Climate Change Rate Could be Faster Than Thought

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/jun/11/climate-change-china-carbon-emissions



Tons of pollution surrounding China Central Television building in Beijing

We all knew it was coming... just not this fast. Climate change is progressing quite rapidly due to China's carbon emissions. Their emissions were 20% higher than previous predictions. China alone produces a quarter of mankind's carbon pollution! The impacts of this include extreme weather conditions, a significant increase in climate, intense droughts and floods, and impacts on crops. In the conducted study, researchers found that between 1997-2010, there was a large gap in China's carbon emissions. Approximately a 1.4 billion tonne gap. Due to the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation, there is a rapid growth in emissions, resulting in the earth warming up by 2 or more degrees celcius! Coal is a key factor in China's high carbon emissions. China is already above the U.S as greenhouse gas polluters.
I dislike promoting worry to others, but this issue is something to be taken seriously. Here are a few steps that I came up with to help the current situation:

1. Avoid purchasing imported products.
2. Buy locally grown foods and locally manufactured products.
3. Inform friends, family, colleagues etc. about the positive actions you perform.
4. Spread awareness on public media/ social media sources.

This relates back to our climate change unit, where we focused on the greenhouse gas effect.

-Vishana.M