An inconvenient truth1
27.1 April 2021
“It is evident in the world around us that very dramatic changes are taking place.”
“The message is unmistakably clear. The climate crisis is…extremely dangerous. In fact, it is a… planetary emergency. Unless we act boldly and quickly to deal with the underlying causes of global warming our world will undergo a string of terrible catastrophes.”
“Scientific understanding of climate change is now sufficiently clear to justify…taking prompt action…to solve the crisis of global warming.”
“The choice is ours.”1
Hothouse Earth1
27.2 April 2021
“We are now so abusing the Earth…
the outcome [will be] the probability
of disastrous global change.”2
You can’t have missed it! The news that the Earth is threatened by an existential environmental crisis is there for all to see on primetime television. But we need to take care not to be lulled into a false sense of security – Climate Change is not a crisis that is somewhere else, at some time in the future– it is here and now. We witness it every night on the news channels as examples of serious weather events occurring around the world. All are disastrous symptoms of Climate Change – all are the direct consequence of human activity. Climate Change is nothing less than the slow and steady destruction of the planet that we live on.
“Increasing levels of CO2 and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are raising the Earth’s temperature.”3
Scientists have been warning for decades that emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases are altering the Earth’s Climate – emissions that are largely attributed to humanity burning coal, gas and petroleum.3 This is not a future threat but a current reality.4 The continued warming and consequential destabilization of the climate is inevitably creating a “Hothouse Earth.”5 It is estimated that human activities have already caused approximately 1.0°C of global warming above pre-industrial levels. Computer models predict that global warming is likely to reach 1.5°C between 2030 and 2052 if it continues to increase at the current rate.6
We have also been warned of the dire consequences. These include increased melting of polar ice sheets and mountain glaciers and a consequential rise in sea levels. Also, extreme weather events ranging from increased droughts and widespread fires in some areas to more intense storms, high winds, and rainfall in others.3,7 According to some prediction’s whole regions of Africa, Australia, and the United States, parts of South America and Asia would be rendered uninhabitable.8 Sadly, many of the impacts caused by global warming are already being observed.6
“We are destroying the planet
every day. Climate Change is
…an enveloping crisis
sparing no place and leaving no life undeformed.”8
The reality is that Climate Crisis is now underway. Human activities have already disturbed the delicate balance of the Earth’s atmosphere. The real threat is that it will also destroy the comfortable environment to which all life is adapted – upon which everything is dependent. Industrial civilization – our way of life – is causing the planet and all its creatures to slowly, and inevitably slide towards death. Humanity as a species – you and I as individuals – need to urgently recognize the profound and tragic effects our activities have wrought upon the Earth. We have reached a point in time where fundamental decisions and changes are now required.
“The five-year period 2016-2020 [was] one of the warmest on record – with an average surface temperature of 1.1oC above pre-industrial era.”7
Even as I write another “hottest year” has been announced – another in a long sequence of similar tragic milestones. The threat of Climate Change and the associated breakdown of the climate of the Earth casts a dark shadow over our future and the prospect of all life on the planet. These are not abstract events they will have a direct impact on all our lives as large areas of the planet are made uninhabitable, food production is disrupted, and millions of people displaced. We cannot continue “sleepwalking to extinction”9 – we need end our dependency on fossil fuels – and quickly.
“The basic fact [is] that human activity is causing the planet to dangerously warm.”4
Human activities have been the principal influence on climate and the dominant cause of global warming since the mid-20th century.6
The choice we now face is stark and simple – either humanity continues its selfish and destructive ways – or we decide to take an alternative path that will demand institutional changes to many aspects of our society – economic, political, industrial, and agricultural.
“We have just ten years to halt global temperature rise.
If we leave it any longer,
it will be too late.”10
The age of fossil-fueled civilization needs to end. We need to make a “Great Transition”3 to a clean. green and sustainable, future. We only have few years left to act – we need to act now to save our lives and all life on the Earth.
Positive action1
27.3 May 2021
“Climate Change is the biggest challenge humanity has ever faced. Science tells us that…we have just ten years to halt global temperature rise. If we leave it any longer, it will be too late.”
“It is a daunting task. To try and think of solutions can for any individual, quickly begin to feel like an impossibility.”
“Positive action, no matter how small, builds towards…bigger goals. Whether we are mighty or meek, we must all act to stop climate change.”1
The emissions have to stop1
27.4 May 2021
It’s been thirty years since the United Nations established the Climate Change Framework. Since then, international efforts to save the planet have seemingly proved ineffective and levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere have continued to rise. We have squandered valuable decades pursuing our petty concerns. Any glance at the media suggests that as a society we seem to consider the latest fashions or the lives of minor celebrities more important than the future of life on the planet. We have failed to comprehend the basic fact that if we continue our current way of life the Earth’s atmosphere will change disastrously. But thankfully this tragic future can still be averted – Climate Change can be prevented if fundamental reforms at national and international levels are taken to reduce and ultimately completely stop the emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases within the next decade.
“Our actions effect the functioning of [the] entire planet.
All of us have a responsibility – actions taken at an individual level can have consequences.”2
But as individuals we cannot just abandon our responsibilities to government – in the fight against Climate Change we are all implicated. We need to understand that many of our daily activities can be damaging – unconsidered choices can contribute to global warming and we need to be aware of the consequences to the climate when we decide to jet off for an exotic holiday or buy a new SUV.
“Far-reaching changes can be brought about by the likes of you and me.”3
“We need every action possible to bring down emissions and we need them now.”4
The good news is that actions by individuals can also be beneficial – we can all play our part and help prevent Climate Change. One of the fundamental causes of global warming is the profligacy with which we have used fossil fuels over the last few decades. Therefore, the first step is to “Power Down.”5
This is especially true for our aging stock of 29 million homes in the United Kingdom (UK) where energy use accounts for about 14% of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions.6 We cannot meet our climate objectives and targets for emissions reduction “without near complete decarbonisation of the housing stock.”6 This means that all our homes have an important role to play and making simple changes could reduce waste and use less energy. These may include improving insulation and installing double – or triple – glazing. We can install more efficient appliances and make sure we switch them off at night or when not being used. We can change all light fittings in the house to LED’s.
Similarly, emissions from transport must be reduced. Transport is now the highest emitting sector of the UK economy, accounting for 22% of total greenhouse gas emissions.7 Private cars account for 13% of this total.7 So, we should all be aiming to shift away from internal combustion engine cars to electric vehicles. Or better still start to use public transport and to cycle or walk.
“The energy economy – that is now powered largely by coal and oil will be powered increasingly by solar and wind energy.”8
Once energy efficiencies have been achieved the next stage is to “Power Up.”14 We need to start shifting our energy resources away from fossil fuels to renewable sources such as solar and wind. This may include installing photovoltaic panels on your roof or swapping your gas-fired boiler for a heat pump.
“The challenge of the Twenty First Century is Climate Change.
It is the challenge that everyone…can play a part in tackling.”2
We need to begin to take the Climate Emergency seriously – it is a problem that will affect everyone, and therefore we all have a stake in resolving it. Almost every aspect of our own lives and consumption patterns will have to change. And yes, it may include sacrifices– but if we all play our part the cumulative effect will be considerable. We need to face up to the overwhelming scientific evidence that to prevent the disaster of global warming the solution is simple – we need to break our dependency on fossil fuels and lower and ultimately eliminate all CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions.
“If the emissions have to stop, then we must stop the emissions.
That is black and white.
There is no grey when it comes to survival.
We have to change.”1
Climate Change is happening!1
27.5 May 2021
“We are already committed to 30 years of dangerous changes in the worlds weather. Accepting this is the first…challenge.”
“We no longer have any option – only…how we choose to deal with it. Do we ignore it and hope it will go away? Or do we decide to be positive and engage with it?”
“The first step is to accept it [and] take responsibility for your emissions – to change the way you think …[and] live.”1
“The decisions we make now will define the world we live in now and for future generations.”2
We all have a choice1
27.6 May 2021
“The planet was bought to the brink of climate catastrophe within the lifetime of a single generation.”2
Many of us still believe that Climate Change is the result of carbon dioxide emissions accumulated in the atmosphere since the start of the Industrial Revolution. But the facts show that more than half of the CO2 in the atmosphere has been emitted in only the last thirty years. Which means that this generation – you and I – have done as much damage to the planet as all the generations that preceded us. We cannot plead ignorance. A long list of scientists warned us that Climate Change “threatens to make parts of the planet more or less unlivable…by the end of this century.”2 But they went unheeded, and we wantonly continued to ruin the atmosphere. The real tragedy is that we are still emitting carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases and as a result, global warming will inevitably increase – almost certainly reaching 2oC and probably far higher.2
“The next ten years is critical.
Global net-human-caused emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2)…
need to fall about 45% from 2010 levels by 2030 – reaching “net zero” around 2050.”3
It is our generation that is slowly destroying the stable climate that has supported life on Earth for millennia. Therefore, it is our generation that bears the responsibility of avoiding this disaster. There is only one solution – we must wean ourselves off our addiction to fossil fuels. But thus far we have been “fatally complacent”2 about the realities of Climate Change and its destructive impacts. Our inaction may have been because we were scared, confused or delusional. But whatever the reason we have willfully ignored reality in favor of our selfish desires and are happy to drive our fast cars and live in a “commodity paradise.”2 The truth is that we all benefit from the privileges of a fossil-fueled life – we are all “guilty bystanders.”4
“Unless we choose to halt it – it will never stop.”2
It is the basic habits of our daily lives that cause Climate Change. It is our responsibility. We need to change at the most profound level how we live on the Earth or Climate Change will ravage our lives and that of all future generations who will inherit the wreckage of a dead Earth.5
“Reaching and sustaining net zero global anthropogenic CO2 emissions…would halt anthropogenic global warming.”6
“Changing the way, one lives and acts.
Change must begin at once.”7
Climate Change is caused by human activities which means the solution is quite simple – humanity must stop producing CO2 and other greenhouse gases. The future will be what we choose to do.
The future will be what make it through our activism and the pressures we bring to bear upon politicians, and corporations to make the required transformational changes to global infrastructure. But just as importantly the future will also be determined by what changes we decide to make in our own lives – in our homes, how we travel and what we eat and wear.
“It is almost impossible to exaggerate the danger of Climate Change.
….it is the biggest threat to the future.”8
The hard reality is that we are living in the midst of a Climate Emergency – and we need to begin treating it as such. We need to acknowledge the severity of Climate Change and start living more ecologically responsible lives. Certainly, the transition will be difficult – but if as a species we act quickly and dramatically cut our carbon emissions, we maybe – just maybe – will be able to slow the rise in temperatures.
“The decisions we make now will define the world we live in now and for future generations.”3
The Climate Emergency is real – it is here and now. There can no longer be any excuses – we need to wake-up and recognize the true scale of the crisis we all face and then find the individual and collective will to act to give life on Earth a slim chance of survival. Bluntly, doing nothing is no longer an option – we have no time left. This “Great Transition”9 is important – it is nothing less than existential.
“We all have a choice.
We can create transformational action that will safeguard living conditions for future generations – or we can continue with our “business as usual” and fail.”1
