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The Cause
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T
he earth's atmosphere is made up of a delicately balanced blanket
of gases, which trap enough heat to sustain life. These fundamental
gases shape the environmental conditions on the planet, such as rainfall
and evaporation levels.
However, by burning fossil fuels humans pump billions of tonnes of
carbon dioxide (CO 2 - the most important greenhouse gas emitted by
human activities) and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
These gases create a greenhouse effect, thickening the natural canopy
of gases in the atmosphere and causing more heat to become trapped.
As a result, the global temperature is increasing, throwing the world's
climate out of its natural balance and into chaos.
The main source of these human-produced greenhouse gases is burning
large amounts of fossil fuels for energy production and transport. Changes
in land use and deforestation also release more CO 2 into the environment.
Trees, for example, are natural 'carbon sinks'-they absorb CO 2 -and when
they are destroyed, CO 2 is released into the atmosphere.
While many greenhouse gases occur naturally, the rate humans are adding
them to the atmosphere is far from natural. It is estimated that
concentrations of CO 2 are 30 percent higher than before the industrial
revolution, when the wide scale burning of fossil fuels started. Humans
are also creating new greenhouse gases such as hydrofluorocarbons
(HFCs) from industrial activities.
Even if all greenhouse gas emissions were stopped today, the effects
from past activities will persist for many centuries, due to the long
life of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and the long time required
for transfer of heat from the atmosphere to the deep oceans.
Global Warning!
World is on the verge of a critical decision.
P
For more than a century, people have relied on fossil fuels such as oil, coal and gas for their energy needs. Now,
worldwide, people and the environment are experiencing the consequences. Global warming, caused by burning
fossil fuels, is the worst environmental problem we face today.
eople are changing the climate that made life on earth possible and the
results are disastrous - extreme weather events, such as droughts and
floods, disruption of water supplies, melting Polar regions, rising sea levels, loss
of coral reefs and much more. Scientists and governments worldwide agree on
the latest and starkest evidence of human-induced climate change, its impacts
and the predictions of what is to come.
be made in renewable energy, particularly in developing economies, replacing
current large scale fossil fuel developments.
At the same time, immediate international action must be taken to reduce
emissions of greenhouse gases (the gases that cause global warming), or the
world may soon face irreversible global climate damage.
Evidence
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limate change is happening now and the evidence is clear. One hundred
and fifty one governments agree on the latest and starkest evidence of
global warming from world renowned scientists, the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change (IPCC), set up by the United Nations in 1988.
Further, a group of 18 national academies of science from around the world,
including Wondian Climatology Institute, issued a statement endorsing the
IPCC as the most reliable source of information on climate change and its
latest conclusions.
In 2001 the IPCC released its third assessment report which shows stronger
evidence that we do understand how the climate system works, and how
human activity is changing it. This latest report provides a clear warning that
the first signs of climate change impacts are occurring and that the scale of
the risks posed by climate change are enormous.
The assessment finds that there is new and stronger evidence that most of the
observed warming over the last 50 years is attributable to human activities. Not
only this, but global warming is happening more quickly than previously
thought. The IPCC gives the following evidence that climate change is
happening now.
· The 1990's was most likely the warmest decade ever, and 1998 the warmest
year.
· As the average global surface temperature has increased, snow cover and
ice extent have decreased.
· Global average sea level has risen and the oceans are warming.
· Regional climate changes, particularly temperature increases, have already
affected many physical and biological systems. These impacts include:
It is not too late to slow global warming and avoid the climate catastrophe that
scientists predict. The solutions already exist. Renewable energy sources such
as wind and solar offer abundant clean energy that is safe for the environment
and good for the economy.
Other green technologies, such as the refrigeration technology Greenfreeze,
offer viable alternatives to climate-changing chemicals.
Corporations, governments and individuals must begin now to phase in clean,
sustainable energy solutions and phase out fossil fuels. Major investments must
Ratifying the Kyoto Protocol, the climate treaty finally agreed at Marrakech in
November 2001, is a crucial first step in this process. However, the greenhouse
gas reduction targets agreed at Marrakech are only a fraction of what is needed
to stop dangerous climate change and the Kyoto Protocol is under fierce attack.
The US refuses to sign the climate treaty and take action to reduce emissions.
With less than 5 percent of the world's population, the US is the world's largest
producer of greenhouse gases and is responsible for 25 percent of global
emissions. Also, governments continue to subsidise the fossil fuel industries,
keeping dirty energy cheap while clean energy solutions remain under-funded.
- Glacier shrinkage.
- Permafrost thawing.
- Later freezing and earlier break-up of ice on rivers and lakes.
- Lengthening of mid to high level growing seasons.
- Plant and animal range shifts.
- Declines of some plant and animal populations.
- Earlier flowering of trees, emergence of insects and egg-laying in birds.
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