Let’s go back to basics.
When I was a geography student at university twenty years ago, the issue of environmental decline was a subject that we were well aware of but hardly ever seemed to make headlines.
I studied environmental transport management as well as environmental change in the biosphere. I was made aware of projections which included sea level rises, mass extinctions of animals and dramatic weather systems. It has been known about but so many people held back and waited for the evidence.
Let’s be honest. We waited. The evidence is now smacking us in the cheeks. We cannot let people undermine this issue. I read some influencers who say that Greta Thunberg is trying to guide policymakers. That is fine with me. She is not inflating the truth. It is unavoidable. The future she describes is visible on the horizon.
Do I need to justify the level of concern? No. We don’t have time to deliberate. We need to start to act and ignore the ridiculous naysayers who seem to think money-making is far more important than saving animals from extinction and protecting coastal towns etc.
Yesterday reports confirmed that the UN is warning people not to buy low-lying homes on the coasts. So many islands have suffered from unusual floods and many have already become partly submerged due to sea level rises. Nuatambu Island is part of the Solomon Islands and has already suffered partial submersion, losing half of its inhabitable lands since 2011. It is just one example and the impact of more floods is already highlighting how this process is increasing in pace.
Ice sheets are melting at a faster rate than before. A well known glacier, Sermilik, in Greenland has depleted by 9m this summer alone. This is upsetting and we know that the thinner the ice gets, the more warming affects the lower layers, especially those covering up land. Less ice also means less reflection of solar energy, contributing further to a general warming of the local climate. This spiral of events now presents with habitat threats for polar bears, seals and penguins as well as other creatures which exist within their food chains.
I intend to continue highlighting and analysing the information which is forthcoming and hope that you will engage with me as I endeavour to find out how we can move forward, support Greta with her cause and spread the word about the facts which surround the utmost significant event of our times. Forget Brexit and Trump. Climate change is dangerous, REAL and undoable. Help us to undo it by joining the debate, emphasising ways we can make a difference and encouraging governments to make environmental policy changes that will stave off climate change.
