Climate Change

Climate Change – A SIGN OF END TIMES OR RESULT OF HUMAN ABUSE?

“Then there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since man has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake. The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed…….every Island fled away and the mountains could not be found.” Rev 16:18-20.

We hear a lot about climate change and global warming and several other jargons but have we taken time to digest the information and its implications? For most of us the answer is NO!!

Climate change poses huge threats to our health and very existence and we are prone to a myriad of problems including:

• Respiratory and heart diseases will be on the increase from the extreme heat. Vectors of diseases such as malaria will thrive so we will have more ill people. Asthma for instance will have a field day as pollution increases

• As some regions become drier, droughts will set in leading to a shortage of food and water. Migration will increase leading to overcrowding with all its attendant health problems such as tuberculosis.

“Mankind is totally dependent on the earth’s natural systems for the essentials of life – air, water, food and shelter. Over the coming decades, global climate change will have a significant impact on our atmosphere and our marine and terrestrial ecosystems and their ability to provide these essential elements. For some e.g. the millions of people who live less than a metre above sea level or who eke out a living in already arid environments, the impact may be catastrophic. Health consequences of climate change include disease (both physical and mental), injury and the misery of poverty and dislocation.”-Mary Gant

To clarify matters and give us more insight into this serious issue, which is given little coverage, I spoke to Dr. Ama Essel (AE) a climate change expert. I have altered some of her sentences to make it easier for all readers to follow.

KCE: What does climate change involve?

AE: Definition A

Any significant change in measures of climate (such as temperature, precipitation, or wind) lasting for an extended period. (Decades or longer).

Definition B- United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

Change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods. Several years of human activities such as:

• Burning of fossil fuels (charcoal, coal, oil, industries),

• Deforestation (massive cutting down of trees), desertification

• Agricultural activities

• Transportation

• Urbanization

• Waste management

• Bush burning

• Industrialization

KCE: What is Global Warming?

AE: Increases in atmospheric temperature resulting in changes in rainfall patterns, heat waves, rising sea levels among others.

KCE: Is it a sign of end times? Is there anything in the bible to support it?

AE: The bible talks about increased natural disasters in the end times, conflicts and war. Climate change will and is increasing the incidence of natural disasters e.g. hurricanes, floods etc. Studies have shown that some of the rippling effects will include conflicts as people will be displaced because of these events and there will be conflicts and wars over land and the little available water.

A Pentagon Report points to possible "catastrophic droughts, famines and riots, with skirmishes over food and water, mass migration and economic disruption. Starvation and disease will decrease population size".

KCE: What can be done?

AE: Scientifically our response to climate change should be adaptation and mitigation. This should be done at the individual level, national, regional and global levels.

Adaptation

Designing and implementing measures to reduce the impact of climate change. Adaptation will be necessary to address impacts resulting from the warming which is already unavoidable due to past emissions. For example planting drought resistant crops or building dams to irrigate arid land or for droughts.

Mitigation

Reducing greenhouse emissions and thereby reducing exposure to green house gases. Climate mitigation is any action taken to permanently eliminate or reduce the long-term risk and hazards of climate change to human life, property. For example planting trees.

KCE: What is being done?

AE: Lots of things are being done.

Internationally:

• The Climate change negotiations aimed at reaching global consensus on mitigation and adaptation under the Kyoto Protocol and the Convention. These international agreements are aimed at ensuring that developing countries which will be most affected by the impacts of climate change become more equipped financially and technical to adapt to climate change. Developing countries argue based on historical responsibility that the developed countries have played a much greater role in bringing about climate change and have a responsibility to support developing countries to adapt to the impacts.

• All UN bodies, international banks like the World Bank etc are involved to help with the main fight against climate change.

• The research community is also involved. The main scientific body involved in reviews is the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

• Countries have been gathering information on how vulnerable they are and what interventions need to be put in place.

• Most countries especially the developed have started putting measures in place to address these issues and are looking at climate change mitigation and adaptation as a developmental issue.

KCE: What is your greatest worry?

AE: African countries, small island states and other developing countries may be unable to adapt and mitigate climate change appropriately due to financial and technical constraints. Though developed countries have pledge a ‘fast track finance’ of $30 billion to support developing countries, availability and accessibility has been a big barrier. This raises questions on how we are going to be able to access the much bigger amounts that are needed to address climate change especially Adaptation. Africa emphasizes that adaptation is our priority.

KCE: Why do you think most people link climate change to global warming?

AE: Global warming is what most people know and have heard about. We say the world is warming up and because the average global temperature had increased it triggers all the extreme events that were discussed earlier. So an extreme weather event can be a bitingly cold winter, a heat wave during summer, rainstorms leading to floods or lack of rain or droughts leading to famine.

KCE: What should be done by Governments?

AE: All governments must:

• Sign up and be a part of the UNFCCC and ensure that they implement international agreements.

• They should have a body or ministry designated for or having oversight over climate change implementation. They should have a National Climate Change Committee which is a body in-country that plans for and oversees major climate change events in the country and gives advice on what should be done with regards to climate change.

• Develop National Climate Change Strategies (Including both Adaptation and Mitigation)

• Make individuals aware of what climate change is and what they can do

• Stimulate research in climate change

• Assess how much it will cost them to include climate change in their development planning.

These are a few of the important things that must be done.

KCE: Even with the right interventions can we stop these changes?

AE: Internationally research is ongoing and there have been suggestions on what we can all do collectively.

The ‘right interventions’!!! It’s hard to define that exactly. It can be said that researchers are still trying out various options. Some have succeeded others are still working on it. The proven adaptation options can work. Science has shown that interventions to decrease emissions will definitely halt the adverse impacts of climate change.

The ‘BIG QUESTIONS’ who (countries) does what to make these emission reductions possible. Where does the money to support these interventions come from?

Different mechanisms exist to help these become realities but will they be successful?

Individually we all have a role to play to minimize these impacts. We can save energy by using energy saving bulbs, manage water wisely, decrease and encourage others to stop bush burning, stop cutting trees without planting any, car pool as a family instead of using 2 or more cars per family, develop traditional coping strategies we use during disasters so they can be used as adaptation strategies and most important share the news so all can hear that climate change is here but we can make a difference.

KCE: Thank you very much Ama for giving us such insight into this topic.

AE: You are welcome.

So my dear friends when you hear about biting cold and long winters, severe hot weather, tsunamis and earthquakes remember all these are part of climate change. We have all played a role in getting our world here so let’s do our bit to control it by reducing pollution and encouraging our governments to do their part as well.

Source:

Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel

Moms Health Club

References/Resources:

• Mary Gant on www.webmd.com

• Dr Ama Essel, Climate Change Expert

• The Holy Bible