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

why is this needed? 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

air pollution is causing climate change climate change has severe consequences conventional message

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

who are we? we share the air

who are we? we share the air

who are we? we share the air

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

what is air? we share the air

air …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 just empty space?

we share the air … 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 a protective skin?

we share the air the atmosphere 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 atmospheric gases Gas Abundance Flux (Mtpa) functions Nitrogen 79% atmospheric pressure Ni - fire control Oxygen 21% 100,000 - reference level for O 2 energy Carbon dioxide 370ppm 140,000 - photosynthesis CO 2 (280ppm)* - climate control Methane 1.7ppm ozone & nitrogen CH 4 (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 greenhouse gases Gas Abundance Warming Sources contribution Carbon dioxide 370 ppm 49% - combustion of fossil CO 2 (280)* fuels - coal, oil & gas - deforestation - biomass burning Methane 1.7 ppm 18% - paddy fields & cow farts CH 4 (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 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 (CO 2 ) CO 2 was much more common when life first started where has the carbon dioxide gone? carbon dioxide

we share the air over billions of years CO 2 has been extracted from the atmosphere this extraction process has been carried out by living and natural processes example - microscopic forams fix CO 2 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. where is the CO 2 ?

we share the air where is the CO 2 ?

we share the air 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 the air today

we share the air the air today unintentionally we have reversed the carbon cycle by more than 400,000 years since the start of the industrial revolution CO 2 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 CO 2 as natural system can cope with (now)!

we share the air IPCC* scientists are agreed that climate change is happening human activities are the main cause CO 2 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. climate change is happening

we share the air 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 what about the future?

we share the air 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 what about the future?

we share the air groups / help Organisation Website Friends of the Earth Greenpeace Energy Savings Trust Climate Care Rising Tide

sharing we share the air

air 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