Best Answer
The planet is heating up much more rapidly than predicted by scientists. The average global surface temperature has risen 0.7 degrees Celsius since the beginning of the 20th century and will already surpass the one degree Celsius mark by 2020.If it crosses the two degree warming threshold as early as 2040, the planet could spin into run-away global warming later this century, leaving humanity powerless to intervene.
All of the scenarios predicted in the %26quot;dangerous%26quot; global warming world (a three degree temperature rise or more) are catastrophic. And according to the world%26#039;s top scientists, we have between five and 10 years to implement a massive and concerted global greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction plan to decrease emissions at least 25 per cent (below 1990 levels) by 2020, and a minimum of 80 per cent by 2050.
None of this is science fiction. The full extent of this information has been coming out like a series of emergency alerts from the scientific community in the last few years and from world leaders who %26quot;get it%26quot;.
The mass-entertainment land where we live in North America has been largely spared the details of this %26quot;inconvenient truth%26quot;, as appropriately pointed out by Al Gore, but the reality is very different elsewhere.
In Europe especially, where climate change awareness is high, actions to turn things around have now been institutionalized in most governments and businesses.
Negotiations to reach the next global agreements (post-Kyoto) to stabilize the planet%26#039;s climate are taking place in December in Bali, Indonesia. Every country in the world will be there; rich and large industrial GHG emitters like Canada, poor and extremely vulnerable to global warming countries like Bangladesh and the sub-Saharan African nations.
The inequity of global warming is glaring. Katrina was a tragic reminder of this reality even here in rich North America; the wealthy folks bailing out of New Orleans first while the poor were left to fend for themselves. That%26#039;s what happens when your government%26#039;s only strategy to deal with climate change is denial.
But as the United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, reiterated before the General Assembly in New York last week: %26quot;the debate is over. The time for leadership and meaningful initiatives to solve the climate crisis is now!%26quot;
Of course, many of us may no longer be alive in 2050. But those whom we love most in the world, our children and grandchildren, will be here to face this uncertain future.
In 2050, I%26#039;ll be 87. I%26#039;ve always planned to live at least up to that age, thanks to the great genes passed down to me by my grandparents, who all lived to see their 90th birthdays. What I never imagined was that I could be spending the final years of my life on a planet where the climate system has gone out of control and where anywhere from a third to half the living species on Earth; insects, plants, birds, animals, fish and marine mammals, will have gone extinct because of human foolishness.
The fools must not win.
The question therefore is: what can we do here and now to avoid entering climate chaos? Here are my top seven actions.
1. Educate yourself. There is now abundant Internet information, videos and books on climate change coming out every month. Some of them I%26#039;ve referenced in these columns. Believe me, read only one of them from cover to cover and you%26#039;ll %26quot;get it%26quot;!
2. Go into emergency mode. One of the amazing attributes of humans is their ability to find the inner strength and focus to solve emergency situations. The scientific reports leave no doubt: climate change is a fact and it is an emergency. But as your flight attendant would also say: stay calm! Plan carefully your next moves (your renewed community vision) and then act decisively.
3. Slow down your life! One of the most important lessons we need to learn from the global warming emergency is how to %26quot;power down%26quot; our economies. Less energy, less consumption, more efficiency. Don%26#039;t be fooled by magical solutions to solve global warming like biodiesels (which will consume 80 per cent of the planet%26#039;s agricultural lands to supply as little as 10 per cent of the world fuel demand), nuclear energy (each new and costly nuclear reactor still takes 10 years on average to plan and build) or clean coal (the industry wants government to hand them billions of dollars in research subsidies to see if they can figure out how to sequestrate carbon on a grand scale to keep their industry alive).
4. Embrace new opportunities. The global warming emergency forces us, fortunately, to deal with long overlooked priorities, like protection the environment, powering down the fossil fuel economy and phasing in renewables, purchasing locally, protecting all of our groundwater reserves and investing in public transportation infrastructure. The great news about all of these items is that it will likely improve our lives, make us happier and bring communities closer together! Last piece of advice on this point: it will help if you are prepared to embrace change!
5. Demand action from your leaders. Every elected official you meet needs to be able to grasp the real and present danger of the global warming crisis. Canada also desperately needs leaders who, in the context of this emergency, are willing to face the powerful fossil fuel industry and order a moratorium on the revolting tar sands developments taking place in the Canadian prairies, whose sole purpose is to continue feeding the United States%26#039; cheap fossil fuel addiction. Stphane Dion and his less than ideal spoken English is one of the few political leaders alive in Canada today capable of this task. And if your leaders don%26#039;t want to listen, move on to the next point.
6. Get rid of politicians working to sabotage action on climate change. If conspiring against the Kyoto Protocol was a crime against humanity, Stephen Harper would be in jail today. Nothing personal, but when it comes to our global warming emergency, the last thing the world needs right now is someone from Alberta running a country like Canada! The next time you%26#039;re called to the polls, take a moment to think about what%26#039;s at stake for future generations. And yes, do vote strategically!
7. Share the wealth. The burden of climate change must not fall on the world%26#039;s most vulnerable people. Actions to fight global warming must therefore have equity built in as its driving principle. We need to help those most in need in our communities. A rich country like Canada also needs to double its efforts to help the struggling nations of the world cope with climate change.
Otherwise, we will end up building a world like the images of Katrina or the image of the endless humanitarian disasters afflicting drought stricken countries.
Tens of billions of dollars will also likely be invested in climate change mitigation and adaptation measures in the years ahead. Be sure to follow the money so it doesn%26#039;t end up in the wrong hands!
Solving the climate change crisis is a tall order. It will require our best effort.
We have no choice. Daniel LeBlanc CLIMATE CHANGE (2007, October 1). Things we can all do to fight climate change. The Times - Transcript,p. D7. Retrieved January 30, 2008, from Canadian Newsstand Core database. (Document ID: 1353263131).
Other Answers (9)
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Telecommute instead of driving to work. Cut down driving wherever possible and use public transport if you have to go somewhere.
Be a vegetarian. Meat production uses a huge amount of energy, to say nothing of the methane emissions. -
1. ride a bike or walk, even take the bus
2. grow some veggies or go to the farmers market to reduce emissions for delivery