Carbon Education

Climate change is caused by an increase in the amount of greenhouse gasses (GHGs) in the atmosphere. The most common GHG is carbon dioxide, but there are a number of others. GHGs occur naturally in the environment, and have fluctuated throughout the history. GHGs are not "bad"; it's just there is too much being created by human activity.

GHGs play a crucial role in regulating the earth's temperature. GHGs act like a blanket on the earth. Increases in GHGs in the air trap more infrared radiation from sunlight close to the earth and raise the average temperature, causing "global warming". The more GHGs in the atmosphere, the hotter the climate.

Human activity in the last 200 years has been linked with the fastest increase in GHGs in history. Much of this comes from burning coal and other fossil fuels to create electricity.

Climate Change will bring more intense extreme weather events because weather is controlled by the temperature of the air, sea and land. Changes in temperature cause changes in air pressure. Extreme changes result in extreme weather events (e.g. cyclones, tornadoes, hurricanes, storms, floods, droughts). Along with an increase in extreme weather events, expect the following:

This is a huge threat to coastal dwellings as higher sea levels mean higher tides. Sydney beaches are predicted to recede from anywhere between 4.5 to 88 metres by 2100 due to rising sea levels and increased tides. Maroubra beach is predicted to have a high tide 105 metres further onto land than it is now. This puts high tide line behind the current beach front shopping strip.

The number of people displaced by severe climatic events and loss of coastal living areas will increase. There are already a million people who have been displaced because of changes in the climate and rising sea levels. Conservative estimates put the number of climate refugees at 150 million by 2050.

Sensitive habitats will be lost. For example, The Great Barrier Reef, Kakadu National Park, and Snowy Mountains Alpine Region in Australia, coral reefs in the Indian Ocean, glaciers at the poles and Arctic regions are all changing due to global warming. An average temperature increase of just 1.2 degrees Celsius will cause the destruction of 99% of the species in the Great Barrier Reef, the coral reefs in the Indian Ocean and Kakadu National Park.

Extreme weather events such as drought, floods and fire lead to a decrease in agricultural production. Everything from milk production to fisheries, to wine and cotton are affected. The 2002 drought caused a 1.2% drop in our total GDP.

This will be caused by everything from rises in insurance premiums to the cost of food and petrol.

Increased Incidence of Tropical Diseases
As temperatures increase, mosquitoes and other disease-bearing insects will travel over larger areas, spreading diseases like Malaria and dengue fever.

There are a number of ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions around the home.

For more information and great tips on how you can contribute, see the Australian Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts website.

http://www.environment.gov.au/settlements/gwci/ index.html

or call the Department on 1300 130 606 to request a copy of "Global Warming Cool It".