With the current UN climate change talks upon us, what has actually been achieved since the Paris talks last year? Well considering it has only been a year - and in political time that is very little and in geological time it is nothing at all - we have made some good starting points. As we can all agree climate change is not going to go away and we need to tackle it head to save our planet.
From 6-17 November the UN nations are meeting again in Bonn to discuss and carry on what they started in Paris. However America and more precisely Donald Trump have backed out of the agreement which is a big step back for the climate as America is one of the largest producers of greenhouse gas. On the positive side of things major producers like China are still in and are surging ahead with plans for a greener future.
Image Andy Hay www.rspb-images.com
From these talks me and many others would like to see many things done to better our planet. However maybe some things are more pressing than others. 70% of the atmospheres oxygen comes from the sea, it is produced by marine plants like phytoplankton. However the ocean currently has about 10 million tons of plastic in it. 10 million tons. That's equal to 1.5 million adult African elephants in our oceans.
Our oceans are under a constant hail of pollution, with over fishing, oil spills and all the rubbish that goes in there. In a hundred years time if nothing changes then going to the beach will not be a leisurely experience as you will have to wear and full body bio hazard suit. The sad thing is that the world has enough resources to empty the seas of rubbish and prevent there to be any further build up. It would cost less than the United States defence budget for one year. So here's a thought how about we stop threatening to blow each other up and actually spend all of this money to making the world great again.
In the coming years there will be lots of tension within the environmental sector as growing countries want to produce the more and more goods to boost their economies and get themselves into the upper echelon ring of "superior" countries. This continual economic growth will undoubtedly put out a lot more greenhouse gas into our atmosphere and will therefore contribute to climate change. These developing countries will never agree to stop production however we must find ways to reduce their carbon footprint or to reach a compromise otherwise our planet will surely face its demise.
William Walsh