Knowledge Sharing

2. Impact on Climate Change

The impact affects every human and living being on earth.

The atmosphere of earth consists of the greenhouse gases.  This natural process of the energy from sun to it, some is reflected back to space, some is absorbed and re-radiated.  The gases are water vapor (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (NO2), ozone (O3) and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCS).  They maintain the comfortable temperature on earth surface at average 15deg. C.

The current problems are the concentration of carbon dioxide, at 90% and other gases in the atmosphere that have increased since the industrial era. Human activities of giving off gases – mainly, the combustion of fossil fuels (coal, petroleum, oil and natural gas); additionally, agriculture (cultivation), deforestation (burnt and cut), livestock breeding (cattle produce methane), aviation / transportation (burning jet fuel and gasoline) and change of land use (demolition and construction).

The concentration causes temperate warming on earth. The warmer temperature changes the weather patterns to catastrophes like drought, heat waves, floods, hill fires, storms and hurricanes. They melt glaciers that can rise sea levels coastal erosion, the whole ecosystems and failed crops.  Climate change threatens human about economic losses, food and water shortages and infectious diseases.

World Health Organization identified climate warming the greatest threat to global health in this century. Climate warming make Polar bears facing extinction due to disappearing sea ice of Arctic Ocean, many animals on lands and seas moving to cooler places.  Deforestation occurs for agricultural purpose make many animals loss of their habitats. These movements make animals in contact with other animals or exotic species that they normally won’t and create chances for germs enhancing risk of pandemics.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in United Nations forecasted the temperature could increase by 2 deg. C and that should be the limit to avoid dangerous levels about 15 years later.

The Kyoto Protocol that had aimed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from industrialized nations was failed and ended in 2012.  Paris Agreement on climate change was established in 2015 that nearly 200 countries agreed human should mitigate the effect. It aimed at the global average increase to below 2 deg. C to pre-industrial era or the limit 1.5 deg. C to pre-industrial era.   The reduction would depend on the decrease on fossil fuel extraction, the development of negative emissions technologies, carbon capture and storage technologies.  

IPCC forecasted about the continued demand for coal and oil by human.  The transformation in energy supply from dirty to clean should be implemented the sooner the better.  

Climate change involves science, technology, law, investment, culture and behavior. The withdrawn from fossil fuels investment and make investment towards renewable clean energy (solar, wind and waste to energy) development could be an environmental movement ever.

On personal level, our excessive consumption is one of the causes.  We can contribute to a greener environment by changing our behavior: reduce, recycle and reuse

Reduce

• Reduce Carbon dioxide footprints by: the change of high meat and dairy consumption to low, and going for vegan can reduce deforestation caused by agriculture. The use of energy efficient household appliances, LEDs (light-emitting diodes) can save half energy than fluorescents and less air cooling required; and riding bikes, walking on foot, carpooling and use energy saving cars. Save electricity by using more insulation material for building cooling and less hot water.
• Reduce using fossil fuels: get the clean choice of energy by sun and wind power instead.

• Reduce waste:  eliminate food waste as it is not recyclable and compost food scraps.
• Reduce using plastic: plastic is the by product from natural gas processing.  Some plastic is not recyclable into micro plastic pieces, except the recyclable PET and HDPE.
• Reduce using paper: paper is made from wood of trees.  Use recy
  cled paper, print on both sides of the paper and less printing can help reduce chopping down of trees. Trees absorb carbon dioxide, store it and release oxygen back to the air.  The stored carbon dioxide goes back to the air while chopping down.  

Recycle

Buy things we need that would not add more refuse to landfills. Recycle right by cleaning and rinsing out the recyclables ensuring about no contamination.

Reuse

Avoid using single use of plastic cutlery and lunch box, but bring your own or use the washable ones.  Donate things we do not store any longer before sending them to landfills.  Organizations such as Friends of the Earth, Christian Action and Salvation Army are the scheme managers of Usable Collection Banks that welcome reusable donations. Likewise, over 190 collection places for used clothes established by Home Affairs Department of HKSAR.

There’ re two good news about mitigating climate warming recently.  The United States re-joined Paris Agreement in last January and Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) held Earth Hour switching off lights for one hour across the Globe on March 27, 2021.  They aimed to cut down carbon dioxide emissions.  

Let’s work together to mitigate the climate reality.  The effective elimination of air pollution, protection of nature conservation and planting more trees help restore the balance of gases in the atmosphere.