Learn About: Climate Change

This is the whole reason why we must reduce our Carbon pollution.

Chances are if you’ve found ZapCarbon you’ll be familiar with some of the issues surrounding climate change, but if you’re not or would like a reminder, here’s a summary.

What is it ?

As the name implies, it is a change in climate. On the face of it, it doesn’t sound particularly alarming, maybe even quite nice, but hang on a minute…

Historical records show that for the last several thousand years the Earth’s climate has been remarkably stable. With only slight ups and downs, temperatures, rainfall patterns and sea-levels have generally not changed hugely since the last ice age ended.

This very stability has allowed humans to develop agriculture, at a stroke freeing us from the hunter-gathering existence that all other animals live by. Having such abundant food is what has allowed our population to explode in just a few centuries to the incredible levels of today. Ultimately climate stability over the last few thousand years has allowed us to do things beyond just “surviving”, for instance building civilisations.

Agriculture of course is only possible if one can rely on the climate to grow and ripen the crops. That means a reasonably steady amount of rain and sunshine each year. Predictable seasons and temperatures are equally important too.

All in all, civilisation is built on the assumption of a reasonably stable climate. 

If the climate varies too much, crops simply don’t thrive – net result people soon starve and civilisation collapses.

How is it caused ?

It’s largely down to the Greenhouse effect.

Climate Change, Global Warming, call it what you will, is based on the very simple, but also very deadly concept of Greenhouse Gases that regulate the planet’s temperature - and thus climate.

Although present in tiny quantities, if you took them away, the average temperature on Earth would be around -15 degrees Centigrade. It would thus be frozen and next to no life could exist.

The atmosphere manages to support life on Earth through the presence of just the right amount of greenhouse gases.

The main greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide (CO₂) and at a simple level it can be imagined as one mighty duvet around the Earth keeping things at just the right temperature for life. If the CO₂ level goes down, things get cold – for instance the Ice Ages. Likewise if CO₂ goes higher, more heat is trapped with nowhere to go. Just like a thick duvet on a hot night, things start to get uncomfortable.

The level of CO₂ is normally regulated by life on Earth, changing only extremely slowly over time. BUT since the Industrial Revolution (1750) man has been digging up fossil fuels, burning them and adding the CO₂ produced to the atmosphere. This has come initially from coal, then oil and natural gas.
 

The graph shows the CO₂ from fossil fuels that have been released to the atmosphere EACH YEAR.

Despite all calls to cut back, our annual emissions now stand at a record high.


And just to make it worse…

What’s more, man has also been cutting down the Earth’s Carbon-absorbers (trees, rainforests etc). Plant life naturally absorbs Carbon Dioxide from the air, but most of the world's major forests are disappearing fast.

This means exactly when we need it most to mop up our pollution, the planet's capacity for CO₂ absorption is smaller than ever.... and shrinking every week.
 

Unfortunately once the CO₂ is up there there’s very little we can do about it in the short term. Currently the thickness of our “duvet” is rapidly increasing year on year – and all projections point to it continuing this way.

 

If that graph wasn’t worrying enough, here’s a question – what does 1980 mean to you ?

Ok, what’s so special about 1980 ?

Well I mean apart from Abba being No.1 with Super Trouper...