Just Human?

Introduction  |  Community  |  Challenges  |  News  |  Resources  |  Contact  |  Join  |  Admin

(Back to Home ... Challenges)

Climate Change

Introduction

It is clear that the world is undergoing significant, and potentially catastrophic climate change,  The average temperature is higher now than at any time in the history of human civilization, and it will continue to the point of mass extinctions unless we make massive, radical and immediate changes - much of which needs to happen in the next decade.

A few points.

• The world is warming on average, but some places may be colder.  This is not a contradiction.
• If human activity is not the main reason for the climate change, then we have an even larger problem to solve if we are to survive.
• The problem is not only caused by the high levels of Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere: we also need to be concerned about levels of Methane and Nitrous Oxide, among others.

Action

What can we do?

• Understand the big picture and the key facts.  Be informed, keep up to date with the changing situation and our developing understanding,  Distinguish between the things we are confident about and what is a current best guess, and between the sources of information which attempt to provide accurate data and those which are pushing a particular story.  Have the facts and the evidence for those facts at your fingertips, so you can use them when necessary.
• Talk about this.  Keep it at the forefront of peoples attention.  We are very good at ignoring unpleasant and inconvenient truths (how many people can't bring themselves to make a will?) so we need to have climate change, and the things we can (must!) do about it constantly in our faces.
• Recognize that the complexity of the situation does not mean that we are not sure of anything; changing some detail in a projection is not the same as admitting "we got it all wrong".
• Minimize choices and activities which generate greenhouse gasses - partly because we need to do this, partly to provide moral ground for asking others to make changes, and partly to convince the politicians that the general public actually cares about this issue.
• Campaign, seek to influence politicians, and vote for people and parties who prioritize the planet.  Most of what needs to happen depends upon governments to take action, and upon international cooperation,
• Partner with other people of good will, even if you disagree about details.  Keep things in perspective.

Find Out More

• Carbon labelling: a useful edition of 'The Bottom Line', a half hour BBC radio program.
• MyClimate: a company offering to calculate and offset your carbon emissions