Climate change is continuing apace with more severe weather events and warmer temperatures. The fifth report from the UN IPCC is now available in draft form. You can find it and other reports on climate change on their web site at: http://www.ipcc.ch/. The take home is basically that we (humans) are responsible for global climate change. How we deal with this is something that we will all have to think about sooner or later.
As climate change impacts our infrastructure, agriculture and social systems people will react to these events as individuals and groups. The form(s) that these reactions take will be varied and start off slowly but gain momentum as the full impact of climate change takes a functional grip on the public’s consciousness. Some of these reactions will take the form of moving to where there are less severe weather events, available fresh water, arable soil and living space. These reactions are nothing new. Humans have been responding to climatic events throughout the centuries. Some of these have been in slow motion and took a century or more to take place, like desertification. Others, like flooding, are immediate and put millions on the move. What is new is that the previous events were caused by ‘normal’ fluctuations in our climate while some recent and future events have and will be influenced man’s impact on the environment.
Think Global – Act Local!
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