We can’t ignore the warnings (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

We can’t ignore the warnings

8:37am Wednesday 24th September 2008

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Lots of people have heard of global warming – which is also known as the “greenhouse effect” – but are not sure of exactly what it is, what will happen if left, or what the current effects are.

The planet is under pressure. The world is still very much reliant on fossil fuels, but saving energy and developing renewable supplies is crucial. So what are the dangers?

Well, plant and animal extinctions are predicted as habitats change faster than species can adapt. The potential impact is huge and with the increases in deaths from floods, storms, heatwaves and droughts, poorer countries, which are least equipped to deal with rapid change, will suffer most.

The earth is warming and since oceans absorb more heat than land areas, it is not surprising the ice caps are melting and the polar bears are fuming because they have nothing to walk on and keep disappearing on thin ice.

Even if we cut greenhouse gas emissions dramatically now, scientists say the effects would continue because parts of the climate system, particularly large bodies of water and ice, can take hundreds of years to respond to changes in temperature.

It also takes greenhouse gases in the atmosphere decades to break down.

Globally, we can expect more extreme weather events, with heatwaves becoming hotter and more frequent. Scientists predict more rainfall overall, but say the risk of drought in inland areas during hot summers will increase. More flooding is expected from storms and rising sea levels – even rivers and canals will rise and possibly lead to contaminated water.

At the moment we’re using too much oil. Sources of renewable power include wind power and solar energy Admittedly, it can seem boring and nothing for you to worry about, because nothing is happening near you right now or affecting your current lifestyle. We’ve heard health and danger warnings in the news, but everything will get sorted eventually – it always does. Nothing to concern you, it’s somebody else’s job.

Only it does concern you and your family, because it’s very likely that your lifestyle contributes to its cause. We can’t reverse what’s already done, but we can help prevent it worsening, creating a better atmosphere for the future.

It is time to examine our moral values and examine our attitudes relating to our natural world. Each of us needs to ask: what makes us really happy? What makes us feel secure? It is highly-questionable if money and tangible objects make us more happy, it is even possible that we tend to be less happy with our lives when we have a lot of tangible objects and money to care for. Has our striving for more materialistic consumption caused us to forget that we are living human beings?

We have to realise we have much more in common with the plants, animals, air and water than we have with the mechanical, chemical and electronic world we have created around us. However, every cloud has a silver lining, so we may as well enjoy what we can. After all, the hot weather means morex beaches and bare flesh.

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