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Sir John Theodore Houghton
(30 Dec 1931- )
Welsh metereologist who
began in the late 1960's drawing attention to the buildup of carbon
dioxide in the earth's atmosphere and its result of global warming, now
known as the greenhouse effect.
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“[O]ur long-term security is threatened by a problem at least as dangerous as chemical, nuclear or biological weapons, or indeed international terrorism: human-induced climate change. ... The impacts of global warming are such that I have no
hesitation in describing it as a 'weapon of mass destruction.' Like terrorism, this weapon knows no boundaries. It can strike
anywhere, in any form...”
— John Houghton
London Guardian (28 Jul 2003)
“The world won't come to an end,
but the incidence of disasters will have a very big impact, and in ways
we can't predict.... Rises in seas levels will displace millions of
people. It's estimated there will be 150 million refugees by 2050,
homeless as a result of global warming. It's how we deal with these
problems that is as much the challenge as tackling the causes of global
warming.”
— John Houghton
London Independent (10 Aug 2003)
“Any successful international negotiation for reducing emissions must be based on four principles: the precautionary principle, the principle of sustainable development, the polluter-pays principle and the principle of equity. The strength of 'contraction and convergence' is that it satisfies all these principles.”
— John Houghton
London Independent (10 Aug 2003)

