When we talk about “climate change” today we mean the increase in changes beyond historical levels and outside of natural cycles. Increases that humans are causing mostly because we burn coal, oil, and gas for energy.
These energy sources release gases, like carbon dioxide and methane, that trap heat turning the earth into a greenhouse. And that changes temperature and rain patterns all over the world, making the earth hotter, causing more extreme weather events, melting ice at the poles and in the mountains which causes flooding and sea level rise, and causing both torrential rain and droughts. These gases are wreaking havoc on life as humans have known it.
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These energy sources release gases, like carbon dioxide and methane, that trap heat turning the earth into a greenhouse. And that changes temperature and rain patterns all over the world, making the earth hotter, causing more extreme weather events, melting ice at the poles and in the mountains which causes flooding and sea level rise, and causing both torrential rain and droughts. These gases are wreaking havoc on life as humans have known it.
There is no debate around the physics of this reality among the climate scientists. The math is as solid for fossil fuels as the association between smoking and lung cancer. 99.9% of climate scientists agree. As do more than 95% of governments, despite a few disproportionately loud naysayers.
The damages are happening now and they are happening all over the earth — and even in places where things are stable, we are seeing cracks in the veneer — like cancelled trains and buckling roads due to heat waves, wildfire damage and air pollution due to wildfire smoke, both flooding and water stress, more extreme weather events, increases in costs of goods coming from climate impacted areas, increased insurance costs, increased health costs and damages from severe weather.
In some parts of Canada, and elsewhere in the world, the impacts are already far more damaging and life-threatening.
The pollution is cumulative, so when we stop greenhouse gas (eg. carbon) pollution, the amount we already put in the atmosphere will continue to wreak havoc. And at some point, we will have put so much carbon pollution in the atmosphere that we will reach points of no return, where we lock in increasing destabilization no matter what we do because of feedback loops we can't stop. We want to avoid those.
Thankfully, the solutions are right in front of us and adoption of these solutions is happening all around the globe — just not quite fast enough — and that's why we need you too (more on that later.)
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is the only feasible and cost effective way of addressing the climate crisis. We can do this by shifting to clean renewable energy solutions.
This is the big shift that is happening all over the world. Most governments agree and are taking action. Most of their citizens agree and many are taking action. Most fortune 500 companies and countless smaller companies agree and are taking action.
Even if you are not paying any attention at all to all of the changes happening that you can't see directly, you will have noticed the signs of a few of these changes.
EVs on the road, solar panels and heat pumps on buildings, trees being planted, wasted being averted. If you take a minute to ask google whether the world is transitioning, the answer will be a resounding yes — even in the face of some political and fossil fuel sector backlash.
The question is not whether we are shifting to clean energy, it's how fast. And that translates to how many people get on board today instead of at some point in the future when it might be too late.
Where are you on the curve and why? What are you reasons for action or inaction? Can you shift a little bit forward for the sake of preserving our beautiful home?
• 84% of people across the globe and 63% of Canadians agree that climate change is happening.
• Over 70% of global citizens realize that humans are causing or contributing to climate change including 80% of Canadians.
• At least 97% of climate scientists have known for decades. A more recent analysis shows that more than 99.9% of peer-reviewed scientific papers agree that climate change is mainly caused by humans.
• 77% of global citizens, including 65% of Canadians want a rapid transition from fossil fuel energy sources to renewable energy sources in order to prevent the worst impacts of climate change.
