Climate Change

• Less pollution
• We won’t run out of it, so it’s more sustainable

• We can all be more self sufficient

...and, of course, low or no carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. It’s the lowering of the carbon footprint which means solar is part of the picture to tackle climate change.

Here are a few reminders of some of the challenges:

• Since the Industrial Revolution, we have been releasing unprecedented amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) mostly from the burning of fossil fuels like coal. CO2 is the most significant global warming gas acting like a planetary duvet, trapping heat from the sun in our atmosphere.

• The rate of warming is increasing. The 20th century’s last two decades were the hottest in 400 years; 11 of the past 12 years are among the dozen warmest since 1850.

• Global surface temperatures – which have stayed more or less stable since the dawn of civilisation – have increased by roughly 0.74 °C between the start and the end of the 20th century.

• Global average temperatures could rise further 1.1 to 6.4 ºC this century, depending on the extent of continued greenhouse gas emissions.

• Arctic ice is disappearing, and the region may have its first completely ice free summer by 2040 or earlier. Polar bears and indigenous cultures are already suffering from the sea-ice los.

• Glaciers and mountain snows are rapidly melting – for example, Montana’s Glacier National Park now has only 27 glaciers, versus 150 in 1910.