Climate change: the basics
Monday 18 April 2005
Climate change
Everybody seems to be saying that the weather is changing. Summers are getting warmer and winters are getting milder and wetter. But while most of us are taking advantage of the increase in temperature at the beach, climate change and global warming really do have very serious implications.
This is one of the greatest threats facing the world today - so much so that even the government is saying that people can and should do more to combat things like global warming.
Bad case of gas
Special gases in the Earth's atmosphere, known as 'greenhouse gases' help make the Earth warm enough for us, other animals and plants to live.
Everyday, things that we do, such as using electricity, driving cars, cutting down and burning trees or making goods in factories, affect the amount of greenhouse gases in the air. Scientists suggest that these extra greenhouse gases cause the Earth's temperature to go up, which is really bad news.
Research on the government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs web site says that the average temperature of the world will go up between 1.4 and 5.8 degrees Centigrade over the next 100 years.
That doesn't sound like much, but this could mean that the huge sheets ice that cover the North and South poles may start to melt, which would cause sea levels to rise. If this were to happen, it's likely we would see an increase in floods of coastal areas and along estuaries.
Consequences
The warming up of the planet is also expected to lead to storms and hurricanes taking place more often as well as increase in heat waves and droughts.
Climate affects the environment that people and wildlife depend on. For example, the record temperatures in France last Summer led to an estimated 20,000 people dying of heat related illnesses. The melting of the ice caps is forcing polar bears to go even further northwards in the Artic Circle. Some scientists believe that in a few decades the only polar bears we will see will be in zoos.
Political pressure
Many governments have woken up to the fact that climate change is a very real problem. In 1997 in a meeting Kyoto in Japan, developed countries agreed to reduce their overall emissions of greenhouse gases to around five per cent below 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012. The UK government agreed to reduce their emissions to 12.5 per cent below 1990 levels.
Unfortunately, countries such as the United States, Russia and Australia have so far not signed up to the agreement for various reasons, meaning that it is not yet legally binding. The international community is working with these countries to try and change this situation.
According to the government, there are things you can do to reduce global warming. These include:
- Walk or cycle to school each day
- Get your parent to buy tasty local food rather than food that has been transported by air for thousands of miles
- Turn off televisions, computers and lights when you go to bed
- Have a shower rather than a bath
- Share lifts with mates when travelling by car or use public transport
For more information about the Kyoto Protocol, climate change and things that you can do to prevent global warming, take a look at our list of recommended links.
