WAYS TO FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE 

 

“One thing leads to the other. Deforestation leads to climate change, which leads to ecosystem losses, which negatively impacts our livelihoods – it’s a vicious cycle.”

What is Climate Change?

Climate change is a global modification of the climate over a long period of time (from decades to millions of years). These changes can occur both regionally and globally. By climate change, we mean the increase in temperature from the middle of the 20th century to the present day. Even if climate change can also have natural causes, it is primarily related to human activity and greenhouse gases.

Climate change causes? 

Many of the chemical compounds in the earth's atmosphere act as greenhouse gases. When sunlight strikes the earth’s surface, some of it radiates back toward space as infrared radiation (heat). Greenhouse gases absorb this infrared radiation and trap its heat in the atmosphere, creating a greenhouse effect that results in global warming and climate change. Many gases exhibit these greenhouse properties. Some gases occur naturally and are also produced by human activities. Some, such as industrial gases, are exclusively human-made. 

Several major greenhouse gases that result from human activity are included in U.S. and international estimates of greenhouse gas emissions:

• Carbon dioxide (CO₂)
• Methane (CH₄)
• Nitrous oxide (N₂O)
• Industrial gases:
  • Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)
  • Perfluorocarbons (PFCs)
  • Sulfur hexafluoride (SF₆)
  • Nitrogen trifluoride (NF₃)

Other greenhouse gases not counted in U.S. or international greenhouse gas inventories are water vapour and ozone. Water vapour is the most abundant greenhouse gas, but most scientists believe that water vapour produced directly by human activity contributes very little to the amount of water vapour in the atmosphere. Therefore, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) does not estimate emissions of water vapour. Ozone is technically a greenhouse gas, but ozone is helpful or harmful depending on where it is found in the earth's atmosphere. Ozone occurs naturally at higher elevations in the atmosphere (the stratosphere) where it blocks ultraviolet (UV) light that is harmful to plant and animal life from reaching the earth’s surface. The protective benefits of stratospheric ozone outweigh its contribution to the greenhouse effect. The United States and countries all around the world ban and control the production and use of several industrial gases that destroy atmospheric ozone and create holes in the ozone layer. 

Climate change effects? 

1. Global warming: The main effect of climate change is of course global warming. With the increasingly rapid growth of the planet's temperature due to human activities such as deforestation, intensive agricu

2. Air pollution: The main greenhouse gas is not counted as an air pollutant because it does not appear to affect health. However, there are links between climate change and global warming, such as the atmospheric once

3. Water Pollution: Water pollution and climate change are closely linked, both in rivers, seas and oceans. This pollution manifests itself in particular through changes in the flows of the various rivers, the increase in temperature and the concentration of the pollutant in the water. 

  4. Land Pollution: The soil is equally hard hit by climate change. Human activity is significantly changing the climate and the nature of soils, which are both very fragile and most of the time over-exploited.  

Climate change Prevention? 

 

*Renewable Energies: 

A renewable energy source means energy that is sustainable - something that can't run out, or is endless, like the sun. When you hear the term 'alternative energy' it's usually referring to renewable energy sources too. It means sources of energy that are alternative to the most commonly used non-sustainable sources - like coal. 

The most popular renewable energy sources currently are-

Solar energy

Wind energy

Hydro energy

Tidal energy

Geothermal energy

Biomass energy 

Solar energy:

Sunlight is one of our planet’s most abundant and freely available energy resources. The amount of solar energy that reaches the earth’s surface in one hour is more than the planet’s total energy requirements for a whole year. Although it sounds like a perfect renewable energy source, the amount of solar energy we can use varies according to the time of day and the season of the year as well as geographical location. In the UK, solar energy is an increasingly popular way to supplement your energy usage. Find out if it’s right for you by reading our guide to solar power.

Wind energy:

The wind is a plentiful source of clean energy. Wind farms are an increasingly familiar sight in the UK with wind power making an ever-increasing contribution to the National Grid. To harness electricity from wind energy, turbines are used to drive generators which then feed electricity into the National Grid. Although domestic or ‘off-grid’ generation systems are available, not every property is suitable for a domestic wind turbine. Find out more about wind energy on our wind power page.

Hydro energy:

As a renewable energy resource, hydropower is one of the most commercially developed. By building a dam or barrier, a large reservoir can be used to create a controlled flow of water that will drive a turbine, generating electricity. This energy source can often be more reliable than solar or wind power (especially if it's tidal rather than river) and also allows electricity to be stored for use when demand reaches a peak. Like wind energy, in certain situations, hydro can be more viable as a commercial energy source (depending on the type and compared to other sources of energy) but depending very much on the type of property, it can be used for domestic, ‘off-grid’ generation. Find out more by visiting our hydropower page.

Tidal energy:

This is another form of hydro energy that uses twice-daily tidal currents to drive turbine generators. Although tidal flow unlike some other hydro energy sources isn’t constant, it is highly predictable and can therefore compensate for the periods when the tide current is low. Find out more by visiting our marine energy page.

Geothermal energy:

By harnessing the natural heat below the earth’s surface, geothermal energy can be used to heat homes directly or to generate electricity. Although it harnesses power directly below our feet, geothermal energy is of negligible importance in the UK compared to countries such as Iceland, where geothermal heat is much more freely available.

Biomass energy: 

This is the conversion of solid fuel made from plant materials into electricity. Although fundamentally, biomass involves burning organic materials to produce electricity, nowadays this is a much cleaner, more energy-efficient process. By converting agricultural, industrial and domestic waste into solid, liquid and gas fuel, biomass generates power at a much lower economic and environmental cost.

Changing our main energy sources to clean and renewable energy. Solar, Wind, Geothermal and biomass could be the solution.  

*Sustainable transport:

“We urgently need sustainable and clean transport systems. The good news is that the prospect for this is promising as innovation and technological progress in recent decades have led to significant advances in e-mobility.”

 

Air pollution prevention:

Many methods exist to prevent, control and reduce air pollution, in particular by reducing the consumption of fossil fuels, and limiting industrial emissions and waste.

Some important measures that can be adopted by individuals to contribute towards the prevention of air pollution have been listed below.

• Usage of public transport and carpooling – by reducing the amount of fuel combusted for an individual’s transportation needs, he/she can lower the number of pollutants being released into the atmosphere and cause less air pollution. Furthermore, these options are also economically efficient and can help save money as well.
• Switching off the lights when they’re not in use – the majority of our electricity is produced from the combustion of fossil fuels, which are a huge contributor towards air pollution. Therefore, conserving electricity is an effective way of preventing air pollution.
• Reusing and recycling products – By reusing products (that can be reused), the amount of energy that goes into manufacturing another one of those products is conserved. Furthermore, recycling of products is also more energy-efficient than the manufacture of new ones.
• Avoiding the burning of garbage and smoking – burning of garbage is a huge contributor to air pollution. Another contributor to air pollution is cigarette smoking. Avoiding these activities and spreading awareness of their negative consequences can be of great help in the prevention of air pollution.
• Avoiding the use of firecrackers – firecrackers are generally used to celebrate certain occasions. However, they are known to cause severe air pollution and are, therefore, extremely harmful to the environment. Personally avoiding the use of firecrackers and spreading awareness about their negative consequences is a great way to help prevent air pollution. 

Waste management & recycling:

The simplest solution to reducing waste is to adapt our production methods to our consumption patterns. The recycling process must also be taken into account in our consumption habits. 

Sea and ocean prevention: 

Oceans and seas are the largest storage of greenhouse gases and are an exceptional support system for life on this planet. Limiting overfishing, unsustainable development activities in coastal areas and the consumption of environmentally friendly products is now essential. 

Circular economy:

Use the 3 r's of circular economy (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle) to significantly reduce our waste and avoid unnecessary production of new items.