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Dr. Leinen is currently the Chief Science Officer at Climos, a Silicon Valley start-up that is working to leverage natural processes to reduce greenhouse gasses and mitigate climate change.

The IPCC report, issued February 2, 2007, represents the consensus findings of more than 2,500 scientists from more than 100 countries, with the most serious warnings to date regarding the nature of global climate change. The report is available online at www.ipcc.ch.

Key findings from the United Nations IPCC “Climate Change 2007” report include:

1. There is now consensus that human-caused emissions are the main factor behind global climate change, and that trapped greenhouses gasses will result in rising temperatures and other climate changes for hundreds of years unless human-caused atmospheric emissions are reduced.
2. Global temperatures rose approximately 1 degree Fahrenheit in the last century but are projected to rise from 3.5 to 8 degrees in this century, resulting in increased melting of polar ice caps and glaciers, increased droughts in Africa and Southeast Asia, and significant climate changes in areas such as Central Europe
3. As a result of the projected temperature increase, world sea levels will rise in the next 50 years. While there is still some debate over the actual levels, there is consensus that sea levels will rise and displace millions of people and threaten coastal cities and property.

While at the NSF, Dr. Margaret Leinen oversaw publicly-funded academic research initiatives in ocean, atmospheric and earth science in the United States. Dr. Leinen also served as Vice Chair of the U.S. Climate Change Science Program, the interagency program responsible for coordinating federal climate change scientific research. Dr. Leinen is a well-known researcher in paleo-oceanography and paleo-climatology where her work focused on ocean sediments and their relationship to global biogeochemical cycles and the history of the Earth’s climate.

Dr. Margaret Leinen did not participate in the creation of the IPCC report and can provide reporters and media with an independent viewpoint. She can help explain the findings, outline solutions from a science, policy and commercial perspective, and answer questions. To arrange a time to speak with Dr. Leinen, please contact Bob Cullinan, 415-456-6200.