Climate Change - Why should we be concerned?

A guest blogger introduced by our Climate Ambassador team:

Why?  Because it affects every aspect of this world we live in. According to science it is making the world a place that suffers more extreme weather events, this means more storms, bigger storms, in more places and greater droughts with associated risks of wildfires in more places. It is going to affect a lot of those things we don’t necessarily associate with climate change. People talk about reducing our carbon footprints, governments talk about carbon offsetting.
Why all this talk about reducing carbon, surely carbon is essential for life? Carbon is one of the building blocks for life, we contain it, trees contain it, plants and animals contain it, fossil fuels (oil, coal, gas) contain a lot of it. When it is burnt it releases CO₂ into our atmosphere which stays there for a long time like a blanket, causing a greenhouse warming effect. Other gases such as methane are also greenhouse gases, the release of all these greenhouse gases have increased the temperature of our planet and have led to climate change.
Climate change is going to impact every person on this planet and with 9 billion people on this planet by 2050 all competing for resources we need a better plan to distribute them and a different way of using resources that we all depend upon.
So what will happen in our area? Temperatures in the UK have risen by about 1° since the 1970s, further warming is inevitable over the next 30 years, the amount of warming depends on future global emissions. Weather patterns are changing, extremely wet winters 5x more likely with more intense downpours. So surface water flooding, and sewage contamination of watercourses is more likely. Critical infrastructure such as electricity systems and transport could be threatened.
Warmer drier summers are more likely (great you may say) but there will be some extremely hot days, this can affect transport (rails buckling, tarmac melting) and computers overheating (NHS runs on computers).
Our water supply will be at risk, The Greater London Authority have stated that London is close to its capacity and predicts supply problems by 2025 and serious water shortages by 2040. Thames Water almost called a drought last year and funded home visits to encourage consumers how to use less water. With all the new homes planned and being built this situation is only going to get worse.
There is likely to be food price volatility as crop patterns change globally (the worlds wheat supply was severely affected by drought over the past few years, with crops failing across Canada and America, in 2020 in the UK the rains have already killed off many acres of cereal seedlings.)
Environmental refugees will need to move from uninhabitable areas of the world, all nations will need to incorporate them. Refugees will be forced to move if increased temperatures prevent any food being grown, and competition over natural resources such as water and food lead to conflict or they may be driven by sea level rises or increased natural disasters. Scientists at Cornell University and the United Nations state that “If catastrophic climate events and conflict are taken into account alongside starvation and lack of clean drinking water - nearly 2 billion people will become refugees or internally displaced persons by 2100”, most people will try and rehouse themselves within their country, but unless richer nations continue to lend support to stricken countries and help them mitigate against severe climate heating then more people will want/need to relocate.
Air pollution and the climate crisis are linked, as the air pollutants that are released by the burning of fossil fuels are responsible for 30 – 40% of global warming. Then there are the wildfires to factor in.  While we have yet to face anything like the challenges felt by Australia or California, the UK has serious air pollution problems which are contributing to and exacerbated by climate change. The UK Health Alliance stated in 2019 that air pollution is the second biggest public health threat after smoking and is linked to 40,000 deaths in the UK every year and 86% of our cities exceed recommended limits for particulate matter. We know that air pollution is very bad for our health generally and is linked to cancer, asthma, diabetes, obesity and dementia. Marlow and High Wycombe - Wycombe District Council have documented as exceeding recommended limits for example.
People can feel powerless to make a difference, how can one person effect a positive change when you look at the impact of building a coal fired power station in China, people ask does it make a difference if you take a bus or train as opposed to driving or flying, they are concerned these solitary actions are too small. But all these small actions do add up and do make a difference and we’ve seen changes in Europe in the last number of years, partly because of laws but partly because of greater awareness. We’ve seen emissions in countries reduce (maybe not as much as we would like, but they have still reduced) as well as people in those countries enjoying good lifestyles.
It is possible to do it and it does make a difference. The UN has stated the world needs to reduce its carbon footprint by 7.5% every year, maybe we could all pledge to do this on a personal level - what would it take – we need to have that discussion.
Mitigation
To mitigate against extreme downpours and drought houses can have grey water collection schemes and rain water collection. Plots should have gravel soakaways for rain water into the garden rather than hard standing with down pipes connecting into drains.
Our homes will need to be adapted to insulate us from extremes of heat, with extra insulation and ventilation, not just our homes, our offices, hospitals etc…
The motor car running on diesel or petrol is one of the biggest air polluters. If people need to commute, then try to car share, or use public transport. Pavements and cycle routes need to be separate from main roads. If you do drive then use your trip wisely – try and get several tasks accomplished with a trip, don’t idle your engine – switch it off if you are stationary for more than 1.5 minutes.
Electric cars are not the complete answer as air pollution also comes from tyres and there is concern over the batteries that are used. Hydrogen cars are effective, but it is tricky to make hydrogen, the process is wasteful of energy and at the moment it is usually made by gas engines.
Libby James
Climate Action Now Group, Princes Risborough