Averting Climate Change Disaster

Though an overwhelming majority of world populations are in favor of making changes to avert a climate change disaster, a vocal minority postulates that the observed changes since the industrial revolution are part of a natural cycle of periodic climate change.

Atmospheric Concentration Of Carbon Dioxide Causes Climate Change

Ice sample cores that can be tapped to track the composition of the atmosphere go back at least 800,000 years and give a portrait of carbon dioxide concentrations that have fluctuated on several additive cycles, with great changes during the ice ages. No one is still quite sure what causes an ice age to happen, but it was during this research in the 19th century that the relationship between carbon dioxide and the ability of the climate to trap solar heat. The levels of carbon in the atmosphere today are well outside the “norm”.

Primary Challenge Is To Reduce Carbon Dioxide

The primary effects of climate change are ripe for immediate action. The basic premises are to keep things from getting any worse. The biggest problem that needs to be tackled first is to reduce the contents of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. To that end, sustainable development in the 21st century must focus heavily upon reducing carbon dioxide emissions, not just back to pre-1990 levels, but to levels not seen since before World War Two.

Sustainable Development For The Long Term

The long term challenge of climate change is the protection of both human and natural life for sustainable development. This requires a very precarious balance to be reached in an era of dwindling resources. With the help of scientific study, world leaders and advisors must come up with attainable solutions for the continuity of human lives.