The Facts on Climate Change

Climate Change Confusion get the facts TckTckTck

Though the science behind climate change is indeed complex, one basic fact is not — global warming is happening and it is driving climate change today. We are now seeing the impacts on the climate with record-breaking heat waves, floods, and extreme weather events, all of which were predicted decades ago by the first scientific climate models.

Now, with a growing body of evidence, including examples of dramatic systemic change such as rapidly melting arctic glaciers as well as more subtle scientific measurements of atmospheric gases such as Carbon-12 isotopes – it has been possible to determine that this increase in the warming of both air and sea temperatures is being driven primarily by human influence.

Petermann glacier melting Climate Facts TckTckTck

Photos: Jason Box, Ohio State University (left) & Alun Hubbard, Aberystwyth University, Wales

Humans add about 32 gigatons of Carbon Dioxide (CO2e) to our atmosphere each year. Nature’s own carbon cycle is about 750 gigatons of CO2. It may seem that the human contribution is small in comparison, but the reality is that only 40% of our added CO2 can be absorbed by natural carbon sinks like forests, oceans and wetlands. The rest — about 20 gigatons of CO2 — cannot be absorbed and so is added to the atmosphere year after year. With each year, this added CO2 is building a thicker and thicker layer of insulation around the planet, and we’re trapping more of the sun’s heat as a result.

Here’s a brief primer on Climate Change from the Climate Reality Project that explains more:

97% of all active climate scientists believe that rapid climate change is now being driven by human-made carbon pollution, and that we need to quickly transition from fossil fuels (responsible for about 62% of all human CO2 pollution) in order to bring the Earth’s climate system back in balance.

So why all the confusion in the media?

As it turns out, there are many corporations who make a lot of money on fossil fuel production, and they do not want to lose market share to new clean, renewable sources of energy like wind and solar power.  As is documented in the book Climate Cover-Up by James Hogan, these corporations banded together, funneling millions of dollars into anti-climate lobbyists and PR firms. Taking from the Tobacco industry’s playbook they launched a “media war” bent on disinforming the public about the hazards of climate change and the fossil fuels driving it.

Here’s a historic look into both media campaigns from the Climate Reality Project:

For a great general video overview of how climate change works, check out Climate Science in a Nutshell video series. To learn how to talk to a climate skeptic, visit Skeptical Science which offers handy responses to the most common misconceptions and climate change myths. For a quick answers to the Top 10 most asked questions we turn to the Union of Concerned Scientists:

  1. How do we know that humans are the major cause of global warming?
  2. Why does CO2 get most of the attention when there are other greenhouse gases?
  3. What are the latest findings on climate science?
  4. Does air pollution and particulate matter (aerosols) affect global warming?
  5. How does the sun affect our climate?
  6. Is there a connection between the hole in the ozone layer and global warming?
  7. What is the best source of scientific information on global warming?
  8. Will responding to global warming be harmful to our economy?
  9. If we can’t burn it, what should we do with the stores of coal around the world?
  10. Has global warming already started?
The Facts on Climate Change

Browse Climate Facts:

   
       


The exploitation of the oil sands is the primary reason Canada will fail to meet its own greenhouse gas reduction targets.  >> Environment Canada
Oil Sands projects already approved will exceed the emissions of 150 nations combined.  >> Oil Sands Developers Group
Annual greenhouse gas emissions from the production of oil sands more than tripled between 1990 and 2010.  >> United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
Producing a barrel of oil from the oil sands produces 3.2 to 4.5 times more greenhouse gases than conventional oil produced in Canada or the United States. >> National Energy Technology Laboratory 
By 2050, it is estimated that there will be a storm surge equivalent to Hurricane Katrina every other year. >> Niels Bohr Institute
50,000 square miles of forests are cut down every year. That’s an area the size of of Manhattan every four hours.  >> FAO (PDF)
19 percent of the world’s original area of coral reefs has been lost since 1950, 15 percent are in a critical state with loss possible in the next 10 to 20 years and 20 percent are seriously threatened with loss in the next 20 to 40 years >> ...
More than 90 percent of reefs will be threatened by 2030, and nearly all will be at risk by 2050.  >> E&E Publishing, 2011
Lake Chad in Africa has shrunk from 9,600 square miles in 1963 to its current size of about 502 square miles.  >> E&E Publishing 2011
The number of people in extreme poverty could increase by up to 3 billion by 2050 unless environmental disasters are averted by co-ordinated global action.  >> UN, 2013
Out of 290 monitored glaciers in France, Italy, and Switzerland, 287 are rapidly retreating.  >> World Glacier Monitoring Service (WGMS)
The worst storms in the United States are now delivering 20% more rainfall than those at the beginning of the 20th century.  >>  Environment America
2011 set a record with at least 14 weather disasters across the United States, inflicting $55 billion in total damages.  >> Environment America
4 out of 5 Americans live in U.S. counties stricken by weather-related disasters.  Since 2006, federally declared weather-related disasters affected 2,466 counties across the U.S. which house more than 242 million people.  >> Environmen...
Nepal’s approach to Community Forest Management continues to generate employment and income from the sustainable harvesting of timber and non timber forest products. Sustainable forest management approaches in the country have contributed to ...
Despite being an LDC far from its major export markets, Uganda more than quadrupled its exports of organic agricultural products between 2003 and 2008, tapping into a global market of US $60 billion. Farm gate prices of organic pineapple, gin...
The World Future Energy Summit that took place in January 2011 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, had a challenge from U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for countries to begin moving ahead of climate change treaty negotiations. Bangladeshi ...
Brazil produces virtually all of the world’s sugar-derived ethanol, and has been adding new hydro power, biomass and wind power plants, as well as solar heating systems. Source: REPN
Brazil has 51 wind parks that have a combined generating capacityof close to 937 MW,with a further 500 MW anticipated to become operational this year. Another134 potential renewable energy projects in the country have secured authorised inves...
Uruguay currently has 500 megawatts of wind projects in the works. As the third-cleanest country in South America, Uruguay is planning to develop as many wind farms as its electricity grid can support. With the wind projects, it may generate ...
In 2007, Denmark, Brazil and Germany led global sales of clean energy technology (when weighted by GDP). Source: WWF
Developed countries that ratified the Kyoto Protocol saw a rise in green-tech innovation patents of more than 33% between 1998 and 2003. Source: CERNA
African and other developing countries are also developing innovations to transfer to the West. “Lighting Africa” is one such example in the energy field. It is a very successful program through the World Bank and IFC that has led...
Kenya is one of the global leaders in solar in the developing world, with over 200,000 PV systems sold in Kenya since the mid 1980’s, three quarters to private households. Source: World Development
Mexico nearly quadrupled its installed wind power capacity to 402 MW in 2009. Source: WWEA
Developing countries (collectively) have more than half of global renewable energy power. Source: REPN    
In March 2011 in Spain Solar Power accounted for 2.6% and17.3% hydro. Along with wind turbines, renewable energy produced 41%, more than double that of nuclear energy. Spain exports electricity to France, so Spain does not need the French nuc...
Wind power produced more electricity (21%) than nuclear power plants (19%) in March in Spain. Source: REVE
More than 25% of Spain’s electricity now comes from renewable power, and some regions are pushing for 70% renewables. Source: Center for American Progress
Germany’s Market Incentive Program is the largest renewable energy subsidy program in Europe, which underwrote more than 485,000 R&D projects in the heat generation technology sector between 1999 and 2005, leading to investments exceeding...