changing climate

The Information and imagery contained in this slide show is an adapted version of that contained in a globally distributed information package from www.350.org

350. org is an international campaign that's building a movement to unite the world around solutions to the climate crisis--the solutions that science and justice demand.

Their mission is to inspire the world to rise to the challenge of the climate crisis— to create a new sense of urgency and of possibility for our planet. Please visit their website for further information.

CHANGING CLIMATE

OUR

GLACIERS ARE MELTING

MUIR & RIGGS GLACIER 1941

MUIR & RIGGS GLACIER 2004

PEDERSEN GLACIER, AK 1920

PEDERSEN GLACIER, AK 2005

OCEANS ARE ACIDIFYING

Coral reefs are bleaching

SEA LEVELS ARE RISING

Three Year AverageSatellite Altimetry

Year

Sea Level Change (cm)

threatens the survival of SMALL ISLANDS

Two degrees (450ppm) is really not a safe level for small island states. For many of them it would be like a death

sentence in the long run.“ ”- Leon Charles, Chair of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS)

WEATHER IS BECOMING MORE EXTREME

Burma cyclone death toll rises above

43,000. “ ”- USA Today, May 15th, 2008

MAJOR FLOODS PER DECADE

Australia suffers worst drought in

1,000 years “ ”- Guardian UK, Nov 7, 2008

Australia fires spark calls for CLIMATE

ACTION“ ”- Washington Post, March 1, 2006

“Rapid Warming’ Spreads Havoc in Canada’s Forests.“ ”

- Washington Post, March 1, 2006

Climate change could force

1 BILLION from their homes by 2050.

“ ”- April 30, 2008, The Independent.

CREATES CLIMATE REFUGEES

impacts LOCAL LIVELIHOODS

The most comprehensive review ever carried out on the economics of climate change warns that global warming could inflict worldwide disruption as great as that caused by the two World Wars and the Great Depression.

“ ”- Environmental News

Service

STERN REVIEW, 2006

The world has never faced such a predictably massive threat to

food production as that posed by the melting mountain glaciers of

Asia“

”- Lester Brown, Earth Policy Institute, Author of Plan B

DISRUPTS FOOD PRODUCTION

Global Warming Increases Malaria, Dengue Fever Threat, UN Says.“ ”- Bloomberg, Nov. 27, 2007

AFFECTS OUR HEALTH:

Climate change will draw ever-deeper lines of division and conflict in international relations… over the distribution of resources, especially water and land.

“ ”- Report: World in Transition

THREATENS SECURITY:

The most startling evidence yet…

is the MELTING OF THE ARCTIC.

New predictionsSatellite

observationsMean IPCC predictionMost likely change

(melt)IPCC rangeActual observed

melting

it has melted nearly 80 YEARS ahead of when

scientists predicted

YEAR

% c

hang

e in

ice

cove

r

SCIENCE

it’s about…

THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT

CO2 CONCENTRATIONS ARE INCREASING

CO2 in PPM

TEMPERATURE

Years

Part

s pe

r M

illio

n CO

2

TODAY: 387ppm

550ppm? More?

EARLY 1900S

LAST ICE AGE

Where we’ll be mid-century if we keep this up

390ppm CO2

today:

Where do we need to go from

here?

CO2 IN THE ATMOSPHERE

WE’RE HERE: 387

WE NEED TO BE HERE: 350

PART

S PE

R M

ILLI

ON

CO

2

YEAR

THE WORLD NEEDS US TO MAKE CHANGES IN OUR OWN BACKYARD

moving away from fossil fuels

GLOBAL EMISSIONS STILL RISING 2PPM PER YEAR

TotalPetroleumCoalNatural GasCement Production

YEAR

MIL

LIO

N M

ETRI

C TO

NS

OF

CARB

ON

/YEA

R

IT MEANS PUTTING UP WIND TURBINESINSTEAD OF COAL PLANTS

IT MEANS PLANTING TREESINSTEAD OF CLEAR-CUTTING

RAINFORESTS

AND IMPLEMENTING

A THOUSAND

DIFFERENT SOLUTIONS

that can create new jobs

And make our communities HEALTHIER

PART

S PE

R M

ILLI

ON

CO

2

YEAR

Phase-out of fossil fuel electricity

generation by 2030Improved forestry and soil

Reduced oil/gas use

GETTING TO 350

•ADAPTATION•MITIGATION•TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER

•FINANCIAL RESOURCES

SOURCES – www.350.org• BBC World Service Poll -

http://www.globescan.com/news_archives/bbc_climate/• Hansen, James, et al. Target Atmospheric CO2: Where

Should Humanity Aim? Submitted April 7, 2008. • The IPCC 4th Assessment Report - www.ipcc.ch• Baer, Paul, Tom Athanasiou and Sivan Kartha. "The Right to

Develop in a Climate Constrained World: The Greenhouse Development Rights Framework"

• The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

• NASA - www.nasa.gov• RealClimate.org• Climate Safety - www.climatesafety.org• New Scientist - www.newscientist.com

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