Environment

Climate Change Actions

Environment

Posted by: CafestudyAdmin

7th Feb 2019 12:01pm

In today's news, the UN reported that last year was the fourth warmest on record. We would like to hear what our Cafestudy members are doing to help slow down climate change. Have you changed your habits recently? Or maybe you are meaning to but haven't got round to it yet? Please let us know!

Aaron31552852
  • 12th Feb 2019 08:53pm

Yes, Climate Change and Global Warming are clearly happening. They have ben happening for as long as the Earth has been around. The problem is that now it is happening at a much faster rate than predicted. Interestingly though, I think a lot of people who believe in climate change have very skewed, innaccurate beliefs about what climate change will involve. I don't think that most people are aware that we are still in an Ice Age at the moment - and coming to the end of one. A lot of people seem to think of an ice age as a completely frozen over Earth and this is far from true. Ice ages are defined as times when the world has ice at its poles. What people often think of when they think of an ice age is actually a "Snowball Earth" which scientists think is extremely unlikely to ever occur on our planet. By the same token people who believe in Climate Change and Global Warming also make extreme assumptions about how the climate and weather will be affected. Some of my friends seem to think that Global Warming will dry up the oceans, and turn the land into a desert wasteland. This is also extremely unlikely and most climate scientists rule out the possibility. We are moving towards a Greenhouse Earth - a very tropical earth where there will be no Ice at the Poles. If we go into a Greenhouse Earth again it is possible that Sea Surface Temperatures will rise to (or beyond) 7 degrees celsius and that could again probably result in tropical plants in the arctic regions. This wouldn't be good. Sea temperatures near the equator could also rise above 30 degrees celsius after all the ice on the poles melts and this would not only equate to maximal sea levels, but also and far warmer conditions as the last of t which, make no mistake, will kill people in already hot areas of the world. Sure, winters in a lot of countries would be a lot nicer and a lot of places could do with the tropical weather but here in Australia adding seven degrees to a 40 degree day would seem unbearable..But the idea that the oceans will boil off into space and we'll all fry instantly is quite ludicrous and it astonishes me that these beliefs are so pervasive. I wouldn't be completely against a more tropical world but it will not be good news for Australians in general.

I mention all these factor because the Cafe Study Picture for this discussion shows a world that appears to be on fire - I wanted to clarify for you that this is a ridiculous image, and one that furthers the misconceptions that people have about climate change in general. Yes we definitely need to reign in the use of greenhouse gases. Water vapour is also a greenhouse gas and if carbon dioxide levels continue to pressurise the atmosphere it will lead to increased vapour which will eventually lead to a vicious cycle of global warming that will be disastrous for many around the world. Fear mongering, however; by leading people to think that the world is going to turn into the sahara desert is not helping to educate people in such a way that they can understand the problems we face, and solve them in the future.

What have I done about climate change? I try not to needlessly use my air conditioner because it makes people more susceptible to feeling extreme changes in temperature as they leave the house - often it is this change in feeling temperature extremes suddenly that has many psychological problems associated with it. I also try to educate people about the ludicrous extremes people think are based on science - such as frozen wasteland ice ages, and desert wasteland greenhouses.


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