Global Warming
Created | Updated Sep 4, 2005
The vast majority of scientists specialising in climate, and physicists the world over, fervently believe that the next few decades will see a rise in the average global temperature. This rise will be about three degrees, which doesn't sound much, but it's enough to cause:
* massive recession of glaciers
* melting of polar ice-caps
* there to be no snow in Australian springtime (probably over the next 30 years)
* sea level rises
-which will cause some islands to be at least 4 feet under water
-and seriously devalue currently pricey coastal real estate.
* right-wing tabloid journalists to deny the phenomenon. (At which point, you *know* it's got to be genuine)
* mining corporations to hire their own scientists to prove carbon emissions are good for you.
* frosts to become rarer- so, for example, citrus fruit, which relies on frost to 'set' will be more expensive to farm.
* Bad Hollywood movies about poor kid with neglectful father and big storms, complete with out-runnable tsunamis and cold, gangrene and escaped wolves.
The temperature increase is caused by the interaction of gases within the atmosphere. Some gases have a cooling effect (like phosphate), but others- like Carbon Dioxide, contribute to the greenhouse effect. The build-up of these gases contributes to the heating of the lower atmosphere.
In order to slow down this process, and perhaps prevent it reaching an irreversible point, some countries of Earth have signed a thing called the Kyoto Protocol. Essentially, hundreds of weather boffins and physicists got together and formed the IPCC- Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. This panel made recommendations to governments on what would happen if emission of greenhouse gasses continued at the rate at which they are currently at. Under the Kyoto protocol, countries are allowed a small increase in their carbon emissions, but not as much as some of them want. Australia, which exports a hell of a lot of coal, and the US, which likes SUVs, refused to sign. Even signing the protocol and meeting it's standards will probably not in the end be that helpful.
So what do we do, aside from buy a rubber dinghy and crank up the AC?
The first step is to get vocal. Tell your governments that actually, you quite like skiing. And tropical islands are nicer when you're not exploring them with scuba gear. Then, you might want to look at what you can do yourself to cut back on your energy use.
*walk, instead of take the car. Petrol is ludicrously expensive these days, anyway.
* If you're addicted to the wheels thing, can't say I blame you- think about car-pooling, or investing in a hybrid car. With petrol hiking up so high, it'll pay for itself in the long run. Plus, they're cute.
*switch off lights you're not using. Turn the telly off at the wall.
*invest in alternative energy. It's not all yak-butter and hemp these days, solar heating and electricity are actually quite reliable, as is wind energy.
* massive recession of glaciers
* melting of polar ice-caps
* there to be no snow in Australian springtime (probably over the next 30 years)
* sea level rises
-which will cause some islands to be at least 4 feet under water
-and seriously devalue currently pricey coastal real estate.
* right-wing tabloid journalists to deny the phenomenon. (At which point, you *know* it's got to be genuine)
* mining corporations to hire their own scientists to prove carbon emissions are good for you.
* frosts to become rarer- so, for example, citrus fruit, which relies on frost to 'set' will be more expensive to farm.
* Bad Hollywood movies about poor kid with neglectful father and big storms, complete with out-runnable tsunamis and cold, gangrene and escaped wolves.
The temperature increase is caused by the interaction of gases within the atmosphere. Some gases have a cooling effect (like phosphate), but others- like Carbon Dioxide, contribute to the greenhouse effect. The build-up of these gases contributes to the heating of the lower atmosphere.
In order to slow down this process, and perhaps prevent it reaching an irreversible point, some countries of Earth have signed a thing called the Kyoto Protocol. Essentially, hundreds of weather boffins and physicists got together and formed the IPCC- Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. This panel made recommendations to governments on what would happen if emission of greenhouse gasses continued at the rate at which they are currently at. Under the Kyoto protocol, countries are allowed a small increase in their carbon emissions, but not as much as some of them want. Australia, which exports a hell of a lot of coal, and the US, which likes SUVs, refused to sign. Even signing the protocol and meeting it's standards will probably not in the end be that helpful.
So what do we do, aside from buy a rubber dinghy and crank up the AC?
The first step is to get vocal. Tell your governments that actually, you quite like skiing. And tropical islands are nicer when you're not exploring them with scuba gear. Then, you might want to look at what you can do yourself to cut back on your energy use.
*walk, instead of take the car. Petrol is ludicrously expensive these days, anyway.
* If you're addicted to the wheels thing, can't say I blame you- think about car-pooling, or investing in a hybrid car. With petrol hiking up so high, it'll pay for itself in the long run. Plus, they're cute.
*switch off lights you're not using. Turn the telly off at the wall.
*invest in alternative energy. It's not all yak-butter and hemp these days, solar heating and electricity are actually quite reliable, as is wind energy.
