Many people in the media (and elsewhere) use the terms “climate change” and “global warming” interchangeably, as if they were the same thing. But there are differences between the meanings of the two terms.

Getting a better handle on the definitions of and differences between “global warming” and “climate change” will help us understand why the threat caused by continued warming of the planet is so serious.

Planet Earth’s current warming trend is based largely on natural warming and cooling cycles that have been happening for eons; as well as human-caused additions to greenhouse gases, which are boosting the atmosphere’s ability to trap heat in the biosphere. Minor factors like an overall increase in the sun’s solar intensity play a smaller role.

While greenhouse gases are an essential component of a livable planet – they’re what keep Earth from being a lifeless ball of ice – humans are causing greenhouse gas levels to increase so quickly that it’s causing the average global temperature to rise much faster than it would naturally. This warming is predicted to lead to a variety of negative effects, including:

1) Melting (and possible disappearance) of glaciers and mountain snow caps that feed the world’s rivers and supply a large portion of the fresh water used for drinking and irrigation.

2) A rise in sea levels due to the melting of the land-based ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica, with many islands and coastal areas ending up more exposed to storm damage or even underwater.

3) Increasingly costly “bad weather” events such as heat waves, droughts, floods, and severe storms.

4) Lowered agricultural productivity due to less favorable weather conditions, less available irrigation water, increased heat stress to plants, and an increase in pest activity due to warmer temperatures.

5) Increases in vector-borne infectious diseases like malaria and Lyme Disease.

6) Large numbers of extinctions of higher-level species due to their inability to adapt to rapidly changing climate and habitat conditions.

The first two of these effects are mostly related to increasing average temperatures. Items 3-6 are related to heat too, but also playing a role are non-temperature factors – i.e. “climate-change factors.”

Climate change is about much more than how warm or cool our temperatures are. Whereas “global warming” refers to increasing global temperatures, “climate change” refers to regional conditions. Climate is defined by a number of factors, including:

1) Average regional temperature as well as day/night temperature patterns and seasonal temperature patterns.

2) Humidity.

3) Precipitation (average amounts and seasonal patterns).

4) Average amount of sunshine and level of cloudiness.

5) Air pressure and winds.

6) Storm events (type, average number per year, and seasonal patterns).

To a great extent, this is what we think of as “weather.” Indeed, weather patterns are predicted to change in response to global warming:

1) Some areas will become drier, some will become wetter.

2) Many areas will experience an increase in severe weather events like killer heat waves, hurricanes, flood-level rains, and hail storms.

It’s tempting to think that all of these changes to the world’s climate regions will average out over time and geography and things will be fine. In fact, colder climates like Canada may even see improved agricultural yields as their seasonal temperatures rise. But overall, humanity has made a huge investment in “things as they are now, where they are now.”

Gone are the days of millennia ago when an unfavorable change in climate might cause a village to pack up their relatively few belongings and move to a better area. We have massive societal and industrial infrastructure in place, and it cannot be easily moved. Climate-change effects will generally not be geographically escapable in the timeframe over which they happen, at least not for the majority of humans and species.

Chancellor Alistair Darling’s Pre-Budget Report (PBR) has been seen as one of the most important packages of government proposals in over a decade. Included in that package were some very positive moves for renewable energy, which could equate to a big increase in ‘green-collar’ jobs – particularly renewable energy jobs, nuclear jobs and other careers in the UK’s energy industries.

The government gave a significant boost to the wind power industry by promising to extend the Renewables Obligation of financial support until 2037. The Renewables Obligation, which places a legal requirement on UK electricity suppliers to source any growing percentage of their power from green sources, was originally only in place until 2027. The Chancellor’s 10-year extension is intended to “ensure investors can plan with confidence for the future”. The British Wind Energy Association (BWEA) said that the move was “really encouraging” and would stimulate companies looking at plans to build expensive projects deep into the North Sea. These projects include tidal projects as well as offshore windfarms and other renewable energy sources. This extension of the Renewables Obligation gives these companies a reassurance that the government will be investing in renewable energy, which translates into a greater confidence and business growth, which in turn inevitably leads to more job opportunities.

With government targets for 10% of UK electricity supplies to come from renewable supplies only two years away, the renewable energy industry is pumping investment into new methods of meeting those targets, again all good news for those looking for careers in the UK’s energy market. Nuclear power will be part of that package, so nuclear jobs look set to increase as new stations come online as part of the UK’s long-term plans to meet its energy needs. Despite a real desire for environmental energy to be the key to Britain’s future energy needs, there is a shortfall in supply and demand. It is probable that this shortfall will be taken up by the nuclear industry, whether the public wants it or not. The alternative is a country that cannot meet its own energy demands, so a compromise has to be made.

But not only has the Renewables Obligation been given an additional 10 year lifespan – the Chancellor also announced that the government would be bringing capital spending forward to finance the environmental sector as a whole. Mr. Darling said that this could potentially create one million jobs in the low-carbon industry over the next 20 years, giving the UK a new growth industry that has a long-term future. This obviously means a big increase in the number of potential energy jobs available and a stable career platform for thousands of people. Philip Wolfe, director general of the Renewable Energy Association said that “energy projects are significant undertakings and companies require 15 to 20 years of a stable policy framework stretching ahead of them to give them the confidence to invest.” It is this investment confidence that not only would benefit the environment, but the jobs market as well.

Although the oil industry is in surprisingly fine fettle and currently meets most of our energy demands, renewable energy is the future of both supply and production not just in the UK but globally as well. The Environmental Industries Commission calls on the government to go further, saying that the development and implementation of a long-term growth strategy that includes a clear environmental policy framework, incentives, research funding and skills development is a matter of urgency if the UK is not to be left behind in the race to become a leading low-carbon economy. All of this again bodes well for those seeking careers in the energy industry and renewable energy jobs in particular.

Everybody should fear global warming. The constant rise in temperature may not cause that much harm for now. However, in the future, its effects will be enormous. If this continues to happen, the world will become the largest convection oven as heat continues to be trapped within our atmosphere. 

In the future, heat would become unbearable. When there is too much heat, water continues to evaporate. With drought and the continued denudation of forest, fresh water sources would deplete leading to shortage. Aside from this, icebergs would melt causing sea levels to rise. Moreover, as water levels becomes higher and higher, small islands would begin to sink and will be phased-off from the map. Not to mention, people could contract various illness caused by high temperatures. There will also be food shortage as drought worsens. 

All of these things are possible. Even environmentalist has predicted such effects. 

Stopping global warming may be hard to do. With the rapid industrialization and modernization, most human activities have now contributed to large emissions of green house gases. The accumulation of the green house gases in the atmosphere is one of the many factors that brought about global warming. Unfortunately, the things that makes peoples’ lives comfortable and convenient, practically results in green house emission. 

Every person needs to find a way to reduce green house emissions. One way to do this is to reduce carbon footprints in your homes. 

Reducing Carbon Footprints 

Green house gases are emitted from various activities at home. Cooking, use of appliances, driving your vehicles, burning, smoking and anything that has something to do with heat and energy consumption can lead to increase of the said gases. 

To measure the amount of green house gases emitted in your homes, the carbon footprint is determined.  This can be measured through undergoing an assessment. Once the amount of carbon is ascertained, various strategies may be implemented to reduce the amount. 

Most strategies implemented to reduce carbon footprints are the following: 

Use of renewable energy 

This is a common carbon offset strategy used by many people. In here, the use of conventional energy sources is lessened. People can use renewable energy to power up their homes using solar energy. Installation of solar panels is one way to practice this. 

Reduced workload of Appliances 

Every time you use an appliances, green houses are emitted. In reality, most people are heavily dependent in using appliances to make their lives easier. Since it is hard to eliminate this, the best thing you could do is to lessen its use. Take for example your HVAC systems. You can lessen the temperature when it begins to get very cold and use fans rather than blasting the air conditioners. On the other hand, you can plant trees to make your surroundings cooler. This also lessens the workload of your HVAC. 

Opt for energy-efficient appliances 

Some appliances consume more electricity than others do. This is the reason why energy bills are also rising as well as carbon footprints. To avoid these problems, buy appliances with energy star ratings. If they have such, this means the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency considers it energy efficient. 

Recycle 

Do not just throw away out. Sort your junk and see what can be recycled. Recycling reduces junks in landfills and reduces gas emissions from waste. Aside from that, fast depletion of natural resources will be avoided and forest destruction is avoided.

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Carbon footprint is a subject that has affected almost everyone in the UK. The level of carbon footprint released by an individual is measured almost obsessively with many companies changing the way they use their equipments and replacing much of their energy-sourced facilities. Many establishments do not know how to reduce their carbon emissions and often seek assistance from carbon consultants.

The role of carbon consultants stems from the concern of carbon foot printing, which has now become a cause for concern in homes and businesses. Becoming energy efficient is now a vital part of running a successful business, with many IT firms now opting towards reducing their carbon footprint. External agencies that specialise in this field focus on finding ways of helping a business run smoothly whilst becoming more energy efficient and without compromising the performance of the company.

Companies that approach carbon consultants are able to determine where they are using the most energy and where this needs to be reduced. These are usually done by taking sight surveys, this normally takes a few days identifying and quantifying the amount of carbon emission. At the end of the few days, the company is presented with a report of the measured carbon emissions, which will indicate what steps to take to reduce this. Calculating your carbon emissions is just the first step. Taking the initial steps to improving this is something that requires dedication.

Many companies find that the smallest pieces of equipment can consume a lot of energy. The main concerns for energy consumption is the number of computers used in an office and the amount of heat needed for a building. Once a company has undergone a survey of this kind, it can often be very difficult to change the way the office is running. Cutting down carbon emission could mean replacing equipment and changing computer equipment. This is a necessary task in order to maintain an energy efficient business.

The best way to instigate these new dimensions is to start slow and focus on one aspect of where it may use too much energy, reducing that down and then allowing time to adjust into this new system. The heating system is just one of the first things to look into as many people are accustomed to radiant heating rather than electric or underfloor heating. Radiator heaters produce a lot of heat but are also high on wasting heat, as this is stored further up in the ceiling rather than below where it is needed. Finding alternative ways of conserving heat may save you money and energy, without the fear of wasting energy.

A carbon consultant will ensure that you reduce your energy use in the right places, saving you money and improving your business prospects through your initiative to keep the company energy efficient.

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