Climate Crisis
We're in the midst of an environmental and social disaster. This disaster has been made by our own hands. Now, not tomorrow, is the time for us to act decisively, to save our planet. STOP the greenhouse effect! Buy clean power for your home or business! General LinksVic Government Greenhouse SiteFederal Government Greenhouse Site Introduction to climate change Australasian impact World impact Climate Action Network Australia US Greenhouse Network Impacts on selected species Summary of Australian impacts from ABC's World Today Australian Bureau of Meteorology view Intergovernment Pannel On Climate Change Intergovernment Pannel On Climate Change and its role explained. Ice Core Data |
The ice is melting The seas are rising It's getting hotter More drought More fires More storms More disease 150 million refugees 150,000 dead per year Pacific Islands begin to drown Death of our beautiful reefs More problems in our oceans It can get colder as it gets hotter And when did it all start? What are our governments doing? |
The ice is meltingAntarctica Chunks of ice larger than sizeable countries have been breaking away from Antarctica. Millions of penguins, prevented from reaching open seas, have died.Arctic The Arctic is melting. Some estimates give it 100 years before it disappears. Top |
Iceberg bigger than Delaware Antarctic food chain in trouble Skating on thin ice Dire straits for Arctic birds |
The seas are risingSea levels have risen 10-25 cms over the last 100 years.Not good for low lying countries, nor for Pacific islands. Not good for beachside residents, unless you bought a few streets back! Top |
Sea level rise More scenarios What will happen to Bangladesh? Solar tower Melting glaciers - Patagonia ice sheet contributes 10% to sea level rise and is melting at an increasing rate |
It's getting hotterThe world temperature has risen 0.2-0.3 degrees Celsius in the last 40 years.Weather report after weather report breaks new records in terms of hotter temperatures. Top |
Global temperature trends Projected trends are up, up, up! Why a one-degree increase can cause 10% crop loss and other food issues |
More droughtVictoria is predicted to have a 20% reduction in rainfall by 2030. Combined with warmer temperatures, which will result in increased evaporation and transpiration, the reduction in available water will produce a devastating effect on our ecosystems, rivers and water storages.Top |
CSIRO predicts 20% decrease in Victoria's average rainfall by 2030 Global warming linked to drought |
More fires2002 saw devastating fires rage across North East Victoria.The fires were exacerbated by prolonged drought and increased average temperatures. Fuel reduction burns cannot prevent extreme fire conditions from re-emerging, unless you want no bush at all. The hotter, dryer weather predicted due to global warming will result in more frequent severe fires, and will threaten the balance of our natural ecosystems. Top |
ACF Online: Twice as many very high and extreme fire dangers in Victoria each year Linda Motram, ABC Radio AM: Effects of global warming on fires Planet Ark: Global warming affecting our forests |
More stormsThe decade of the '90s produced a global threefold increase in storm and flood damage.Melbourne had two 100-year storms within two months late last year. Top |
Storm and flood damage ($s) for the last 40 years of the 20th century Impact of climate change on catastrophe insurance 25% increase in peak gusts causes 650% increase in building damages |
More diseaseAs temperatures increase, the conditions suitable for malaria to spread and infect people will move north and south away from equator, threatening another global health disaster.This is also true for other tropical diseases. Top |
The Age: Climate change bolsters diseases Malaria Other vector-borne diseases |
150 million refugees expected from global climate change by 2050Top |
150 million climate change refugees |
150,000 dead in 2000 due to climate changeTop |
World Health Organisation: Climate change is already killing people in the tens of thousands
Additional article |
Pacific Islands begin to drownRising sea levels are drowning the low-lying Pacific island nations.Top |
Ian's links Greenhouse and small island states Climate change effects on Pacific agriculture and freshwater |
Death of our beautiful reefsIn 1998 abnormally high water temperatures resulted in the worldwide destruction of many ancient reefs due to coral bleaching.Our own Great Barrier Reef was significantly affected. If we fail to tackle greenhouse gases and climate change, our Great Barrier Reef and many others will die. Top |
Coral bleaching - Australian Academy of Science Coral bleaching hot spots and histories Coral bleaching - Odyssey expeditions Coral bleaching - 1998 incident |
More problems in our oceansSalinity levels are also changing dramatically. Some scientists have hypothesised the collapse of the Great Ocean conveyor belt. If this happens, the Gulf Stream may stop and places like England will find themselves very cold.If the current system collapses, as dramatised in the movie The Day After Tomorrow, this could lead to rapid climate change. Extreme climate change should not be our focus, but a watching brief should be kept on the ongoing work of scientists in this field. Top |
Collapse of the Great Ocean conveyor belt Ocean salinity changes Rapid climate change due to ocean changes resulting from the greenhouse effect The Ocean and Climate Change Institute The Day After Tomorrow |
It can get colder as it gets hotterAs the greenhouse effect takes hold, we'll see some strange weather events arising from global climate change.For example, at the end of the last ice age, as the world grew warmer, Ireland froze as melting water from the Artic icecap flowed south along its shores. This caused the extinction in Ireland of the Irish Elk. Top |
Irish Elk |
And when did it all start?Scientists are now saying the greenhouse effect began 8,000 years ago, as forests began to be cleared for agriculture. Methane started to rise 5,000 years ago, as people began to grow rice and the numbers of domesticated animals on farms grew.This evidence reinforces the call of environmentalists not to cut down old-growth forests to make woodchips for toilet paper, writing paper and tissues. Instead it is essential we leave them standing as carbon sinks. Today we still cut down old-growth forests in Victoria and elsewhere in Australia. Top |
When did it all start? Use tissue products that are not made from native forests and are SAFE. Use paper that is not made from native forests 
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What are our governments doing?Not very much at all.With various greenhouse programs and wind power projects under way, it may seem that our governments are trying to do something about our greenhouse problem. However, their programs are doing very little to solve the problem. Our greenhouse gas emissions get worse, not better. With few global exceptions, government efforts are the equivalent of using bandaids to try and stop a major haemorrhage. Bandaids simply won't save the patient! It is long past time for climate change to be tackled seriously. Futureenergy.org shall do its best. Top |
Victorian Government greenhouse site Federal Government greenhouse site |