The Crisis
The air we breathe, the water we drink, the earth we plant in, the food we eat, and the beauty and diversity of nature that nourishes our psychological wellbeing are all being corrupted and compromised by the political and economic systems that promote and support our modern, consumer-focused lifestyles.
We must act while we still can. What we are seeing now is nothing compared to what could come.
Effects on global human society, if the climate and ecological emergency is not addressed, may spiral out of control, leading to:
- Sea level rise
- Desertification
- Wildfires
- Water shortage
- Crop failure
- Extreme weather
- Millions displaced
- Disease
- Increased risk of wars and conflicts
The Crisis
Our house is on fire
Over 50% of the human addition of carbon to the atmosphere through the burning of fossil fuels has occurred in the last 25 years – i.e. since the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Control (IPCC) was founded.
Human activities have caused the planet’s average surface temperature to rise about 1.1°C since the late 19th century. Most of the warming occurred in the past 35 years.
Globally, the past four years have been the hottest on record, and the 20 warmest have occurred in the past 22 years.
Across the globe, calculations show that record breaking extreme temperatures becomes far more probable due to human-induced warming (for example 2010 Syria; 2013 Korea; 2014 California; 2018 UK)
The science is clear: we are facing an unprecedented global emergency.
Mass Extinction
A “biological annihilation” of wildlife in recent decades means the Sixth Mass Extinction in Earth’s history is under way.
Looking at the UK for example, the 2016 State of Nature report found that they were “among the most nature-depleted countries in the world”.
One in five British mammals are at risk of being lost from the countryside with the populations of hedgehogs and water voles declining by almost 70% in just the past 20 years.
Another new report by the British Trust for Ornithology found that more than a quarter of British bird species are threatened, including the Puffin, the Nightingale and Curlew. Across Europe the abundance of farmland birds has fallen by 55% in just the past three decades!
