CLIMATE change has become the issue of our times.
The polar ice caps of the Arctic and Antarctic might seem to be very distant from Greater Manchester, but their disappearance looks set to have a profound effect on us all.
Whenever we turn the kettle on, or get in the car, carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere.
And the increasing level of `greenhouse gases' in the atmosphere contributes to global warming, which is in turn, causing the ice caps to melt and sea levels to rise - at present by about two millimetres a year.
This increase is destined to accelerate over the coming decades, which will place low-lying countries - such as Holland, Bangladesh and the Maldives - at risk of flooding.
It's a grim prospect. But there may be even more serious effects triggered by the loss of the polar ice caps.
At the moment, they reflect back around 80 per cent of the sunlight that falls on them and help to keep the planet cool.
But as they melt, more solar energy is being absorbed by the Earth's surface, causing the oceans to heat up even more.
Permafrost
The bad news does not stop here. There's also the issue of the melting of the planet's `permafrost' - a thick layer of frozen soil covering much of the ground in the high latitudes of the northern hemisphere.
Some academics estimate that there are 450 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases locked in the permafrost and as the climate warms, there's a good chance that these gases will be released into the atmosphere.
These two effects - loss of the ice caps and loss of the permafrost - are regarded in scientific circles as the `tipping points'. Once passed, reversal becomes almost impossible.
So, how did the planet reach this state and what can be done to halt our seemingly relentless progress to the tipping points?
Some scientists assert that the problem is wholly man-made and can be traced back to the dawn of the industrial age when the burning of fossil reserves of coal, oil and gas began in vast quantities.
It was also at this point - generally acknowledged to be the 1760s - when carbon dioxide was injected into the atmosphere in massive amounts.
Back then, there were approximately 280 parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Today, this figure is 380 and most scientists do not envisage the rise flattening out until it reaches somewhere around the 550 parts per million of carbon dioxide later this century.
But other scientists - although they are in a minority - assert that what we are witnessing is cyclical, and mankind's input into global warming is minimal.
But regardless of which view you adhere to, perhaps the most pertinent question is how can we mitigate the effects of climate change?
The one thing that all the experts agree on is that there is no excuse for doing nothing.
Read two opposing views by clicking on the links on the right hand side of this page.
What do you think? Have your say.
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polkyb (13/05/2008 at 08:04)
The news came out yesterday that there is more ice in the Antarctic sea than there was in 1980.
This kind of scaremongering and false assumptions is what's perpetuating the myth that we're in danger somehow from global temperatures rising to approach the levels which we KNOW they have been to before.
As for CO2 causing global warming; If that is the case, why has the planets temperature dropped to its lowest for 80 years, while CO2 levels have continued to increase?
Mr Angry, Bury (13/05/2008 at 08:06)
PW, Manchester (13/05/2008 at 11:24)
It's funny I don't remember them melting and receding in my life-time due to man-made pollution. It must have happened long before that.
I wonder what vehicles the Stone-Age cavemen drove to cause such global-warming? I know - I've seen them on The Flintstones. The weight of all that stone must have meant they were serious gas-guzzlers!
What are the Greenies going to do about all the millions of tons of gases thrown out each year by volcanoes, and the parting of the Earth's crust under the oceans? There are CFC's and allsorts in that. Perhaps a tax would be the answer? Yes, that's it, I'll ring Mr Darling.
Connor Fitzgerald (13/05/2008 at 13:21)
rickie (28/05/2008 at 00:20)
polkyb (05/06/2008 at 13:14)
You say "..the increasing level of `greenhouse gases' in the atmosphere contributes to global warming.." - There's a $150,000 reward if you can prove that man has anything to do with the current natural cycle of warming.. no..? Al Gore or any of his alarmist friends/scientists can't do it either.
"The bad news does not stop here. There's also the issue of the melting of the planet's `permafrost'" - That's not an issue. Compared to the most recent 15,000 years of temperature data analysed from ice cores, etc. and actual measurements over the last 400 years, the world has been MUCH warmer than it is today (5-6C warmer) and the permafrost is still living up to it's name.
“Some scientists assert that the problem is wholly man-made and can be traced back to the dawn of the industrial age when the burning of fossil reserves of coal, oil and gas began in vast quantities.” Also wrong. CO2 content didn’t really begin to rise until post second world war and with most of the last centuries warming occurring before 1930... well, you work it out.
“But other scientists - although they are in a minority - assert that what we are witnessing is cyclical, and mankind's input into global warming is minimal.” – Actually, 32,000 scientists recently signed a petition to try and stop the IPCC from spreading any more disinformation about climate change... That’s far more scientists against anthropomorphic global warming than for it by a factor of about 100.
The biggest problem we have in this country is that the government are using CO2 to make up for all our taxes they have wasted of the past few decades (yes tories too). Thatcher planted the seed, the UN grew it into an overly political body which claims to be scientific (the IPCC) and Blair reaped the rewards by taxing us all to the hilt because of a gas, which in high concentration aids plant life, increases harvests and could go a long way towards solving the current food shortage, called Carbon Dioxide.
Like so many things in this country, just because a politician tells you something, doesn’t mean it’s true... In fact, if a politician tells you anything, it’s usually to manipulate you into something you don’t want, like a congestion charge or road pricing, which is an excuse to track all our movements.
JimC (05/06/2008 at 13:21)
Have these people never heard of evolution.
Marc (05/06/2008 at 13:27)
PW, Manchester (05/06/2008 at 13:38)
;-)
only nickname left (05/06/2008 at 15:18)
JimC (05/06/2008 at 15:47)
Not rocket science really chaps.
Marc (05/06/2008 at 15:51)
JimC (05/06/2008 at 16:00)
It can't be that bad Marc the cats are still in the room.
Marc (05/06/2008 at 16:29)
perhaps the cats are holding their breath...
polkyb (05/06/2008 at 16:42)
:-)
JimC (05/06/2008 at 17:25)
Marc i think i require a cat - alytic converter.
antipsari (05/06/2008 at 20:02)
Well at least some of their women look good when wet.
polkyb (06/06/2008 at 08:35)
Yeah, I can see the point, however, they'd have to be gagged so that their voices didn't get on our nerves :-)
Ole, Leigh (28/08/2008 at 13:00)
PW, Manchester (28/08/2008 at 15:19)
They were visited by a Government Inspector who said "Your entire business is based on ill-founded pseudo-green claptrap to fleece people for money. This is the sort of practice that gets genuine environmentalism a bad name and risks putting back progress on the real issues by years. So you're exactly the sort of people we are looking for to work in the Government's Green Taxation Policy Unit"
How true!
Bean B4, manchester (28/08/2008 at 16:16)
and stop worrying about fuel.
zarquon, bramhall (15/01/2009 at 14:16)