an education initiative

1. audience - general public • primary aim – awareness raising • ‘stepping stone’ information • help to ‘internalise’ climate change challenge we share the air an education initiative

2. scientists ‘get it’ • so do enlightened politicians • so do NGOs • and although 72%* of the general public accept global warming • ..only 24%* say they will make changes just for environmental reasons *MORI April 2001 we share the air why is this needed?

3. trust us - we’re scientists & politicians! we share the air climate change has severe consequences pollution is causing climate change conventional ‘message’

4. personal, organisational, national & international actions we share the air climate change has severe consequences a w a r e n e s s we are disrupting this balance - climate change is the result atmospheric gases are balanced to provide optimum life conditions air is not just ‘empty space’

5. we share the air who are we?

6. we share the air who are we?

7. we share the air who are we?

8. we share the air A living planet is a rare thing, perhaps the rarest thing in the universe. Kenneth Brower who are we?

9. we share the air what is air?

10. …the air has indeed become the most taken for granted of phenomena. We refer to the unseen depth between things, between people, or trees, or clouds …as mere ‘empty space’. David Abram we share the air just empty space?

11. “… the air itself is a biological product … a result of active exchange of gases with living organisms. The air is a protective skin, a warming blanket, an exchange and water circulation medium. The composition of the air seems to violate the ordinary rules of equilibrium chemistry.” James Lovelock GAIA – The practical science of planetary medicine we share the air a protective skin?

12. an “energetic and unstable” mix of gases • 99% created by interaction of natural processes and living organisms • oxygen & methane co-existing • low carbon dioxide – active regulation • many trace gases we share the air the atmosphere

13. Gas Abundance Flux (Mtpa) functions Nitrogen 79% 300 - atmospheric pressure Ni - fire control Oxygen 21% 100,000 - reference level for O2 energy Carbon dioxide 370ppm 140,000 - photosynthesis CO2 (280ppm)* - climate control Methane 1.7ppm 500 - ozone & nitrogen CH4 (0.7ppm)* regulation … and other ‘trace’ gases like Ammonia, Dimnethyl Sulphide& Methyl Chloride which appear to control nitrogen level, sulphur cycle & ocean salt levels * = pre-industrial levels we share the air atmospheric gases

14. Gas Abundance Warming Sources contribution Carbon dioxide 370 ppm 49% - combustion of fossil CO2 (280)* fuels - coal, oil & gas - deforestation - biomass burning Methane 1.7 ppm 18% - paddy fields & cow farts CH4 (0.7)* - gas leaks - biomass burning CFCs 6 ppb 14% - refrigeration (man-made) - air conditioning - plastic foam - propellants & solvents Nitrous Oxide 310 ppb 6% - nitrogen fertilisers (280)* - fossil fuel combustion - biomass burning * = pre-industrial levels we share the air ‘greenhouse’ gases

15. the sun is 25% hotter now than when life started on earth (3.5 billion years ago) • but temperature on earth has remained stable for life to flourish • most important temperature regulating gas in the atmosphere is carbon dioxide (CO2) • CO2 was much more common when life first started • where has the carbon dioxide gone? we share the air carbon dioxide

16. over billions of years CO2 has been ‘extracted’ from the atmosphere • this extraction process has been carried out by living and natural processes • example - microscopic forams ‘fix’ CO2 as calcium carbonate and then fall to sea floor • the carbon is ‘stored’ as chalk, limestone & fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas • result – an atmospheric temperature range most suited for life to evolve and prosper. we share the air where is the CO2?

17. we share the air where is the CO2?

18. “Lacking all sacredness, stripped of all spiritual significance, the air is today little more than a conveniently forgotten dump for a host of gaseous effluents and pollutants.” David Abram we share the air the air today

19. unintentionally we have reversed the ‘carbon cycle’ by more than 400,000 years • since the start of the industrial revolution CO2 has increased by a third from 280 – 370ppm in the atmosphere • every fossil fuel power station, every internal combustion engine contributes • we are pumping out TWICE as much CO2 as natural system can cope with (now)! we share the air the air today

20. IPCC* scientists are agreed that climate change is happening • human activities are the main cause • CO2 has increased from 280 – 370ppm • temperatures have increased globally • glaciers have retreated • sea levels are rising • *IPCC, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, is a UN body of scientists, economists & policy makers brought together in 1988 to inform governments of causes, consequences and solutions to climate change. we share the air climate change is happening

21. more frequent extreme weather conditions • heat waves & drought more common • water shortages in many water-scarce areas • risk to people in low-lying / coastal areas from sea-level rise and storm surges • increased threats to human health • massive loss of ecological diversity • decreased crop yields in tropical regions • 150 million environmental refugees by 2050? • “…the impacts will have greatest effects on poor people & people in developing countries”* • *IPCC Third Assesment Report we share the air what about the future?

22. “Global climate, even in fifty years time, may be warmer than the earth has experienced in the past 12 million years….. changes of this speed and magnitude are unprecedented to our knowledge, aside from large meteorite impacts.” • * Peter Barrett, Antarctic Research Centre, New Zealand we share the air what about the future?

23. Organisation Website Friends of the Earth www.foe.co.uk Greenpeace www.greenpeace.org.uk Energy Savings Trust www.est.co.uk Climate Care www.climatecare.org Rising Tide www.risingtide.org.uk we share the air groups / help

24. we share the air sharing

25. “Only as we begin to notice and to experience, once again, our immersion in the invisible air do we start to recall what it is to be fully a part of this world.” David Abram we share the air