Popular Mechanics Magazine South Africa

Climate Change Solutions Restoring Faith in Humanity By Somila Mjekula

Climate change, owing to global warming amongst other things, is resulting in extreme and unpredictable weather across the world. As a result there have been talks, involving governments of every country, organised by The UN Worldwide Campaign on Climate Change. A conference recently held in our very own Durban in 2011, marketed as COP17/CMP7, discussed the efforts each country was willing to make and sacrifice for the betterment of Mother Earth. Three experts in fields belonging to Environmental Studies can help us understand why there is a growing international concern regarding climate change, its current impact and what steps need to be taken to resolve the trends that cause it. The first is Greg Hofmeyer, a Marine Biologist and Curator of the Marine Mammal Collection at Bay World in the city of Port Elizabeth. A 2007 Nobel Peace prize winner and owner of a Sverdup gold medal, Dr. Tim Barnett, is our second expert who speaks from the perspective of American society and state. And thirdly, Dr. Abdur-Rahman Saghir, a consultant in Sustainable Development in Lebanon comments of this issue with his expertise in Biodiversity, Environmental Impact Analysis and Environmental Risk Assessment.

Q A

Recently climate change has been on the agenda of every country's government initiatives, according to your expert
Hofmeyer - To my knowledge, this is due to three influences. The first being Anthropogenic causes, where humans are having a negative effect on the environment from their negligence of the damage they cause to

knowledge and field of study, why do you think this is so?

the environment. Secondly there has been an overwhelming evidence of change in weather patterns in recent years. And lastly climate change has an impact on the natural and human environment and so naturally it has to be dealt with accordingly and immediately.

Saghir - Climate change has become a disaster reality in many countries of the world. In Lebanon, changes in minimum and maximum temperature, CO emission and rainfall have been observed in the last few years. This is due mostly to global climatological changes, but also due to man-made negligence including CO emissions from cars, factories, electric power generators and construction sectors. Barnett - Put simply, when the dollars [money that has went into fixing the problem] associated with warming became known, many nations picked up on the problem.

Q
not

Should climate change be considered a natural phenomenon and is there reason to worry?

Hofmeyer - Climate change is a natural phenomenon but what is natural is the current rate in which it is changing. Industrial cooperations have increased this rate to such an extent that we as

humanity are on the edge with no way of turning back which is why it is crucial that we act now and make a change in the way we live by changing how we go about it. Saghir I deal with environmental issues in Lebanon, and from that observation there is reason to worry. Agriculture in Lebanon employs 20% of the labour force. Due to climate change, agricultural production has been negatively affected and is putting pressure on food security in the country, as well as increasing poverty in the rural areas.

Q A

Lately the media is paying attention to extreme weather changes that have been taking place worldwide and

attributing them to climate change. Should we consider these as early warnings?

Hofmeyer - Well you must understand that there's a distinct difference between weather and climate. Weather is something we come across every day, it changes daily and this is natural. Climate on the other hand

is based more on changes in weather overtime. In this sense you could attribute the former to the latter but it goes much deeper than that. But in order for ordinary people to understand the effects of climate change, using the extreme weather warnings is one way to create better awareness.

Q A

It cannot be ignored that the long-term effects of climate change have been a reality since the Industrial Revolution

and these effects are not reversible. Have there been proposed solutions to the problem?
Hofmeyer - Yes, and the solutions employed need to ameliorate the causes that are long term. For this to happen there needs to be a change in human behaviour and attitudes, as well as development of new

technologies that serve the purpose of existing ones but in an environmentally friendly way. Saghir Society and government needs to play proactive role in instigating these changes. Such efforts and programs may include preservation of forests, reforestation of deserted areas, exploring new agricultural technologies to develop new crop varieties to tolerate climatic changes and to use alternative energy sources such as solar, wind and hydro renewable energies.

Q A

What are the implications of utilizing these solutions?

Hofmeyer - Well fore-mostly it would negatively affect the economy immensely but if these new implementations can be done wisely, they

would bring about positive effects in the long term. A new skilled work force would be needed to design and create the innovative technologies and that is always a constructive thing to boost the productive economy. If nothing is done about it we risk depleting all our Earth's resources leaving little remaining for future generations and little to sustain the environment.

Q A

Are there any factors playing a role in decisions that have been made about the way forward?
Hofmeyer Yes, of course. Firstly I would say people's careless and ignorant way of life, the aspirations people have for the future is also something that may be considered. Secondly we can pay attention to the

state of technology used daily for fast production purposes by big cooperations, these technologies have proved to be detrimental to the natural order of things. Political will can also act as an influence that could then be our

third point. This is in relation to the invested interest in current economies and so government will of course be willing to land a hand if its in the best interest of economy and worldly concerns. Lastly, a significant factor is the level of information distributed about climate change and its threat to humanity and the environment as we know it. Barnett - The main factors, in the planet waking up, are the huge multinational energy companies which own and/or control most countries, including the US. They have the money to get presidents, senator, etc. elected. Many examples exist in the US, which is part of the reason we have done little to forestall the coming disaster.

Q A

What helpful role can ordinary citizens play in contributing to the climate change concerns?
Hofmeyer - What we all need is to be better educated about the damaging effects of climate change as well as the roles each of us can play in ameliorating it. These roles cannot be the same for everyone and

so one would need to see what badly effects their way of life and take the effort to change that. Of course those with the means, like the rich or people of the state, would have to work more to contribute to climate change initiatives. The poor are the most affected by the harsh results of climate change and need to be made aware of these dangers although they can do little to help since they pose no real threat to the anthropogenic causes of climate change and global warming. Research conducted by The UN Worldwide Campaign on Climate Change shows that South Africa is one of the top 20 countries globally with high greenhouse gas emissions amongst others like U.S and China. What is frightening is that its well above the developing country average and more than many developed countries. This is mainly due to our country's reliance on coal for electricity, while globally 40% of the electricity is generated from coal. Although South Africa has signed the UN Framework Convention on climate change and its Kyoto Protocol, it is not yet crucially obligated to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions but our government does recognise the need to lower these gas emissions for the future. Other causes for climate change such as deforestation and burning fossil fuels still exist as their effects are global and

therefore every country that contributes to the ominous threat is expected to contribute in order to resolve it. All hope is not lost yet and thanks to the worldwide acknowledgement of the problem and efforts to control it, changes are taking effect and faith in humanity has been restored.

Sources
Grey Hofmeyr Curator of Marine Mammal Collection Port Elizabeth Bay World (5 years working) Study field Marine Biology greg@bayworld.co.za Dr. Tim Barnett CASPO Scripps Institution of Oceanography La Jolla, CA 92093 406-9614646 (1 May-1Nov) 858-4888584 (1 Nov-30 April) Cell 858-7358586

Abdur-Rahman Saghir, Ph. D Lebanon Consultant in Sustainable Development AUB - Faculty of Agriculture 03-728819 01-305912 http://www.aub.edu.lb abedsaghir@yahoo.com Biodiversity | Environmental Impact Analysis | Environmental Risk Assessment University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) http://www2.ucar.edu/climate/faq The UN Worldwide Campaign on Climate Change

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