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 Climate action - NOW
!
A
decade ago, it was conjecture. Now it is fact. In
Canada
we have the disappearing Arctic ice and permafrost. In
Latin
America
and Southern
Asia
we have lethal storms and floods. In Europe there are disappearing glaciers,
forest fires and
fatal heat waves. The
three warmest years
on record have all occurred since 1998; 19 of the warmest 20
since 1980. The Earth has probably never warmed as fast as
in the past 30 years - a period when natural influences on
global temperatures, such as solar cycles and volcanoes should have
cooled us down.
Click
here to find out more about how you can offset
your carbon emissions.
People
taking action:
Woodford Islamic centre joins
TICOFF and goes CO2 neutral
GUARDIAN
article by Megan Reynolds
Read the
article
Global
warming
People are causing the change by burning
nature's vast stores of coal, oil and natural gas.
This releases billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2)
every year. CO2 is a greenhouse gas that traps the
Sun's radiation within the troposphere, the lower
atmosphere. It has accumulated along with other man-made
greenhouse gases, such as methane and
chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). If current trends continue,
we will raise atmospheric CO2 concentrations to double
pre-industrial levels during this century. That will
probably be enough to raise global temperatures by
around 2 - 5°C.
Global warming would be more pronounced if
it were not for sulphur particles
and other pollutants that shade us
, and because forests
and oceans
absorb around half of the
CO2 we produce. But the accumulation
rate of atmospheric CO2 has increased
since 2001, suggesting that nature's ability to absorb
the gas could now be stretched to the limit. Recent research
suggests that natural CO2
"sinks", like peat bogs
and forests
, are actually starting to release
CO2.
Kyoto
and beyond
At the Earth Summit in 1992
, the world agreed to prevent
"dangerous" climate change
. The 1997 Kyoto Protocol
, which finally came into force
during 2005 will bring modest emission
reductions from industrialised countries. But many observers
say deeper cuts are needed, and developing nations which
have large and growing populations will one day have to join
in. The bottom line is that we will need to cut
CO2 emissions by 70% - 80% simply
to stabilise atmospheric CO2
concentrations, and thus temperatures. The quicker we do
that, the less unbearably hot our future world will be.
18
years after the Earth
Summit
Are
our actions reflecting our
words?
Are
we
spending
enough
time
to
fight
poverty
and
to
find
environmental
answers?
Watch this
video - At age
12, Severn Suzuki, now an
environmental activist,
television host and author,
delivered a speech to the
UN delegates at the 1992
Rio Earth Summit.
"I'm
only a child," she told
them. "Yet I know that
if all the money spent on war
was spent on ending poverty and
finding environmental answers,
what a wonderful place this
would be". Almost 20 years
after the Earth Summit, have our
actions reflected our words?
The most
terrifying video you'll ever
see
Have you
got doubts about global
warming? Do you
think the scientists have got it
wrong?
Watch this video -
it won't make you change
your mind but it puts up a good case
for arguing, whatever you believe,
that the odds are better stacked if
we take action on Climate
Change.
What have
you got to lose?
Want to offset your carbon?
We have
energy intensive lifestyles and because of it we are
responsible for carbon dioxide emissions in nearly every
aspect of our daily routine; in driving our cars, in
heating and lighing our homes,
in
using all our household gadgets, in taking the bus, in
taking a flight, in the food we eat. Think about all the
carbon emissions involved in the preparation of fast
food - energy is required for all these consumer
choices.
But
you have another choice:
Offset your carbon
emissions by supporting an environmental
project that replaces the carbon you have put in the
atmosphere. Our tree planting programme in Peru aims
to support one of the main objectives of the
Kyoto Protocol; to stop global
deforestation, particularly of
rainforests. £3 a
month will offset an
average individual's carbon emissions
for the entire year whilst at the same
time funding the planting and maintenance of
a palm tree in the Amazon rainforest.
Click
here to find out more about how you can offset
your carbon emissions.
Tolerance
International UK is a member of the Stop Climate Chaos 'I Count'
coalition.
Stop Climate
Chaos is a growing coalition which includes most of the
UK's
leading environmental and international development
organisations as well as women's organisations, activist
groups and faith-based campaigns.
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