Climate change is a massive issue with a lot of contributing factors. It’s not a simple and easy matter to understand. Luckily, there’s plenty of information out there to help us get our heads round it.
I’ve known the basics for some time now: we release too much carbon dioxide into the air which traps heat from the sun in our atmosphere, causing the greenhouse effect (read more here).
But I’m just starting to get into the nitty gritty of what really happens as a result of all these nasty emissions.
The increasing global temperature is very dangerous. It’s melting ice caps which creates a rising sea level and disrupts ocean currents creating havoc for marine life (read more here). Then ocean acidification also harms living things in our seas.
Rising temperatures mean more water evaporates into the air and the warmer air means clouds act differently, causing more heavy rain and snowfall which is already leading to increased flooding as well as ruining soil quality (because of the water evaporating out of the soil) and slowing plant growth which is bad for crops we use for food. For more on this go here. We’ll also see more droughts and hurricanes.
Unfortunately, it’s the poorest people in the world who will be worst affected by climate change, despite the fact that they contribute the least towards it. Developing countries aren’t as well-prepared to combat the effects of climate change and millions of the world’s poorest are already being displaced because of droughts, other extreme weather and rising sea levels encroaching on their land.
A whole lot of wildlife is threatened by climate change and some species have already died out. If we value biodiversity and the rich natural world then we need to protect it. Temperatures are rising too quickly for many species to adapt and their habitats are changing too rapidly. Read about some of the impacts of climate change on animals here.
It’s scary. Really scary. But we have the power and the solutions to turn this around as long as we act urgently.
Preston City Council declared a climate emergency back in April 2019 but is the term ’emergency’ being taken seriously?
If you can, please join Climate Action Preston to work together towards a green future for Preston. If you’re not able to join us, consider what you can do as an individual to reduce your carbon footprint. The two most effective measures the average person can take involve looking at their travel and their diet and I’ll be discussing these actions in the next post.
Climate Action Preston 