Global Warming & Climate Change

Scientists have been studying the effects of increased global temperatures which cause climate change and its role on the ecological systems upon which humans and all of nature depend. The news about the rise in temperatures has been reported in many studies for sometime now. Lester Brown, an internationally known researcher, in his new book Outgrowing the Earth, states that the earth’s average temperature over the last three decades has climbed by nearly 0.7 degrees Celsius, with the four warmest years on record coming during the last six years.

Some of the effects of this rise in temperature can cause more frequent and severe storms, heat waves, floods, droughts and wildfires. Various diseases from insects, species extinction and shortage of food production are all possible results of this rise in temperature.

A new study “Observed Impacts of Global Climate Change in the U.S.” by the Pew Center provides compelling evidence that ecosystems are already responding to climate change. The report shows that these observed global climate changes have been the result of human emissions of greenhouse gases. Changes in the U.S. climate have also been linked with human activities.

One international attempt to decrease greenhouse gas emissions is the Kyoto Protocol to the 1992 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change signed by 140 nations. Kyoto went into effect on February 16, 2005 without the signature of the United States. This international agreement will lessen the carbon dioxide much less than is really needed to make an appreciable difference, especially without the support of the U.S. The U.S. has less than 5% of the world’s population and produces more than 25% of the CO2.

Things we can do:

• Travel by bus, car pool, train, bike etc.
• Eat more sustainably
• Live more simply
• Use Compact Florescent Light Bulbs
• Encourage the development of renewable energy

For complete Pew Center Report see:
www.pewclimate.org/global-warming-in-depth

Other sites:
www.earth-policy.org
www.worldwatch.org
www.ncccusa.org

Books:
Outgrowing the Earth by Lester Brown
Worlds Apart: Globalization and Environment by James Speth

Videos:
Spaceship Earth; Our Global Environment by World Link (Good for Junior high teachers)
Artic Meltdown, Rising Seas by Video Education Project
Oil on Ice by Bullfrog films

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