"I'm Getting Hot"

Climate change or global warming is the broadest issue that I have chosen to discuss. There has been a lot of debate about this issue in the media and I feel that it important to keep the discussion going. Based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2007 report, the overall temperature of the earth is projected to rise between 2-11.5 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100. This temperature increase could have serious impacts on flood severity, droughts, erosion, water quality and availability, food production, human health, biodiversity, and global sea level. I think it is important to stress that this is a real issue. Over 29,000 data sets were examined by the IPCC before they came out with their 2007 conclusion that global warming is indeed occurring. I think there is now enough information that people need to stop pretending that climate change is a “shaky science”. Politically it has clearly been difficult to acknowledge global warming as a real issue, because acknowledgement would imply that action must be taken. This is a risky political move, however according to the Stern Review: The Economics of Climate Change, failing to take action now may cost us much more later. The review estimates that if we do not act, the overall costs and risks of climate change will be equivalent to losing at least 5% of global GDP each year, now and forever. If a wider range of risks and impacts is taken into account, the estimates of damage could rise to 20% of GDP or more. In contrast, the costs of action (reducing greenhouse gas emissions to avoid the worst impacts of climate change) can be limited to around 1% of global GDP each year.
These GDP percentages make sense if you consider that an increase in sea level could cause serious issues with regard to the population displacement of millions of people. Spreading the word is important because the public can influence the importance placed on climate change as a political issue and priority. Think about this issue. Make it important to you and maybe it will become important to other people. Think about your role as a consumer. And learn more… Here are some other places to go/things to read:

-IPCC Website: www.ipcc.ch

-EPA Website: www.epa.gov/climatechange/

-Funny Comic: http://www.markstivers.com/cartoons/Stivers%206-10-02%20Bush%20and%20global%20warming.gif

-Stern Review: The Economics of Climate Change