The overwhelming body of scientists believe that global warming is real and getting worse. Most of it is being driven by the burning of fossil fuels for electricity, heating, transport, and for food production, which releases carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere at a faster rate than they can be reabsorbed by the oceans, trees, etc. Carbon dioxide typically remains in the atmosphere for over a hundred years and is difficult to remove. This has already caused a rise in global average temperature of about 1 degree Celsius, and it is due to rise to over 3 degrees Celsius if present trends continue. In some parts of the world, especially near the North Pole, the rise in temperature is much greater and is causing grave concern. The Greenland Ice Sheet is melting much faster than scientists expected; this could lead to a significant rise in sea level and is already weakening the Gulf Stream, which gives us a temperate climate in the UK. There needs to be a drastic reduction in the use of fossil fuels: coal, oil and natural gas, to keep the rise in global temperature within tolerable limits.
The talk will cover the origins of global warming, the economic forces behind fossil fuels and the state-of-play of the various alternative technologies. Finally, it will describe the changes in lifestyle that we need to make to combat climate change.
John Andrews was formerly a research scientist in the electricity supply industry, and has given lecture courses on Energy Science at Bristol and Oxford Universities. He is a co-author (with Nick Jelley) of a student textbook ‘Energy Science: Principles, Technologies and Impacts’ (OUP), and is now writing the fourth edition. He is also actively involved in Greening Tetbury.
Tickets: Pay what you think - all money goes to Greenpeace.
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