Читать книгу How Can I Stop Climate Change: What is it and how to help - Литагент HarperCollins USD, F. M. L. Thompson - Страница 9

‘The Earth is so big that human beings cannot possibly affect it.’ Fact: While the Earth has for millions of years been capable of balancing emissions of carbon dioxide – with plants, soil and sea soaking up the carbon dioxide emitted by nature – the extra carbon dioxide that humans have put into the system has upset the balance. The atmosphere is surprisingly thin: if the Earth were the size of a football the atmosphere would be no thicker than a coat of varnish.

‘Scientists don’t agree that climate change is caused by humans.’ Fact: A 2004 study of 900 published papers on climate change found they all agreed that climate change was happening and was caused by human activity. There are some sceptics – but the fiercest arguments today tend to focus on the scale of the problem and the best way to tackle it rather than whether or not climate change is happening at all.

‘We have to choose between the economy and saving the planet.’ Fact: There is no such choice – in the long term, without a stable climate there will be no economy to save: the impacts on society of runaway climate change would be catastrophic. Keeping climate change in check will involve developing new technologies and industries and this will have economic benefits; and although investing in such opportunities has a cost, the cost of not dealing with climate change will be higher.

‘It’s too late to do anything about climate change.’ Fact: Some climate change is already happening. But it will get much worse if we let it. The more greenhouse gases we allow into the atmosphere, the greater the effect on our climate will be. Scientists warn that we are approaching tipping points that will trigger ever-more rapid changes to the climate, so the sooner we act, the better.

‘Bring it on. The UK’s climate will be much warmer – life here will be better.’ Fact: Britain is likely to be warmer and some people may welcome that. But we’re also likely to see heavier rain, flooding and storms, as well as heat waves and drought in the summer. Water shortages have already hit the southeast of England. Impacts elsewhere will come sooner and harder, and the UK is likely to feel the knock-on effects – as places become inhospitable, crops fail and huge numbers of people are uprooted.