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What is Climate Change?
Climate Change refers to long term changes to the planets weather system. For thousands of years prior to the industrial revolution the earths temperature was stable at around 14°C. When the industrial revolution occurred in the 1800's both the temperature started to rise alongside the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere, due to the increased use of fossil fuels used for fuel; such as coal, oil and gas. CO2 levels have now increased by 40% from pre industrial revolution levels.
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These fossil fuels release greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous monoxide into the atmosphere that then remain and form a blanket around the earth which has trapped the heat allowing global temperatures to rise. The temperature has now risen to an average of 15°C. This might not sound like a lot but it has happened over a very short timescale and can have dramatic consequences to the planet.
Hotter weather means the atmosphere can hold more moisture, leading to both more severe storms and more drought. Warmer temperatures also threaten to melt the polar ice caps, raising sea levels. The oceans are absorbing more CO2 leading to acidification; the oceans are turning more acidic. The UK Met Office predict that if nothing is done in 50 years the winters will be 30% wetter and the summers 60% drier, not to mention temperatures being warmer - summers up to 6°C warmer.
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If left unchecked it could lead to less fresh water and arable land, which can in turn lead to food shortages, mass migration and in extremis armed conflict.
What can we do?
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has stated that all measures must be explored to stop the temperature exceeding 1.5°C from pre industrial revolution levels. To do this we must reduce our use of fossil fuels and explore ways of Greenhouse Gas Removal (GGR) through mass planting of trees, crops and technology.
An important way we can reduce our dependency on fossil fuels is through the use of renewable energy such a wind and solar.
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Simply put, Solar PhotoVoltaic (PV) panels work by absorbing the suns energy and convert it to DC electricity. An inverter then converts it to AC for use. Any excess can be sold back to the grid with you gaining 100% of the benefits from the sale.
