Last updated: 4th November 2010
What is Climate Change? Well, before you can understand this concept
you need to understand what the word climate means...
What is Climate?
Climate is the "average weather" of a place over a long period of
time (usually 30 years). It includes temperature, rainfall and wind. By
knowing a place's climate we can guess that summer will quite warm,
about 19°C and that winter will be quite cold, about 3°C. To figure out
the climate for Ireland, weather information is collected from all
around the country every hour and is recorded. By comparing these
records over a long period of time we can figure out what Ireland's
weather is usually like.
Because we know what the weather is usually like, we can forecast
what the future weather is probably going to be like. Of course, it can
change and the weather forecasters aren't always right! Engineers,
farmers and town planners are some of the people that rely on climate
data for their job. They use it so that they can sow the right crops
and design roads, drains, buildings and bridges correctly.
Climate is important for town planners to take into account when
designing structures such as roads, drains, buildings and bridges. They
use climate data to make sure that they are not damaged by weather
conditions or cost more than necessary to build if they are built for
severe conditions that probably won't happen.
Top of the Page ↑
What is Climate Change?
So now that we know what climate is, we can understand what climate
change is. Climate change is a significant change in the average
weather or
climate that a place experiences. Climate change is caused by the build
up of greenhouse gases (GHGs)
in the atmosphere. The build up of GHGs is caused by human activities
such as burning fossil fuels for transport, energy and heating and
cutting down trees
Warming of the climate caused by the build up of GHGs is definite,
as proven by increases in the global average air and ocean
temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice and rising sea levels.
This global warming is having a domino effect on rainfall amounts, wind
speeds and ocean levels.
If climate change continues at it's current pace, increased global
temperatures will result in dangerous and irreversible impacts on our
planet. The challenge for us all, in Ireland and elsewhere, is limiting
and adapting to climate change.
Top of the Page ↑
A carbon sink is anything that takes in more carbon then it gives
out. A carbon source is the opposite, it gives out more carbon than it
takes in. Forests, soils, oceans and the atmosphere all store carbon
and this carbon moves between them in a continuous cycle. This movement
means that forests act as sinks or sources at different times.
However, not all stores of carbon naturally fluctuate. When it comes
to climate change, the most important carbon
stores are fossil fuel deposits. They are buried deep inside the earth,
naturally separated from the carbon
cycling in the atmosphere which is a huge benefit. When humans burn
coal, oil and natural gas they turn fossil carbon stores into
atmospheric carbon, this ends the separation. By allowing the carbon
to be released from fossil fuels, greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations
have risen to more than 30% higher than they were at the start of the
industrial revolution.
This rise is changing the carbon cycle and altering the global climate.
Planting trees causes other plants and the soil to turn into carbon
sinks and to absorb the fossil fuel emissions being released into the
atmosphere. The Kyoto Protocol (the international
communities’ main instrument for halting global warming) suggests that
trees and soil absorbing carbon dioxide is just as valid a means to
stopping climate change as cutting carbon dioxide emissions from fossil
fuels.
Top of the Page ↑
Deforestation is clearing down the Earth's forests on a massive
scale. It usually damages the quality of the land it leaves behind.
Forests still cover around 30% of the world's land area, but areas
larger than the whole of Ireland are removed each year.
At
the current rate of deforestation, the world’s rain forests could
completely vanish in a hundred years.
There are many reasons forests are cut down however most are related
to money or people's need to provide for their families. The biggest
contributor to deforestation is agriculture. The easiest way to create
more room for fields to plant crops or for grazing livestock is to cut
down trees. Often, many small farmers will sometimes each clear a few
acres by cutting
down trees and burning them in a process known as “slash and burn”
agriculture. This results in a large amount of acres being removed.
Another contributor to deforestion are logging operations. Logging
operations provide the world’s wood and paper products. They cut down
countless trees each year. Loggers, some of them acting
illegally, also build roads to access more and more remote
forests—which leads to further deforestation.
Forests are also cut as a
result of growing urban sprawl.
Some deforestation is unintentional. Some is caused by a combination
of human and natural factors like wildfires and subsequent overgrazing,
which may prevent the growth of young trees.
The quickest solution to deforestation would be to simply stop cutting
down trees. Even though deforestation rates have slowed a little in
recent year, this is unlikely to happen because of financial matters.
A more realistic solution is to carefully manage forest resources by
eliminating clear-cutting to make sure that forest environments remain
intact. The cutting that does occur should be balanced by the planting
of enough young trees to replace the older ones felled in any given
forest. The number of new tree plantations is growing each year, but
their total still equals a tiny fraction of the Earth’s forested land.
Top of the Page ↑
Effects of
Deforestation
Deforestation has many negative effects on the environment:
1) A loss of habitat for millions of species. 70% of Earth’s land
animals and plants live in forests, and many
cannot survive the deforestation that destroys their homes.
2) Deforestation drives climate change. Forest soils are moist, but
without protection from sun-blocking tree cover they quickly dry out.
Trees also help the water cycle continue by returning water vapor
back into the atmosphere. Without trees to fill these roles, many
former forest lands can quickly become barren deserts.
3) Removing trees deprives the forest of portions of its canopy, which
blocks the sun’s rays during the day and holds in heat at night. This
disruption leads to more extreme temperatures swings that can be
harmful to plants and animals.
4) Trees play a critical role in absorbing the greenhouse gases
that
fuel global warming. Fewer forests means larger amounts of greenhouse
gases entering the atmosphere - and increased speed and severity of
global warming.
5) Forests can provide a natural barrier to disasters such as
over-flowing rivers. In China, authorities have admitted that excessive
felling could have led to the worst case of flooding seen there in
1998. This has resulted in a ban on logging in eastern Tibet and an
emphasis placed on re-forestation. Bangladesh has seen similar loss of
forests and resulting floods too, for example.
Top of the Page ↑
Reforestation as a way of Tackling
Climate Change
One of the ways of tackling climate change and global warming is
idea of using "Carbon Sinks" to soak up carbon dioxide. To aid
in this, reforestation, or planting of new forests, has been
suggested. This is a popular strategy for the logging industry and
nations with large forests interests, such as Canada, the United
States, various Latin American nations, and some Asian countries such
as Indonesia.
Though this idea has some potential, it would not be
effective on its own. This is because creating new forest areas would
require establishing a new ecosystem whereas in an old forest there is
already a rich ecosystem and an established biodiversity base. Another
criticism is that reforestation doesn't properly tackle all of the root
causes of climate change or promote actual emissions reduction.
Top of the Page ↑
Here are some simple things you can do to help stop climate change:
1) Tell people! Tell other people you know about climate change and
what they can do to help. By helping spread the word you'll help other
people understand why things need to change.
2) Know what damage you're doing with each choice you make. Learn as
much as you can about climate change so that you can make the right
choice.
3) Turn off your computer once your finished, don't leave it on
stand-by. Conserve energy by using your computer’s “sleep mode” instead
of a screensaver.
4) Un-plug unused electronic devices such as phone chargers. Even
when electronic devices are turned off, they use energy.
5) Plant a tree. Trees suck up carbon dioxide and make clean air for
us to breathe.
6) Don't use plastic bottles; use a reusable flask.
7) Buy products with less packaging and recycle paper, plastic and
glass. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!
8) When possible, walk, cycle, rollerblade, skateboard or take
public transport instead of driving. When that's not possible car-pool
with some friends.
9) If you're cold, instead of turning up the heating throw on
another jumper. If you're too hot make sure you turn off any radiators
before opening windows.
Top of the Page ↑
