Climate change is real
The Earth’s climate is changing. The world is growing hotter. The 10 hottest years on record have all occurred since 1990. The average global temperature has increased more rapidly in the last 50 years than at any time in the whole of recorded history. The biosphere, where all life on Earth exists, is under threat.
Every day millions of tons of the greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide are emitted into the atmosphere as we burn fossil fuels for energy, heat and transport. Climate scientists warn that global warming is accelerating and that our reliance on fossil fuels is at least partly to blame.
Scotland is already feeling the effects of a changing climate. Winters are becoming wetter as rainfall increases dramatically, while there is less snow and frost. As spring and summers grow warmer the growing season has lengthened. Across the UK widespread flooding has claimed lives and caused more than £1 billion worth of damage.
Your generation did not cause this problem but it is up to all of us to take action to solve it.
'Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, as is now evident from observations of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice, and rising global average sea level.'
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
We cannot predict how individuals, businesses and governments will respond to the need to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and what the effect will be, but we all have a responsibility to tackle climate change. We can all make a difference.
Photo credit: Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA)
Images are freely available for educational use in Scotland.