Many effects of global warming are with us now. Rising temperatures and ocean levels. Melting of glaciers and polar ice.
But do you know what this will mean for you? Or your children?
And what you can do. You little guy among 6 billion people.
Perhaps if we all had a clearer idea about the effects in our daily lives, we would try to do more about global warming. I bet more knowledge on this topic is a good thing, despite its shock and awe effects.
So read on, brave learner!
Briefly, the effects of global warming include these:
* Extreme weather
* Rising oceans
* Food and water resources
* Human health
* Economy
* War and conflict, and
* Increased global warming
And each effect affects another, closely connected to the web of life on Earth.
Do you know that the current average surface temperature has increased by about half a degree Celsius compared to the temperatures of 1890? “Half a degree!” you exclaim. And that?
Well, if half a degree has the power to melt all the glaciers on five continents, as it is doing now, what would the prediction of about five degrees by the end of this century mean for your daily life?
But you say you don’t live near any glaciers. IT’S OKAY. Consider this:
Glaciers are the source of many of the great rivers that support irrigated crops, provide water for drinking and washing, and allow you to enjoy fishing and swimming.
“But I live in a city and when I want water I open a tap. For swimming I have the bathroom and when it comes to fishing, it’s at the local fishmonger!”
Right, I see. It’s hard to make him feel uncomfortable about the effects of global warming.
How about this then?
Many organizations are concerned about the effects. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts a 3°C rise in global surface temperature as very likely by 2050. The UK’s chief science adviser, Professor King, has warned such an increase would put some 400 Millions of people at risk of starvation. Even the Pentagon, least of all environmental organizations, wrote a report in 2004 that highlighted predictions of
* Severe water shortage
* Severe power shortage
* Mega droughts and floods
* nuclear conflict,
* Famine
* Widespread riots
* Wars over water and energy resources
* To the 150 million migrant environmental refugees
And it is suggested that this will happen in the next 20 years. It’s not very far, is it? Did it catch your eye now?
These effects would be felt everywhere, even by city dwellers who have forgotten what a cow looks like.
Overwhelmed? Understandable, but don’t be. Mother Earth needs all practical people like you who are committed to action.
There are two levels where you can do that. Change your way of thinking and do something every day. It doesn’t matter how small.
change your way of thinking.
We are in this mess because we have come to believe that there are no limits to energy resources and all that the Earth can provide. Progress is about material things more than how we get along: with ourselves, with others and with our environment.
Einstein said that problems cannot be solved by the same thinking that caused them. Real. To change our ingrained thinking, a practical step would be to engage with people who know how to live well in highly challenging circumstances. To build positive relationships with them would help.
Who are they then?
People with disabilities and frail elderly people often know how to live sustainable, even prosperous, lives despite their vulnerable situation. They have learned that our world is interdependent and that well-being is achieved by getting along with others.
So let’s go. Make a ripple that travels far in the pond by throwing your direct action stone today, whenever you cross your path. Give someone a hand, a smile or a chat. It will change their mindset and may prove the Pentagon wrong on some scores, at least if enough of us do that.
Make some practical changes
Small acts can have big results.
For example, if everyone switched from a traditional 75W light bulb to an 18W compact fluorescent for four hours a day, this small action could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by millions of tons per year. Just 100,000 tons is equivalent to taking about 22,000 cars out of circulation!
So this act causes real ripples.
What other thing? We’ll see.
* Dress warmly and turn down the thermostat a degree on cold days
* Close the blinds to protect yourself from the sun on hot days
* Turn off the lights when you don’t need them
* Turn off the computer when not in use
* Walk or ride a bike instead of taking the car
* Use public transportation
* Buy an energy efficient car
* Insist on the design of energy efficient housing
* Reduce your shower time, or shower together (Hmm, well, that can backfire)
* Buy appliances classified as energy efficient. Y…
* Use your creativity to save energy where you can. There’s so much your can do to further reduce global warming.
To you.
Let it ripple!