Climate Change

Climate change is the biggest and most controversial environmental issue of our times. Or rather, the cause of climate change is.

The fact that the Earth's climate has changed over its history - sometimes with cataclysmic consequences, called mass extinctions, for many of the planet's inhabitants - is not disputed. However, what has been the cause of fierce debate is whether or not human activity is currently causing a warming of the world.

What climate change, man-made or not, is not - is short term weather. These trends are much bigger and much longer term than a hot summer or a cold winter, we're thinking more of ice ages than cold snaps when we talk about climate change.

There are a number of reasons why the Earth's climate has changed historically. As the continents have moved through the process of plate tectonics they see changes in their climate, both as a result of the influence of the changing oceans and the size of landmass.

The Sun also plays a role: as the main source of heat and light for the planet, its activity is a major player in our climate and it is not a constant; fluctuating both cyclically and as it goes through its lifespan as a star.

The Earth's position relative to the sun is also not as constant as you might like to think, we're not in a circular orbit and the tilt of the planet also changes, causing changes in how all that heat and light from the Sun hits the planet's surface. Volcanic activity too can change climate by putting large amounts of material into the Earth's atmosphere and thus reflecting heat away from the surface.

Such large eruptions are however rare, in fact, the phrase ''once in a blue moon'' probably comes from the change in the atmosphere caused by ash plumes from the eruption of Krakatoa in 1883. It's also been theorised that asteroid strikes on the planet have a similar effect, throwing material into the sky, and some scientists believe that the end of the age of the dinosaurs may have been caused by a giant asteroid hit.

The final reason why climates change - and this is where the controversy comes in - relates to human activity, or anthropogenic global warming, which is what is meant when you read a news story about climate change.

Primarily, this has referred to the misleadingly named greenhouse effect. While a greenhouse warms the air by allowing in and retaining heat and not allowing in cooling air, greenhouse gases warm the planet by absorbing the Sun's heat and then reemitting it into the atmosphere.

The main greenhouse gases are: water vapour, carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, water vapour, ozone, nitrous oxide and CFC-12, a chlorofluorocarbon the use of which in many countries as an aerosol propellant and refrigerant has been banned. With the exception of CFC-12, which is man-made, these gases have historically existed in the atmosphere and there have been natural fluctuations (for example volcanoes emit CO2) in their levels.

The most common of these gases and thought to be the most significant greenhouse gas is water vapour but it's one on which human activity has little effect. As air warms it can hold more water, the increase in water vapour is said to be responsible for a possible amplification of global warming as the temperature warms.

Plants, which rely on CO2 to survive and which use and store it as they photosynthesise are said to be natural carbon sinks and over history natural variations in the levels of CO2 in the atmosphere are thought to have been balanced by their action.

However, since around the middle of the 18^th Century, human activity affecting the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has rapidly increased. Since the industrial revolution took hold we not only burned more CO2-emitting fuels, from wood to coal to oil, but we have also massively reduced the amount of vegetation on the planet.

Is the Climate Changing

In July 2010 the British Government's Meteorological Office and the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued findings that they said showed unequivocally the world was warming. Using 10 indicators, seven temperature measures and three ice or snow cover measures, they said that each of the last three decades has been warmer than the last and successively broken temperature records.

Action on Climate Change

The reason why climate change has become so controversial is because people are being asked to make massive lifestyle changes in their lifestyle to help mitigate the effects of man made global warming. If action on climate change amounted to legislation to outlaw, say, wooden pencils then, while scientists may debate the rights and wrongs of the issue, you can almost be sure that our media would not be filled with the dispute.

The roots of world-wide action on climate change date back to the 1988 foundation of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) by the World Meteorological Organisation, a department of the United Nations in 1988.

Since its foundation it has reported regularly on the state of climate change, with its 1990 report inspiring the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the first international treaty that aimed to reduce global warming, which was signed at the so-called Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992.

One of the key moments in the growth of concern about global warming was the release in 2006 of the film, An Inconvenient Truth. The documentary followed former US Vice President Al Gore as he tried to convince audiences about the seriousness of climate change. Gore won a Nobel peace prize as a result, but, like everything else to do with climate change the film has been the subject of much debate, particularly when schools have tried to show it to pupils.

The countries that signed the treaty have met since, with much fanfare, but often to little effect. The most recent major meeting was at Copenhagen in 2009 and was widely criticised by environmentalists.

Much of what has been agreed is also controversial, particularly so-called carbon trading arrangements which aim to set a marketplace for carbon credits sold by those who live with a small carbon footprint or contribute to carbon reduction by, for example, planting trees, to those who pollute.

Most countries have set targets for the reduction in carbon emissions. For example, the British Government's Climate Change Act of 2008 set legally-binding targets of a 34% reduction by 2020 and at least 80% by 2050.

Consequences

Again, the possible consequences of climate change are the subject of much to-ing and fro-ing with accusations of irresponsible scare-mongering and reprehensible complacency flying between the parties.

However, the IPCC has produced estimates - and the sheer complexity of climate systems and thus the difficulty of predicting how they will react using computer models makes them open to criticism - of what may happen as temperatures rise. Broadly speaking, most are catastrophic to both human life and to many other species on the planet.

Controversy

Unless you've already moved under a rock in preparation for climate chaos, you will have noticed that the issue of global warming is a controversial one.

There has been criticism of the IPCC and its work, the so-called climategate scandal involving leaked emails from the University of East Anglia's climate studies centre and doubt has been cast on the very idea that humans could be causing warming of the globe.

Even the controversy is controversial. Environmentalists often refer to climate sceptics as climate deniers, claimed by their opponents to be a deliberate attempt to ally them in the public mind with far right wing holocaust deniers. Many who criticise the science that claims to show that human activity is causing global warming are accused of being funded by the oil industry and free market think tanks who oppose the sort of government regulation that it seems will be necessary to implement large reductions in greenhouse gases, especially CO2

Personal Action

One of the strongest ideas of the green movement has been 'think global act local', which empowers people to believe that their own actions can have an effect on problems that are as big as the planet.

This applies to climate change arguably more than any other issue. What can I possibly do? Has even become a plaintive refrain of whole western nations shrugging their shoulders as they watch the rapid and dirty industrialisation of new economic giants like China and India.

However, once you accept the idea of climate change, then doing nothing doesn't really seem an option. It's possible to join any number of groups which campaign for environmental issues and almost all of which make global warming a major part of their efforts. Lobbying your elected representatives as an individual or as part of a group is your right as a voter.

The good news is that changing your lifestyle to reduce your carbon footprint might not just be cheap; it might even save you money, because broadly speaking, the less you consume, the less damage you are likely to do. You can, of course, speed a good deal of money on advice and carbon trading too.

Reduce your car use and try and drive more fuel efficiently, if you can, buy a car powered by alternative, greener means. Try not to use products made from oil, looking for green and vegetable-based alternatives is a good idea. Cut down on your power use - while efforts are being made to introduce renewable energy (and you can opt to pay a little more to use them with some providers) to western societies, the vast majority of our heating, light and power comes from carbon emitting production methods

Biodiversity (Biological Diversity)

What is biodiversity?

The term biodiversity is a shortening of biological diversity and according to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) means ''the variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems.''

The CBD was created by the United Nations Environment Programme and opened for signatures at the Rio Earth Summit in June 1992, by the time signatures were closed in December 1993 168 countries had signed up to its three main aims: the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits from the use of genetic resources. There are now 193 signatories.

Although around 1.75 million species have been categorised by science the true number of species on the planet is recognised to be much higher than this, many of them tiny organisms which may never be discovered by science.

Estimates as to how many species there range from 3 million to 100 million with the CBD placing the best estimate at around 13 million species.

New species are being discovered all the time: the 1992 Global Biodiversity Strategy said: ''Surprisingly, scientists have a better understanding of how many stars there are in the galaxy than how many species there are on Earth.''

One of the problems in properly estimating the number of species with which we co-exist is the historically ad-hoc nature of much scientific research, there is no central collecting or regulating body and no single database of just what has been discovered and documented.

Biodiversity extends down to the genetic level, with varieties of plants and breeds of animals qualifying as unique blocks in the intricate structures that make up the planet's biological diversity.

It is also taken to refer to the variety of ecosystems or habitats on Earth: from ocean to desert, lake to farmland.

What does biodiversity mean to us?

As humans we often see ourselves as sitting at the top of an evolutionary pyramid and somehow removed from the rest of 'nature'. However, while we have, to a degree, insulated ourselves from natural processes, humans are still massively dependent on the almost unimaginably complex natural systems around us. Forests for example are vital in protecting us from flooding and in helping us get clean drinking water. And, because the natural world is the product of millions of years of evolution and development, it is an incredibly complex system and we have little idea of what the effect of humans on biodiversity - through a massively increased rate of extinction thought to be at the very least 100 times greater than the natural rate - will have. For example, a December 2010 study found that declining biodiversity was increasing rates of infectious disease in humans as so-called 'buffer species' vanish and pathogens look for new victims and find us.Reference.

So much of what we live on - food, industrial materials and medicines for example - comes from the natural world that the United Nations Environment Programme has put a price on failing to preserve biodiversity: and it's between £1.2 and £2.8 trillion a year. NHM - Why conserve biodiversity?

For example, the recent declines in honey bee populations related to colony collapse disorder have caused great concern. FAS - Honey bee collapse disorder report.

While we've mechanised much of our agriculture, we still rely on these little workers to pollinate many of the crops on which we rely: a 2000 study put the value of honey bee pollination to United States agriculture at $14 billion-a-year.

Selective breeding in agriculture has led us to rely on fewer and fewer breeds of plants and animals for our food. Such a narrow range of productive breeds means a greater vulnerability to diseases and pests. Such was the concern at the rate at which crops were vanishing that seed vault was established under a frozen Norwegian Arctic mountain to keep 'back up copies' of thousands of threatened agricultural plant species.

While the fact that a smaller gene pool is of itself a bad thing for the future of life on the planet might be taken for granted, it is not an idea that has been unchallenged. In March 2011, scientists led by Professor Emmett Duffy of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science tried to prove the case conclusively. Their research, Duffy said: ''should be the final nail in the coffin of that controversy. It's the most rigorous and comprehensive analysis yet, and it clearly shows that extinction of plant species compromises the productivity that supports Earth's ecosystems.''

What is happening to biodiversity?

The reasons why biodiversity has become such a buzz word - migrating from the green fringes to the mainstream - is because biodiversity has never been more threatened.

And, it's almost all down to us in the form of rising population, habitat loss, over-exploitation of natural resources,pollution, introduction of new invasive species (often with the best of intentions) and, increasingly climate change. Quebec Biodiversity Website - Impacts on biodiversity.

While, as we have seen it's impossible to even know how many species there are on the planet there is little disagreement that species are now vanishing at a rate unparalleled in history outside previous catastrophic mass extinctions caused by such cataclysms as asteroid impacts and the onset of ice ages. Sixth mass extinction.

The CBD was an attempt to take concerted international action on biodiversity. However, so far its success has been limited. The Conventions aimed, by 2010, to ''achieve, by 2010, a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss at the local, national and regional levels, as a contribution to poverty alleviation and to the benefit of all life on Earth.''

This target has been missed and gains made seem small when set against the appalling destruction of the variety of life, for example, 31 species of birds were said to have been saved by conservation work.

What can you do about biodiversity?

It may seem an impossible task and a lost battle but how we live our lives can affect biodiversity and the more individuals change their lives the more they have a political mass and therefore a voice.

Lobby your elected representatives to vote for legislation that protects biodiversity. If your government is a signatory to the CBD they should be taking action. For example, the United Kingdom Government has a biodiversity action plan which targets 65 habitats and 1,150 species for conservation action.

If you have spare money to donate then look at ecological and conservation charities which are working to protect habitats and species - there are plenty of them because so much is threatened.

Of course, by living as sustainably as possible we can reduce the impact we have on biodiversity; in the West we have great power as consumers to choose products which are produced sustainably.

You can even create your own little bit of biodiversity if you have a plot of land on which to garden. Make your garden a habitat for wildlife, perhaps consider using the principles of permaculture, a system of gardening which values diversity, water conservation natural predators and aims to mimic natural forest habitats.

Air Pollution

Too many of the earth's cities are choked with polluted air, making it difficult for us inhabitants of this planet to breathe. Many people suffer from asthma, lung disease, or emphysema due to air pollution. There's no denying it: we made the earth this way.

The price of modern technology wasn't free. We had to build slowly and steadily over time, first discovering fire, and eventually overseeing the Industrial Revolution. Now the earth seems to be stuck at a crux, where weknow something has got to change, but we don't have enough power to do it.

Big corporations continue to produce air pollution, the worst being in the state of California's Central Valley. We can talk about going green until we're blue in the face (which probably wouldn't take long, if you're located in one of the United States most polluted cities,) but the fact of the matter is, until we as a nation get a collective plan in gear, the air will continue to be polluted. Buying solar panel kits and recycling plastic bottles definitely helps the environment, but larger measures need to be taken in order to drastically reduce air pollution.

Below you will find three lists, of the top 10 most polluted cities, as according to the American Lung Association.

American Cities with the Most Year-Round Particulate Pollution:

1. Bakersfield- Delano, California

2. Hanford- Corcoran, California

3. Los Angeles- Long Beach- Riverside, California

4. Visalia- Porterville, California

5. Fresno- Madera, California

6. Pittsburgh- New Castle, Pennsylvania

7. Phoenix- Mesa- Glendale, Arizona

8. Cincinnati- Middleton- Wilmington, Ohio- Kentucky- Indiana<

9. Louisville- Jefferson County- Elizabethtown- Scottsburg, Kentucky- Indiana

10. Philadelphia- Camden- Vineland- St. Louis- St. Charles- Farmington, Pennsylvania- New Jersey- Delaware- Maryland- Missouri- Illinois

American Cities with the Most Short-Term Particulate Pollution:

1. Bakersfield- Delano, California

2. Visalia- Porterville, California

3. Hanford- Corcoran, California

4. Los Angeles- Long Beach- Riverside, California

5. Modesto, California

6. Pittsburgh- New Castle, Pennsylvania

7. Salt Lake City- Ogden- Clearfield, Utah

8. Logan, Utah-Idaho

9. Fairbanks, Alaska

10. Merced, California

American Cities with the Most Ozone Pollution:

1. Los Angeles- Long Beach- Riverside, California

2. Visalia- Porterville, California

3. Bakersfield- Delano, California

4. Fresno- Madera, California

5. Hanford- Corcoran, California

6. Sacramento- Yuba City- Arden- Arcade, California- Nevada

7. San Diego- Carlsbad- San Marcos, California

8. Houston- Baytown- Huntsville, Texas

9. San Luis Obispo- Paso Robles, California

10. Merced, California

The good news - if there is any - is that 22 of the 25 most polluted cities have shown signs of improvement since last year's report. This is reason alone to rally for stricter air quality standards, as well as reduce traffic congestion, which is the #1 cause of air pollution. It may take a while, but eventually we could make the air breathable again.

Earth Day 2012 - Raising awareness of environmental issues

April 22^nd 2012 - Earth Day image 

In 1970 flower power and the hippie culture were at their height, but 1970 was also a time of protest in the United States. For more than a decade the Vietnam War had dominated the lives of countless families. The death toll continued to rise and for those who returned home unscathed there were many more who were maimed in body or mind. Concerted protest was growing in many quarters, particularly from among the student population, but there was still no apparent end in sight.

The Black Power Movement was also at its height. Two years earlier Martin Luther King, one of the heroes of the Black Civil Rights Movement, had been assassinated and the country was still reeling from the aftermath of this. Although segregation was coming to an end, the thought that there might one day be a black US president was still beyond the wildest imaginings of most protesters.

One area where there had been little indication of protest was concern about the environment. Massive V8 sedans, running on leaded petrol, were the favoured means of transport and smoke, sludge and industrial effluent were regarded as by-products of a successful society. Air pollution was accepted as a symbol of prosperity.

Environmental concern may have been limited, but it was there, even if it was below the surface. In 1962 Rachel Carson's best-selling book Silent Spring began to raise public awareness, but it was not until 1970 that Earth Day actually came into being.

Credit for the idea goes to the exotically named Gaylord Nelson, a Senator from Wisconsin. He had been appalled by the lack of government action following a massive oil spill off the coast of California. Inspired by the vigorous student anti-war movement he worked hard to channel some of that energy to raise public awareness of environmental issues.

His choice of date for Earth Day might seem somewhat bizarre, but Gaylord Nelson chose 22^nd April because he wanted a large student support and this date did not fall during exams or spring breaks, did not conflict with any major religious holidays and was late enough in the spring to have a reasonable chance of good weather. Also, in 1970 22^ndApril fell on a Wednesday and the middle of the week seemed like a good day.

The date has stuck, althoughto some people observing Earth Day around the time of the March equinox is far more logical. In 1978, American anthropologist Margaret Mead added her support for the equinox Earth Day, since in her view the selection of the March Equinox for Earth Day made it much easier to achieve a shared planetary event.

An astonishing 20 million people took part in the first Earth Day in 1970 and in the United States this eventually led to the creation of the US Environmental Protection Agency and the passing of the Clean Air, Clean Water and Endangered Species Acts.

For 1990 it was decided that Earth Day should go global and 200 million people were mobilised in 141 countries. One feature was a Peace Climb of Mount Everest involving climbers from the United States, China and the Soviet Union. This was the first time in history that climbers from these three nations had taken part in a joint expedition. With the help of support groups along the way the climbers managed to collect over two tons of rubbish that had been left on the mountain by previous climbers.

For the millennium it was decided to focus attention on global warming and the push for clean energy. 5000 environmental groups in 184 countries combined to reach out to hundreds of millions of people. For the first time the internet was the principal organising tool.

Earth Day has now become an annual international event on 22^nd April. Organisations large and small typically celebrate it with outdoor performances, where individuals or groups perform acts of service to earth. These can include planting trees, picking up roadside rubbish, conducting various programmes for recycling and conservation, and using recyclable containers for snacks and lunches.

Other activities include encouraging people to sign petitions to governments calling for stronger or immediate action to stop global warming and to reverse environmental destruction.

The organisers of Earth Day 2012 are still frustrated by the continuing failure of successive governments to take steps to protect and preserve the environment. This year's campaign is designed to provide people with the opportunity to unite their voices in a call for a sustainable future.

The overall demand is for immediate action to secure 'Renewable Energy for All' and a sustainable future for our planet. These are bold and far reaching demands and it would be wonderful to think that the governments of the world might all take notice and leap into united action.

Environmental Issues

Climate Change and Global Warming

The climate is changing. The earth is warming up, and there is now overwhelming scientific consensus that it is happening, and human-induced. With global warming on the increase and species and their habitats on the decrease, chances for ecosystems to adapt naturally are diminishing.
Many are agreed that climate change may be one of the greatest threats facing the planet. Recent years show increasing temperatures in various regions, and/or increasing extremities in weather patterns.
This section looks at what causes climate change, what the impacts are and where scientific consensus currently is.

Global Dimming

Research has shown that air pollutants from fossil fuel use make clouds reflect more of the sun’s rays back into space. This leads to an effect known as global dimming whereby less heat and energy reaches the earth. At first, it sounds like an ironic savior to climate change problems. However, it is believed that global dimming caused the droughts in Ethiopia in the 1970s and 80s where millions died, because the northern hemisphere oceans were not warm enough to allow rain formation. Global dimming is also hiding the true power of global warming. By cleaning up global dimming-causing pollutants without tackling greenhouse gas emissions, rapid warming has been observed, and various human health and ecological disasters have resulted, as witnessed during the European heat wave in 2003, which saw thousands of people die.

Carbon Sinks, Forests and Climate Change

A mechanism suggested for tackling climate change and warming has been the idea of using Carbon Sinks to soak up carbon dioxide. To aid in this, reforestation, or planting of new forests, have been suggested. This is a popular strategy for the logging industry and nations with large forests interests. While there may be some potential in this solution, it cannot be effective on its own. This is because it legitimizes continued destruction of old-growth and pristine forests which are rich ecosystems and have an established biodiversity base (albeit shrinking now) that naturally maintain the environment (at no cost!). Creating new forest areas would require the creation of entire ecosystems. It is also criticized for being a quick fix that does not tackle the root causes effectively and does not lead to, or promote actual emissions reduction.