Index...for not getting completelly lost! :)

Tuesday 3 November 2015

Climate change affects everyone...but not equally

Today we leave for a while the Irish-British conflict and we treat another subject, that it is also very important and to which I am very attached...

Climate changes...

I believe (and I hope ;)) that I do not need to tell you what is the "climate change" ...but ...just a summary for the laziest ones! ;)

The cause of climate change is ...well is us...decades of industrial activities, burning fossil fuels to produce energy, smog, pollutant releases from cars, etc...resulted in an high increase of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

Greenhouse gases act like a blanket around Earth, preventing the natural exchange of solar energy from and to the space. The energy is kept in the atmosphere and causing it to warm. Part of greenhouse gases are needed to ensure the temperature in the Earth needed for the life: however, an increase of them is increasing the temperature at levels which can be dangerous to humans being and to the entire ecosystem. (http://www3.epa.gov/climatechange/basics/)

The current global average temperature is 0.85ÂșC higher than it was in the late 19th century. Each of the past three decades has been warmer than any preceding decade since records began in 1850. "An increase of 2°C compared to the temperature in pre-industrial times is seen by scientists as the threshold beyond which there is a much higher risk that dangerous and possibly catastrophic changes in the global environment will occur". (http://ec.europa.eu/clima/change/causes/index_en.htm)

But which are the main consequences of climate changes?
  • extreme weather conditions, resulting in floods, droughts, or intense rain, as well as more frequent and severe heat waves
  • melting of ice caps with the consequence of sea rising, which then leads to flooding and erosion of costal and low-lying areas
  • oceans are warming and becoming more acids.
It is expected these conditions to be worsen in the next future.

References: http://ec.europa.eu/clima/change/consequences/index_en.htm, http://www3.epa.gov/climatechange/basics/

All the World is affected, but many of the developing countries are the most affected.

Now, I have a problem of understanding the mural below. Either the artist made it wrong, or it is me who does not understand it. In the balance it seems that the developed world is the most affected part, when in reality it is not the case.


Northumberland Street, Belfast, 2015
Developing countries are amongst the most affected as they have few resources to cope with the changes in the climate. Most of them already suffer from water scarcity, and an increase of drought periods can seriously impact their health and sanitary conditions. On the other side, episodes of extreme flooding events, with often tragic consequences, are not rare.

"Climate change affects us all, but not equally.
Those who suffer first and worst are those who did least to cause it: the poor and most vulnerable members of society.  While they did not do much, they are effected much more severely than developed world. Of course, they do not have any means or resources to mitigate and adapt to this changing situation.
Around the world, I have seen how floods, droughts, rising sea levels and increasingly severe storms are causing terrible harm, and prompting families to migrate, often at great peril."
UN Secretary -General Ban Ki-moon's Remarks at Workshop on the Moral Dimensions of Climate Change and Sustainable Development "Protect the Earth, Dignify Humanity" Vatican City, 28 April 2015.

It is up to each of us now to stop all of this. We due this to ourselves, to the populations that were not so lucky as us to born in developed countries (and that often have to face also political and religious conflicts), and to the future generations.

What we can do:

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