Transcript air
we share the air • audience - general public • primary aim – awareness raising •‘stepping stone’ information • help to ‘internalise’ climate change challenge an education initiative we share the air • scientists ‘get it’ • so do enlightened politicians • so do NGOs and although 72%* of the general public accept global warming ..only 24%* say they will make changes just for environmental reasons *MORI April 2001 why is this needed? we share the air climate change has severe consequences pollution is causing climate change conventional ‘message’ we share the air personal, organisational, national & international actions climate change has severe consequences we are disrupting this balance - climate change is the result atmospheric gases are balanced to provide optimum life conditions air is not just ‘empty space’ we share the air who are we? we share the air who are we? we share the air who are we? we share the air A living planet is a rare thing, perhaps the rarest thing in the universe. Kenneth Brower who are we? we share the air what is air? we share the air …the air has indeed become the most taken for granted of phenomena. We refer to the unseen depth between things, between people, or trees, or clouds …as mere ‘empty space’. David Abram just empty space? we share the air “… the air itself is a biological product … a result of active exchange of gases with living organisms. The air is a protective skin, a warming blanket, an exchange and water circulation medium. The composition of the air seems to violate the ordinary rules of equilibrium chemistry.” James Lovelock GAIA – The practical science of planetary medicine a protective skin? • an “energetic and unstable” mix of gases we share the air • 99% created by interaction of natural processes and living organisms • oxygen & methane co-existing • low carbon dioxide – active regulation • many trace gases the atmosphere Gas we share the air Abundance Flux (Mtpa) Nitrogen Ni 79% 300 Oxygen O2 21% 100,000 functions - atmospheric pressure - fire control - reference level for energy Carbon dioxide 370ppm 140,000 CO2 (280ppm)* - photosynthesis - climate control Methane CH4 - ozone & nitrogen regulation 1.7ppm (0.7ppm)* 500 … and other ‘trace’ gases like Ammonia, Dimnethyl Sulphide& Methyl Chloride which appear to control nitrogen level, sulphur cycle & ocean salt levels * = pre-industrial levels atmospheric gases Gas we share the air Abundance Warming contribution Sources Carbon dioxide 370 ppm CO2 (280)* 49% - combustion of fossil fuels - coal, oil & gas - deforestation - biomass burning Methane CH4 1.7 ppm (0.7)* 18% - paddy fields & cow farts - gas leaks - biomass burning 6 ppb 14% - refrigeration - air conditioning - plastic foam - propellants & solvents 310 ppb (280)* 6% - nitrogen fertilisers - fossil fuel combustion - biomass burning CFCs (man-made) Nitrous Oxide * = pre-industrial levels ‘greenhouse’ gases • the sun is 25% hotter now than when life started on earth (3.5 billion years ago) we share the air • but temperature on earth has remained stable for life to flourish • most important temperature regulating gas in the atmosphere is carbon dioxide (CO2) • CO2 was much more common when life first started • where has the carbon dioxide gone? carbon dioxide • over billions of years CO2 has been ‘extracted’ from the atmosphere we share the air • this extraction process has been carried out by living and natural processes • example - microscopic forams ‘fix’ CO2 as calcium carbonate and then fall to sea floor • the carbon is ‘stored’ as chalk, limestone & fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas • result – an atmospheric temperature range most suited for life to evolve and prosper. where is the CO2? we share the air where is the CO2? we share the air “Lacking all sacredness, stripped of all spiritual significance, the air is today little more than a conveniently forgotten dump for a host of gaseous effluents and pollutants.” David Abram the air today • unintentionally we have reversed the ‘carbon cycle’ by more than 400,000 years we share the air • since the start of the industrial revolution CO2 has increased by a third from 280 – 370ppm in the atmosphere • every fossil fuel power station, every internal combustion engine contributes • we are pumping out TWICE as much CO2 as natural system can cope with (now)! the air today • IPCC* scientists are agreed that climate change is happening we share the air • human activities are the main cause • CO2 has increased from 280 – 370ppm • temperatures have increased globally • glaciers have retreated • sea levels are rising *IPCC, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, is a UN body of scientists, economists & policy makers brought together in 1988 to inform governments of causes, consequences and solutions to climate change. climate change is happening • more frequent extreme weather conditions • heat waves & drought more common we share the air • water shortages in many water-scarce areas • risk to people in low-lying / coastal areas from sea-level rise and storm surges • increased threats to human health • massive loss of ecological diversity • decreased crop yields in tropical regions •150 million environmental refugees by 2050? “…the impacts will have greatest effects on poor people & people in developing countries”* *IPCC Third Assesment Report what about the future? we share the air “Global climate, even in fifty years time, may be warmer than the earth has experienced in the past 12 million years….. changes of this speed and magnitude are unprecedented to our knowledge, aside from large meteorite impacts.” * Peter Barrett, Antarctic Research Centre, New Zealand what about the future? we share the air Organisation Website Friends of the Earth www.foe.co.uk Greenpeace www.greenpeace.org.uk Energy Savings Trust www.est.co.uk Climate Care www.climatecare.org Rising Tide www.risingtide.org.uk groups / help we share the air sharing we share the air “Only as we begin to notice and to experience, once again, our immersion in the invisible air do we start to recall what it is to be fully a part of this world.” David Abram