5 things you need to know about Climate change
Tom Feltham is back with his regular column and tells us 5 things that we all should know about Climate Change
Changes
Photo: BlueRidgeKitties (Flickr)
From pollen to precipitation, climate change by its very definition affects the natural world around us. At a time when so much focus is on reducing CO2 emissions and the economic impacts of these changes, it is easy for the primary effects of climate change to fall by the wayside. As well as the long-disputed global warming, climate change has been shown to manifest itself in varying pollen types in sediment due to changes in vegetation, increased land precipitation and arctic sea ice loss.
CO2
Carbon dioxide emissions are the wicked witch of this tale, picked out as the human influence in this changing climate. Multiple aspects of modern life produce CO2 and it costs us money in the short term to avoid this production. With a cynical view on the human race it is easy to see why denial has crept into the minds of so many. Something which crops up on many occasions in climate science is the interpretation of data as conflicting and this is no exception. Recent work published has indicated a smaller (but still significant) role for atmospheric CO2 levels in temperature changes.
Conferences
Reports of conflicting data and denial are still rife within society and, whilst this is the case, pressure on world leaders is lessened at vital climate change conferences such as the international negotiations on global warming in Durban. The call for a new approach at these conferences is strong within the scientific community following the disastrous Copenhagen meeting of 2009, and with the Kyoto deal effectively expiring next year.
Climategate
As well as a lack of uniformity within the international and political community, the scientific community has its own ever-growing problem, climategate. In the past weeks there have been further leaked e-mails from research scientists following on from those published prior to Copenhagen, which lead to unfounded accusations of data manipulation amongst the media and sceptics.
Consequences
For so many in the world the last four points will be difficult to relate to, but all they need to do is turn on the television and witness the extreme climates we are seeing on our planet. Storms, floods, droughts and heat waves threaten our economy further, as well as everyday lives around the world.
