| F. A. Q. |
| What is climate change? |
| Climate Change is a long term change in climate which can be experienced at a global, regional or local level. |
| What causes climate change? |
| Climate change is the result of a great many factors that usually occur over many centuries. More recently the effect of human activities has accelerated this process due to rapid industrialisation and the burning of fossil fuels. Humans produce vast amounts of C02 and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere that alter the natural “greenhouse effect” which governs the climate that we have today. More greenhouse gases in the atmosphere causes more heat to be trapped in the atmosphere leading to global warming and rapid climate change. |
| Who says it is actually humans causing the problem? |
| The most recent assessment report compiled by the International Panel on Climate Change (a group of hundreds of scientists from all over the world) observed that "changes in atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases and aerosols, land cover and solar radiation alter the energy balance of the climate system", and concluded that "increases in man made greenhouse gas concentrations is very likely to have caused most of the increases in global average temperatures since the mid-20th century”. |
| How can climate change be reversed? |
| There are two ways of tackling the problem which is either to produce less greenhouse gases or to reduce the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. |
| How do we remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere? |
| Nature has provided a simple mechanism to do this in the form of trees. Trees as they grow extract C02 from the air, store the carbon in the tree in the form of wood and release oxygen. This process is often called a carbon sink. Other natural carbon sinks include the oceans where the water soak up the CO2 to form carbonic acid and the in the soil where it is trapped and held. |
| How can we in Ireland produce less? |
| Those living in the developed world produce most of the world’s greenhouse gases. Producing less greenhouse gases is all about acting responsibly at a personal level, business level, community level and government level. By simply keeping lights turned off, by cycling to work, by driving more fuel efficient cars individuals produce less greenhouse gases and the adoption of new clean and renewable technologies in energy production will also have a big imp |
| How do we measure greenhouse gases? |
| The normal measure used when referring to greenhouse gases is a C02 tonne equivalent. This is the unit used for carbon credits. |
| How do people in developing countries produce less greenhouse gas? |
| Despite producing relatively small amount of greenhouse gases compared to those in Ireland, developing countries can reduce C02 emissions by using less fuel-wood for their cooking. This can be achieved by using more fuel efficient stoves which require less wood and as a result less C02 is released into the atmosphere. |
| What happens when they burn the wood? |
| Wood when burnt will release C02 but unlike oil and gas it a renewable and sustainable resource. The C02 release is recaptured by trees so that the creation of energy by wood is often referred to as being carbon neutral. However this is only the case where trees are being sustainably managed and in the case for example of the Amazon rain forest the removal of trees has a big impact on climate change as trees are not being replaced. |
| What is a fuel efficient stove? |
| A fuel efficient stove is one that is made locally using local materials and that has an innovative design feature which allows for accelerated air to pass through the stove in a controlled and regulated manner which allows for greater fuel efficiency. It has been designed to minimize the heat loss, to maximise the combustion process and to ensure less consumption of fuel wood supply. |
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