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Most people have heard about climate change, they

might even express a real concern about it, but howmany would actually consider it a threat? Because thechanges can be slow and sometimes difficult to identifywithin the normal variation of climatic conditions, many ofus think they will not affect our lives.

However, some parts of the world are already beingseverely affected by climatic changeboth the peopleand the environment. And unfortunately, it appears thatmany developing countries bear the brunt of global

warming, when the problem is mostly due to the actionsof developed countries.

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What are climate change and global warming, and how

are they related?

Global warming refers to an increase in average globaltemperatures, which in turn causes climate change.

Climate change refers to changes in seasonal temperature,precipitation, wind, and humidity for a given area. Climate

change can involve cooling or warming.

Our atmosphere is made up of gases, such as nitrogen,oxygen, and CO2, and water vapor, which act like ablanket draped around the planet. Some of these gases

such as CO2, water vapor, and methaneabsorb heat,reducing the amount that escapes to space, and increasingglobal temperatures. This is what is called the greenhouseeffect, and these gases are often referred to asgreenhouse gases.

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What do most scientists agree

upon?As in any scientific debate, there are uncertainties, butmost scientists agree on the following:

The average temperature of the Earth has been

increasing more than natural climatic cycles wouldexplain. This episode of global warming is due tohuman activity. It began with the industrial revolution,two centuries ago, and accelerated over the last 50years.

Fossil fuel burning is mostly responsible, because itreleases gases (particularly carbon dioxide) that trapinfrared radiation. This greenhouse effect creates awhole system disturbance, that we call climate change

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The enhanced greenhouse effect

Greenhouse gases are a natural part of the atmosphere. Without thesegases the global average temperature would be around -20C.

The problem we now face is that human actionsparticularly burning fossilfuels (coal, oil and natural gas) and land clearingare increasing theirconcentrations. The more of these gases there are, the more heat is

trapped. This is known as the enhanced greenhouse effect.

Naturally occurring greenhouse gases include water vapour, carbon dioxide,methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone. Greenhouse gases that are notnaturally occurring include hydro-fluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons(PFCs), and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6), which are generated in a variety ofindustrial processes.

On average, about one-third of the solar radiation that hits the Earth isreflected back into space. The land and the oceans mostly absorb the rest,with the remainder trapped in the atmosphere. The solar radiation thatstrikes the Earths surface heats it up, and as a result infrared radiation isemitted.

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Will climate change actually bring

benefits to some areas? As a result of global warming and climate change, some regions

such as Siberiawill likely become warmer and more habitable. Thegrowing seasons in some regions will lengthen, as spring arrivesearlier and winter frosts set in later.

Developing countries will likely be hit hardest as warming continuesbecause they have fewer resources with which to address and adaptto the impacts of climate change. But residents of the United Statesand other industrial countries will also experience negativeconsequences, such as increased coastal flooding and morefrequent and intense heat waves, droughts, storms, and wildfires aswell as the associated economic and health costs.

Most scientists believe that, at least on a global basis, the costs ofclimate change will far outweigh any benefits that it might bring to agiven region.

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What are some of the impacts we can

expect from climate change?

The impacts of climate change will vary from place toplace, but we can expect more severe and frequentstorms (such as hurricanes and ice storms), heat waves,floods, droughts and wildfires.

Warmer temperatures will increase the range of disease-bearing mosquitoes, while also increasing the range andnumbers of insects and other agricultural pests, such asweeds. Melting glaciers and expanding sea water (waterexpands as it warms) will further raise sea level,

inundating low-lying islands and flooding coastal areas,while warmer ocean temperatures will kill many if notmost of the worlds coral reefs.

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Which countries contribute the

most to global warming? Wealthier industrial countries contribute the most to global warming

since they use most of the worlds fossil fuels. Europe, Japan, andNorth Americawith roughly 15 percent of the worlds currentpopulationare estimated to account for two-thirds of the carbondioxide now in the atmosphere.

With less than five percent of world population, the United States isthe single-largest source of carbon from fossil fuelsemitting 24percent of the worlds total. U.S. automobiles (more than 128 million,or one quarter of the worlds cars) emit roughly as much carbon asthe entire Japanese economy, the worlds fourth-largest carbonemitter in 2000.

China, despite being home to one-fifth of the worlds population andits heavy dependence on coal, ranks a distant second behind theU.S., emitting 12 percent of the global total. The average person inChina produces less than one-eighth as much carbon dioxide as theaverage American.

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How bad is the problem?

Since pre-industrial times (about 1750), the

atmospheric concentration of CO2 has

increased by 31 percent.

Over the same period, atmospheric

methaneanother heat-trapping gashas

risen by 151 percent, mostly from

agricultural activities like growing rice and

raising cattle.

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This heat-trapping blanket has warmed the Earth 1F during thepast century. This trend is rapidly increasing, according to theIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), aninternational body of the worlds leading climate experts.

The IPCC concluded that average temperatures will likelyincrease 2.5 to 10.4F by 2100 if heat-trapping emissions arenot significantly reduced. But we dont have to look into thedistant future for climate change.

The year 1998 was the warmest year, of the warmest decade, ofthe last 1,000 years. Global warming is here now, and its goingto get worse if we do nothing.

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Warmer temperatures are only part of theproblem.

Another highly likely consequence of globalwarming is rising sea level. As thetemperature of water increases, it expands.Scientists predict sea level will rise 1 tonearly 3 feet over the next 100 years, putting

low-lying areas and millions of people at risk.Coastal areas will be increasingly vulnerableto hurricanes and floods.

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Other impacts of global warming

will likely include More extreme weather, including increasingly intense rainfall and drought

Disruption and degradation of critical habitats for many plants and animals,with an increase in the rate of extinctions

More coastal erosion, flooding during storms, and permanent submersion oflow-lying coastal areas and islands

Heat waves and poor air quality, resulting in a greater risk of heat-relatedillness and death for vulnerable people like the elderly, the poor, and peoplewith respiratory disease

Additional threats to human healthand additional health care costsasmosquitoes and other disease-carrying insects and rodents spread diseases

over larger geographical regions

Disruption of agriculture in some parts of the world due to increasedtemperature, water shortages, and sea-level rise in low-lying agricultural areas

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What is thermohaline circulation?

The worlds oceans transport massive amounts of heat. Differences inseawater density, which depend on differences in temperature (thermo) andsalinity (haline), drive global ocean currents known as the thermohalinecirculation

The Atlantic thermohaline circulation acts like an oceanic conveyer belt,

carrying heat from the tropics to the North Atlantic. As warm water movesinto the northern Atlantic, it cools, sinks to the ocean floor, and then returnssouthward.

There are concerns that climate change may slow or even halt thethermohaline circulation. This could occur through changing salinity of theoceans due to greater rainfall and influxes of fresh water from melting ice.

Surface ocean waters are becoming less salty in some places, and a keycurrent in the North Atlantic appears to have slowed.

The thermohaline circulation has changed abruptly in the distant past;disruption of the thermohaline circulation could lead to rapid changes in theEarths climate.

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What is the El NioSouthern

Oscillation (ENSO)? The El Nio-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a variation in normal

sea surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. PacificOcean trade winds propel surface water in a westerly direction alongthe equator.

As a result warm water accumulates in the western equatorialPacific, to the north-east of Australia, heating air in contact with it.The warm, moist air produces clouds and rain.

During the El Nio phase of ENSO the Pacific trade winds andtropical currents weaken, and the warm water in the western Pacificis displaced to the central Pacific.

Clouds disappear and parts of Australia may experience drought.Simultaneously, parts of Northern and Southern America experienceabove-average rainfall.

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we cannot reverse climate

change overnight While our primary goal must be to reduce the quantity of heat-trapping

gases we release into our atmosphere, we must also take steps to limitthe damage to our communities and sensitive ecosystems that will becaused by climate change in the coming decades.

Each year we do nothing to slow climate change, we will risk more

irreversible damage to our environment and increase the bills forourselves, our children and our grandchildren.

From healthcare to treat heat-related illness to protection of our freshwater supply during droughts and increased energy costs as we blastour air conditioners for more days each summerthese costs are realand argue for action now.

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Our planet is warming, and we are helping make ithappen by adding more heat-trapping gases, primarilycarbon dioxide (CO2), to the atmosphere.

The burning of fossil fuel (oil, coal, and natural gas)alone accounts for about 75 percent of the increase inCO2.

Deforestationthe cutting and burning of forests thattrap carbonaccounts for about another 20 percent.

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Were treating our atmosphere like we once didour rivers. We used to dump waste thoughtlesslyinto our waterways, believing that they wereinfinite in their capacity to hold rubbish.

Our atmosphere has limits too. CO2 remains inthe atmosphere for about 100 years. The longer

we keep polluting, the longer it will take torecover and the more irreversible damage willbe done.

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Do we want to be

responsible stewards

of our environment

and help slow

global warming?

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The following five sensible steps are

available today and can have an

enormous impact on the problem

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We Know How to Make

Better Cars and SUVs

Better transmissions and engines, more aero-dynamic designs, and stronger yet lightermaterial for chassis and bodies can cost-effectively increase the average mpg of todays

automotive fleet from 24 to 40 mpg by 2012.

This would be equivalent to taking 44 million

cars off the roadand it would save individualdrivers thousands of dollars in fuel costs overthe life of a vehicle.

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Because transportation accounts forover 30 percent of US annual CO2emissions, raising fuel economy is one

of the most important things we cando to slow climate change.

The government can also help byoffering tax credits to consumers who

buy advanced technology vehicles liketodays hybrids (a combination ofgasoline andself-charging electric battery engine)and new fuel cell vehicles that will hitthe market within the next decade.

Honda and Toyota already have highly fuel-efficient hybrid vehicles on themarket that get 61 and 52 mpg in the city, respectively.

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Modernising countrys

Electricity System Electricity is produced from outdated, coal-burning power

plants that dump pollutants and heat trapping gases intoour atmosphere. In fact, power plants are the singlelargest source of CO2 By increasing

our use of clean renewable energy, investing in energyefficiency, and reducing pollution from fossil fuel plantswe can save money for consumers, reduce heat-trappingemissions, and lessen the need for new coal or gas

power plants.

renewable sources such as solar, wind, geothermal, and biomass (fuel fromplant matter) produce clean energy

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We Can Increase Energy

Efficiency

in Our Homes and Businesses

technology for more efficient motors,

appliances, windows, homes, and

manufacturing processes is here today.

These simple solutions save consumers

money and can have an enormous impact

on climate change at the same time.

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We Must Protect Threatened

Forests

In addition to sheltering more than half of the

planets species and providing benefits such as

clean drinking water, forests play a critical role in

climate change: they store carbonthe mainingredient of CO2.

When forests are burned, cleared, or otherwise

degraded, their stored carbon is released into

the atmosphere. Tropical deforestation nowaccounts for about 20 percent of all human-

caused CO2 emissions each year.

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We Must Support Countrys

Ingenuity

Vigorous support for research and development

is critical to achieving practical solutions. Yet

today we invest far more in subsidies for the

fossil fuel and nuclear industries than on R&Dfor renewable energy or advanced vehicle

technologies.

fuel cell technology, which runs engines on

hydrogen fuel and emits only water vapor, is keyto moving our transportation system away from

the polluting combustion engine

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The solutions outlined on the previous

pages are among the highest priorities if

we are to begin to reverse climate change.

However, additional measures must play

an important role in a long-term solution to

climate change.

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Reducing Other Heat-Trapping

Gases While reducing CO2 emissions must remain our top

priority, other gases contribute to climate change andshould be addressed as well.

Methane (CH4) can be reduced through better practicesin rice farming and cattle production. In addition,methane and other heat-trapping gases can be capturedduring mining, landfill, and oil exploration operations.

CFC and other fluorocarbon emissions can be reducedby strictly enforcing the Montreal Protocol of 1988, aninternational treaty that calls for eliminating pollutantsthat deplete the ozone in the stratosphere.

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Sustainable Farming

Soils store carbon just like trees. Sustainablefarming practices can increase the carbon-storing organic matter in soil, and reduce oreliminate the use of nitrogen fertilizers that

release heat trapping gases into the atmospherewhen they break down.

In addition, no-till farming methods, whichcause less soil disturbance and erosion, canfurther decrease the release of CO2 and nitrousoxides (NOx).

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International Cooperation

With only about 5 percent of the population, theUnited States now produces 25 percent ofannual CO2 emissions from fossil fuels5.5billion metric tons annuallyand will remain the

biggest source for years to come.

During the past century, the United States,together with other industrialized countries suchas Japan, Europe, the former Soviet Union, andCanada, has produced more than 60 percent ofthe CO2 emissions that contribute to globalwarming.

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Kyoto Protocol

The first protocol to the United Nations FrameworkConvention on Climate Change (UNFCCC, theinternational treaty on climate change).

It assigns legally binding commitments for industrializedcountries to reduce their greenhouse-gas emissions by2012, and includes some funding mechanisms foradaptation to climate change.

The Kyoto Protocol was adopted in 1997 and enteredinto force in 2005. It is expected to be followed by asecond protocol to the UNFCCC, which should be readyfor ratification in 2009.

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Intergovernmental Panel on

Climate Change (IPCC)

The most credible source of knowledge onclimate change, IPCC is a panel established in1988 to assess scientific, technical and socio-economic information.

Every five or six years, it produces assessmentsbased mainly on peer reviewed and publishedscientific/technical literature on climate change,its potential impacts, and options for adaptationand mitigation.

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Mitigation

This word has different meanings for practitioners in the climate change anddisaster-management communities, often leading to confusion:

Mitigation (climate change)

Measures to reduce greenhouse- gas concentrations in the atmosphere,and thus ultimately the magnitude of climate change. Measures include

energy conservation, using renewable energy such as wind or solar energyinstead of coal, oil or gas; and planting trees that absorb carbon dioxidefrom the atmosphere.

Mitigation (disaster management)

Measures aimed at moderating or reducing the severity of disaster impact.They include such things as building retention walls, water reservoirs, and

reforestation to avoid landslides. From the perspective of the climatechange community, these measures would be labeled as adaptationbecause they help reduce the negative impacts of climate change.

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OK, ThatsAll

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