THE EARTH’S CLIMATE

• Weather and climate have a profound influence on life on Earth. They are experienced daily and are essential for food production and health.
• The Earth’s climate is not static and has undergone many changes through time.
•  The last hundred years, the world’s average surface temperature rose by approximately 0.6°C.  This is a rate greater than in any period over the last 1,000 years.
•  Most of the warming was from 1910 to 1940 and from 1976 onwards it has warmed by 0.74°C.
• The term ‘climate change’ usually refers to changes that have been observed since the early 1900s. These changes in global climate are caused both by natural and human causes-temperature rise after the mid 1970’s in England and globally - see Hadley centre graphs.

CARBON
Forms of carbon are naturally stored on Earth in a number of reservoirs:

• The atmosphere
• Oceans and other bodies of water
• Limestone and corals (carbonate or CaCO3)
• Fossil fuels
• Living plants
• Dead organic matter

Carbon is continuously cycled between these reservoirs. Plants remove CO² from the atmosphere and store the carbon in roots, stems, leaves and the soil in a process known as sequestration. As plant material decomposes, it releases the carbon back into the atmosphere. Known as the carbon cycle, this process has proceeded naturally for the past 400 million years creating a balance between uptake and return of CO2. This balance is being damaged by human impact.  

HUMAN CAUSES
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) on climate change in 2007, confirms that human activity is the primary driver of the observed changes in climate. Humans influence the global climate through emitting key greenhouse gases - carbon dioxide (CO2),methane and nitrous oxide. These gases are responsible for the greenhouse effect which traps heat in the atmosphere and causes global warming. More specifically, approximately 7 billion tonnes of CO2 is emitted globally each year through fossil fuel use mostly through burning coal, oil and gas for energy. An additional 1.6 billion tonnes are emitted by land use change mainly by deforestation. The IPPC affirms that in the absence of effective international effort, GHG emissions will continue to grow rapidly over the coming decades. On current projections, this would result in a warming of between 1.7°C and 4.0°C by 2100, this depends on the amount of emissions.

CONSEQUENCES OF CLIMATE CHANGE
CHANGE OF CLIMATIC PATTERNS

• Increased precipitation and change in Earth’s hydrology.
• Droughts and wildfires will occur more often.
• Heat waves will be more frequent and more intense.

MELTING ICE CAPS & SEA LEVEL RISE

• The flow of ice from glaciers in Greenland has more than doubled over the past decade.
• There has been a 40% drop in the amount of arctic ice since the 1970s. If this spreads and the northern ice fields melt, a rise in sea levels of up to seven meters would occur. This would not simply devastate countries like Bangladesh and island nations, but also major western cities such as London, Rome and New York.
  

BIODIVERSITY

• The impact of climate change on some wildlife will already be catastrophic even with little further change in the climate.
• Up to a third of land-based species could face extinction by the middle of the century (RSPB).

HEALTH

• 150,000 people die every year as a result of climate change (World Health Organization)

FOOD AND WATER SUPPLIES

• Disruption to agriculture and food supplies.
• Water availability could decline-over 3 billion people in the Indian sub continent and the Middle East may face water shortages (Oxfam)
• 30 million people may be hungry by 2050 because of climate change (Hadley Centre, UK)

ECONOMY         

• Financial costs from hurricane damage and flooding.

The negative effects of these changes will be felt everywhere but will fall disproportionately heavily in developing countries that ironically are the least responsible for harmful emissions

SOLUTIONS

• Clean energy: Stop relying on inefficient energy systems and incorporate renewable energy (wind, tidal, wave and solar energy) and waste to energy techniques.
• Low Impact Building: Building in more sustainable ways taking into consideration the toxicity of materials used as well as the energy needs of the construction.
• Transport: Minimizing use of cars and airplanes, if necessary using low carbon cars. More incentive should also be given to car and aviation manufacturers to use less polluting technologies.
• Industry: Setting legislation and giving incentives to change polluting habits (energy needs and handling of waste) and switch to cleaner energy.  Change will come through simple things like lighting an average office overnight wastes enough energy to heat water for 1,000 cups of tea.
• Households: Switching to energy efficient suppliers, recycling, reusing waste and using energy efficient appliances.

LINKS

• HADLEY CENTRE

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/hadleycentre/
Very good information on climate change and updates on climate change research and predictions.

• Department of Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)

http://www.ipcc.ch/
Nice description of climate change, reasons and consequences. Easy to read and concise, it summarizes conclusions of IPPC and the Hadley Centre.

• International Panel on Climate Change (IPPC)

http://www.ipcc.ch/
The website contains a variety of technical, special and assessment reports. Very interesting but quite technical language and detail. 

• Greenpeace

http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/climate
Good description of climate change, presented in an easy to read, concise manner.

• Low Impact Living Initiative (LILI)

http://www.lowimpact.org/links.htm
Very good site that gives information on sustainable building materials and techniques. It also has good links and a shop that can bring one in touch with local sustainable building suppliers and workers.

• Green Building Store

http://www.greenbuildingstore.co.uk/
This site gives an overview of green building from natural paints to water saving WC’s. It has good descriptions and is also an online store.

• Energy Saving Trust

http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/
Good site that gives specific information on how one can have a more sustainable lifestyle by giving simple directions and suggesting energy saving appliances and home improvements.

• Direct Gov

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Environmentandgreenerliving/index.htm

Provides good information on how individuals can lower their carbon footprint with a few simple steps. Very good site and well presented information.

• Carbon Manager

http://www.carbonmanager.com

A very good site to get you started with assessing and monitoring your carbon footprint over time. This tool gives you the ability to measure your emissions in the present and not just look at the past.

Climate change & coral reefs

As ocean waters warm, corals lose their colour -a phenomenon known as "bleaching" -- and eventually die. One recent survey in Madagascar revealed reefs that had lost 99% of their coral cover due to bleaching. Already, 27% of the world’s reefs have been effectively lost, with the largest single cause being the massive climate-related coral bleaching event of 1998 (Status of Coral Reefs of the World 2000, Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network). Some have predicted that 60 percent of the world's coral reefs could disappear by 2030 if nothing is done soon (Convention on Biological Diversity press release 2006).

The loss of corals has a devastating effect on broader marine systems, and the human communities that rely upon them for survival. Coral reefs are home to 25% of all marine species. They provide natural barriers along coastlines, protecting beaches from erosion and communities from storm surges. Products derived from coral reefs have been used to treat HIV and other diseases, and globally 500 million people rely of coral reefs for their food and livelihoods. Climate change is also becoming a leading factor in the degradation of mangroves and coastal wetlands.