A catalyst by definition is-A substance which accelerates a chemical reaction without itself being used up in the reaction.

If I apply this basic definition to this weeks very thought-provoking lectures it clear that yes Humans are to blame for the climate change we are experiencing right now. However, humans are not solely to blame.

As we found out from the lectures this week, climate change has not just been happening for the last number of years, it is in fact some-what of a cycle that our planet goes through. Evidence has been recovered from a number of places such as polar ice drilling’s, soil and from samples of trees, all of which are thousands even millions of years old. This solid evidence showed us trends and allowed us to plot basic graphs :

This as we can see is only from the last 400000 years and already a consistent graph is visible, but what is worrying about this graph is this particular portion:

We are already way above the relative norm of our planets climate change cycle. How could this be you say? hmmm, Perhaps a small thing called the industrial revolution. With this came the technology of harnessing fossil fuels and exploiting millions and millions of years of Carbon that had been locked away so nicely not causing any harm.

By burning such fuel it releases this carbon into the atmosphere and before you know it we are over run with the stuff.

Industrial Revolution was a period between the 18th and 19th Century, funny thing is that it coincides with the relatively latest rise in temperature and increase in Green house Gas emissions..

Few people can seriously slate facts at this stage. Its plain and easy for everyone to see. Greenhouse gases that we are releasing are causing the planet to heat up faster than usual! This is what some people have called “Climate Forcing”.

What’s that you say? What do we do about it?

Well let me put your mind at rest and give you a simple answer. Cut down and ultimately STOP releasing harmful toxins into OUR Environment.

People may snigger and laugh but the fact of the matter is with more heat comes more responsibility. More heat causes more water evaporation, which leads to more water vapour in our atmosphere which in turns leads to more heat being trapped. This causes things such as the Polar Ice caps melting. Images from NASA satellites show that the area of permanent ice cover is contracting at a rate of 9 percent each decade. If this trend continues, summers in the Arctic could become ice-free by the end of the century.

This little fact has extreme consequences. One of which is rising sea levels. Places like Shanghai, The Maldives and Lagos all lie just 6 feet above current water levels, flooding of these areas would spell DISASTER for millions of people.

It is now time to implement some new laws and regulations not just on a national scale but on a GLOBAL SCALE, in an attempt to drastically reduce air pollution and create a much better living environment for generations to come.

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