Background To Global Challenges
What is widely believed to be man made climate change is now understood by scientists and laymen alike to be one of the greatest threats to the safety of the planet and to the way of life, and indeed life itself, for a great deal of mankind!
There is increasing consensus that the main cause of climate change stems from the burning of fossil fuels in order to meet fast rising energy demands, combined with a consumer throw away society leading to all kinds of waste and its unsatisfactory disposal. Carbon and other emissions like methane result, and these in turn dramatically unbalance the planet’s delicate temperature and chemical makeup.
The ensuing environmental shift has increasingly devastating effects for the world and its inhabitants, with Hurricane Katrina; the Asian Tsunami; Droughts; Heat waves; and Floods some of the more visible consequences, and dangers far worse are forecast ahead!
To most people, predictions on the scale of climate change acceleration, the speed it needs to be turned round, and the very narrow band of realistic solutions make very grim reading.
While there are now more column inches on climate change than any other subject, a problem so big and so complex can seem insurmountable.
People vary in their reaction, from making dramatic changes to their way of life; launching businesses; praying, burying their head; becoming apathetic; or drowning their fears in the belief that whatever is done will be too little, too late, and so living for the moment for the fear the moment wont last long!
A big part of the problem is that most people know how slow and inefficient Governments and big business can be, but it’s just these organisations that we are relying on to make the most visible contributions to the climate change issue..
The solution? Well there are many solutions, and that is the point! We need to find a way of funding and embrasing all possible solutions and encouraging everyone on whatever level, and wherever they may be to play their part.
This aim is at the heart of The Global Sustainability Challenge.
Read about sustainability and climate change