January 13, 2000: Climate Change - Linda Moulton Howe

Science reporter Linda Moulton Howe joins Art Bell to examine climate change, accelerating global warming, Arctic ice loss, and sudden climate shifts after Art's New York trip recap. Art returns from a whirlwind trip to New York City, recounting interviews on the Today Show, WABC with Sean Hannity, and a packed book signing at Barnes and Noble in Rockefeller Center. He also reveals that Y2K disrupted America's spy satellite network for nearly three days and that Russia's early warning system has decayed so badly it cannot detect U.S. submarine-launched missiles at all.

Howe presents interviews with NOAA Administrator Dr. James Baker and NCAR climatologist Dr. Tom Wigley on accelerating global warming. Baker describes the unprecedented joint letter he co-signed with the UK Meteorological Office warning that warming trends are "undoubtedly real" and consistent with human-induced greenhouse effects. Wigley's computer projections show temperatures rising up to six degrees Fahrenheit by 2100, with heavier precipitation, stronger hurricanes, and shifting agricultural zones.

Linda reports that 40% of Arctic ice has melted in recent decades, a figure long classified because submarine measurements would have revealed naval positions. The conversation addresses the dilution of Atlantic currents, the ironic possibility of a cooler Europe amid global warming, and the political paralysis preventing action despite overwhelming scientific consensus.