Greenstar!

Two REALITIES: Climate Chaos

EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT 'CLIMATE CHAOS' ... BUT JUST DIDN'T THINK TO ASK!

Did You Know?

• Prior to the industrial revolution the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere was around 280 parts per million (ppm). It is now 392 ppm and rising 2+ppm per year.
• The safe upper limit for carbon dioxide in our atmosphere is 350 ppm according to Dr. James Hansen, one of the world's most respected climate scientists
• Climate scientists are far more worried about how climates are changing than the general public
• The almost 1 degree Celsius global average temperature increase in recent years has caused significant changes to the face of planet Earth. These alterations include the drying up of Amazonian rainforests, the melting of vast areas of Arctic permafrost, the widespread retreat of Himalayan glaciers, the shrinkage of polar icecaps, the sharp increase in wildfires and the extensive loss of coral reefs. This has led writer Bill McKibben to call this new planet EAARTH.
• Before their first birthday children in North America will produce more carbon dioxide than most Africans produce in a lifetime.
• The Majority World (previously referred to as the 'Third World') will suffer the most significant impacts of climate chaos first even though the Minority World and most notably North Americans have been responsible for creating much of the problem.
• There is a sobering 'lag effect' when it comes to the impact of GHGs on global temperatures. CO2 that has already been released will continue to raise air temperatures well into the future. The warming that we are experiencing now is the product of GHGs that were produced 40 years ago.
• The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) established in 1988 after the hottest summer in recorded history is the most widely recognized authority on climate change
• Events predicted by the IPCC for the end of the 21st century are already happening now. The world is changing faster than the IPCC models predicted.
• The two major 'sinks' for carbon dioxide are the oceans and the biosphere. Due to warmer, more acidified sea water and stresses on plants created by increasing temperatures and CO2 the planet's ability to absorb carbon emissions has dropped.
• The oceans are 30% more acidic than they were in the early 1800s significantly compromising ocean life and the 'carbon sink' it provides.
• Climate chaos is with us now. We need to mitigate the impact of higher global temperatures through revolutionary changes in how we live. These actions will hopefully soften its blow. In tandem with this we will need to exercise our resourcefulness and adapt to the new world we have created.
• “If there is no action before 2012, that's too late. What we do in the next 2 to 3 years will determine our future. This is the defining moment” — Rojendra Pachauri in 2009 and Chair of the IPCC