Global warming - global warnings?
Is global warming really as threatening as we've been led to believe? And is freak weather really a result of climate change? Is any of this even our fault? If life really is to be affected by global warming within our own lifetimes, can we really afford to sit back and wait for governments to act? On the plus side, if temperatures do rise as predicted, more regular sunny spells will undoubtedly do wonders for the south's tourist industry. Is our planet really in peril? Is sustainability the answer?
In 1995 the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC) reported that evidence suggests human activity does have a direct influence on climate change, but the phenomena does have its sceptics, tv botanist Professor David Bellamy among them. In a 2001 report, the IPPC concluded most observed warming over the last half century is likely linked to human influence.
According to the Natural Environment Research Council, water vapour and gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide in our atmosphere trap heat emitted from the earth's surface. The NERC claims this keeps the planet around 3oC warmer than it would otherwise be. This is the 'natural greenhouse effect'.
The NERC states that human activities such as burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil have increased the level of these greenhouse gases, which is in turn "throwing the climate system out of balance".
It adds that every one of the hottest 15 years on record has occurred since 1980 - the five hottest occuring since 1997.
According to the British Antarctic Survey, large changes have occurred in the ice cover of the Antarctic Peninsula. Many glaciers have retreated and several of the ice shelves that formerly fringed the Peninsula have been observed to break up rapidly in recent years. The BAS states that this loss of ice cover is almost certainly driven by increased melting associated with rising atmospheric temperatures. This contributes to sea level rise, say scientists, which will in turn effect those of us living in coastal areas.
Climate change makes the headlines every day in one way or another, as a matter of political policy or at a more grass roots level.
This site explores what consequences climate change - should it exist as we're being told it does - will have for the south coast, and what local people are doing to combat it.
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Disclaimer: This website is part of a project to explore the issues associated with climate change and sustainability. It aggregates information from a variety of sources. The respective rights to any image is hereby acknowledged.