Climate change and global warming
There is a near overwhelming scientific consensus that not only is Planet Earth warming up, but that warming is being accelerated, if not caused, by man's activity. Increasingly, in global political circles in the first decade of the 21st century climate change is being recognised as being the biggest threat and so challenge facing mankind over all others. Yet it is a 'predictable surprise' (Bazerman 2006).
Image by NOAA Photo Library from Flickr. Used under Creative Commons Attribution licence
For example the air pollution emanating from the increased burning of fossil fuels from the opening of a new coal-fired power station in China every 7-10 days (Jiusto 2009) should be no surprise. This, along with the burning of our forests, approximately 200,000 acres of tropical rainforest are burned every day (Think Global Green) are the primary sources of greenhouse gases.
Forest burns though are in effect a double whammy as this not only releases the carbon from the burning, but as forests store carbon as part of their daily cycle of photosynthesis, this carbon absorbing method is being lost from the global environmental systems.
Each year it is estimated we add more than 30 billion tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Estimates of future warming vary with the level of carbon found and predicted in the atmosphere. Currently it seems we have a level of 401.30ppm of CO2 (US National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration 2014) in the atmosphere and this is estimated to be associated with a mean 2oC rise in temperature globally during this century. The consequences are predicted to be wide ranging and tragic for many living on the margins. The upper safety limit of CO2 levels is estimated to be 350ppm (ibid).