the carbon issue

let’s offset our footprints

Bit by bit, global warming has been raising the earth’s surface temperature since the industrial revolution, linked to the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas.

Over the last 10,000 years and through some 400 generations the world’s population has grown from several million people to around 6.1 billion. That’s a massive difference. And the pollutants we pump into the air are changing its composition and preventing heat from escaping the earth’s surface. In the west we’ve been producing high carbon emissions for many years; and now, as Asian and African countries are developing, their lifestyles too will consume more energy and release even more gases into the atmosphere. Yet global emissions are already at the highest levels in recorded history.

Today's atmosphere contains 32% more carbon dioxide than at the start of the industrial era and the northern hemisphere is substantially warmer than at any point during the past thousand years. The average global temperature has risen by almost one degree Celsius since 1900.

Sounds too far down the line for us to do anything to stop the trend? It isn’t. Although reversing it will be a long, slow process over several decades, the way we use our vehicles, washing machines and tumble dryers, cookers and heating can make a real difference.

If action isn’t taken now to reduce carbon emissions – by individuals, industries and governments – the results could be nothing short of catastrophic.