Frequently Asked Questions
Is CO2 the only greenhouse gas that we should worry about?
No. It is a mix of greenhouse gases, consisting of 72% CO2, 18% Methane, and 9% Nitrous oxide (NOx) that causes global warming. We always talk about CO₂ emissions because emissions from all other greenhouse gases are converted to CO2.
Why all of a sudden are we talking about global warming?
When we talk about CO2 emissions or global warming, we should always think about the cumulative CO₂ emissions because the lifetime of CO2 in the atmosphere is between 50 and 200 years! Global warming isn’t just caused by greenhouse gases last year; it’s the result of all greenhouse gases in the atmosphere for the past 100 years. [1]
Global warming? We just had a pretty cold winter in England!
Weather is different from climate: weather is a mix of individual events during the day – whether it’s raining, snowing, humid, dry, hot, sunny, etc. It’s what we get every day.
Climate is the average pattern of weather of a larger geographical region over a long period of time. So, when we talk about global warming, we are talking about climate, not weather.
Climate change is important because it affects everyone around the world. The rising temperatures raise sea levels, alter forests and water supplies, expand deserts, and affect human and animals’ health. For more information, check out the BBC website.
How much are we really destroying our environment?
Here are a few facts:
- Half of all tropical rainforests are already gone, and by 2030, only 10% will be left.
- The effects of global climate change are claiming 300,000 lives and causing over £82 billion ($125billion) of damage every year
- 90% of the big fish in the sea are gone
- Half of the world’s wetlands were destroyed in the 20th century alone
- Species extinction is taking place at a rate 1,000 times greater than before humans existed
What is a carbon footprint?
You will hear the term ‘carbon footprint’ a lot; although this is commonly used, it actually refers to ‘carbon dioxide footprint’. A carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gases produced by our activities in a given time frame, usually a year.
Carbon footprint is useful to understand the impact of individual behaviour on global warming. You will be shocked to find out how much CO₂ your activities are producing.
[1] http://timeforchange.org/
