Changing the world

In the last few years I’ve seen far too many anti climate change people raving about how this world has not changed, how climate has not gotten hotter, how we, the climate change supporters know nothing. Well, ACC people, I know about the climate. And I know about the World. How about you read this and find out what is happening. 

I am 60. The world population was less than half today’s population 60 years ago as they began again to repopulate the world which had been depopulated after WW1 and WW2. We had fresh air. We had a decent place to live - then. But, in the last 60 years, Vietnam, Middle East (Arab-Israeli), Angola, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Afghanistan, Argentina, Iran and Iraq and many other wars have gone on around the world. It seems there are no countries untouched. Except, maybe, Switzerland. Have a look in Wikipaedia for all the wars between 1957 and 2017. 60 years. Too much fighting.

Billions and trillions of money spent on war. The US is the highest spender at 37% globally. Even Australia has spent more than $15 billion on “overseas missions” since 1999 (and the budget for 2016-17 is $27.2 billion just for Defence!).

As the population grew, so did rubbish. 60 years. On earth – and in space. Not so far away. MRA Consulting says: “Waste generation rates are a function of population growth, the level of urbanisation and per capita income and Australians now produce about 50 million tonnes of waste each year, averaging over 2 tonnes per person. There are more of us and we generate more waste per person, each year.” The Atlantic identified 2.4 trillion pounds of garbage globally in 2012. And rubbish kills.

EPH wrote that “An estimated 100 000 marine mammals and turtles are killed by plastic litter every year around the world.”  And they said that “responsibility also lies with those people who do not realise or care that stormwater drains are not rubbish receptacles and that materials discarded into them, whether plastic litter or dumped oil, flows to the sea.”

 

About the landfills, the Balance said that “Normally, plastic items can take up to 1000 years to decompose in landfills.”

ABC’s program War on Waste looked at degrees of rubbish: how “fashion” can be bought cheap, maybe worn once then thrown away, how glass supposedly recycled are not recycled, how plastic bags are used far too much in supermarkets. 

The Guardian in October 2014 wrote an article based on what WWF told them, titled “Earth

has lost half of its wildlife in the past 40 years, says WWF”. Why? Because there are so many people (the population) living in this world that they need (sic) anywhere to live. The article said “The number of wild animals on Earth has halved in the past 40 years, according to a new analysis. Creatures across land, rivers and the seas are being decimated as humans kill them for food in unsustainable numbers, while polluting or destroying their habitats, the research by scientists at WWF and the Zoological Society of London found.” So bloody scary!

Climate change has happened in the last 100 years. While measured against the initial report in 1880, ABC reported that most of the increase – the fastest increase – has been since the 1950s – when this world has “recovered” from WW2, increased the population, and increased the rubbish. Wikipaedia repeats this information similarly. Earth Observatory said “The models predict that as the world consumes ever more fossil fuel, greenhouse gas concentrations will continue to rise, and Earth’s average surface temperature will rise with them. Based on a range of plausible emission scenarios, average surface temperatures could rise between 2°C and 6°C by the end of the 21st century.” 

Sky News noted that “Between 1910 and 1941 there were 28 days when the national average temperature was in the top extremes recorded. In 2013 alone there were 28 such days.” The Conversation looked at where the global climate change came from: “The carbon dioxide that accumulates in the atmosphere insulates the surface of the Earth. It’s like a warming blanket that holds in heat. This energy increases the Earth’s surface average temperature, heats the oceans and melts polar ice. As consequences, sea level rises and weather changes.” 

And where does carbon dioxide come from? What’s Your Impact identified human sources from “activities like cement production, deforestation as well as the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas.” Burning coal has been happening for thousands of years, but in the last 60 years that has increased as the population grew. Now the global population digs up and burns far too much coal.

International Energy Agency laid out how coal supply has grown so much lately, saying that “Since the start of the 21^st century, coal production has been the fastest-growing global energy source.” Bill McKibben for The Monthly wrote an article titled How Australia Coal is Causing Global Damage in 2013. He said: “A recent report from the Climate Institute shows that if Australia builds up its coal exports as currently planned, it would produce 30% of the carbon needed to push global warming beyond two degrees. By 2020 the country’s coal burnt abroad will be producing three times as much CO₂ as all the country’s cars and factories and homes; by 2025, four times.” That is a very good article – I recommend that everyone reads it. 

In Britain in the 19th century the Industrial Revolution was fuelled by coal. In New Zealand where I was born coal mines were in Huntly area, halfway between Auckland and Hamilton. Coal mine disasters happened at Ralph mine in 1914 and Glen Afton mine in 1939 – 54 men died. The last Huntly East coal mine was closed in 2015, although Huntly’s large thermal power station uses gas and coal. 

Globally, petroleum overtook coal in the 1960s, but in the 1970s the oil shocks gave coal a boost. Geoscience Australia says: “The major use of black coal is for generating electricity in power stations, where it is pulverised and burnt to heat steam-generating boilers. Coal used for this process is called steaming coal. In 2008 77% of the electricity generated in Australia was produced by coal fired power stations (includes black and brown coals).” Today, it is “is the fifth largest producer and largest exporter of black coal.” 

Australia’s population increased from 7.5 million in 1950s to more than 24.5 million now. In 2015 the Sydney Morning Herald printed an article which said: “Coal is the major source of the greenhouse gasses that the world's scientists, and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, believe is causing dangerous climate change.” Really? Did he? SMH then said: “You can't tackle climate change while you are increasing the amount of coal that is being burned. Read that sentence again if you need to, it's really quite important.” So who knows that? I definitely recommend everyone reads this article. 

Don’t tell me, or anyone who is seriously concerned that a climate change IS happening, that we don’t know what we are saying. 

WE DO. I hope you all will!