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Greenhouse Effect |
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| The Earth's atmosphere is made up of a blanket of gases, which trap enough heat to sustain life. However, by burning fossil fuels and cutting down forests humans pump billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere. We also add other gasses to the atmosphere in smaller quantities. |
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CO2 emissions |
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| The primary human source of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere is from the burning of fossil fuels for energy production and transport. Changes in land use and deforestation also contribute significantly. Trees, for example, are natural 'carbon sinks' - they absorb carbon dioxide while alive and when they are destroyed, carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere. Once in the atmosphere, most of the carbon dioxide stays there for 50 to 200 years, and some of it stays there indefinitely. |
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Impacts |
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| Flooded village in southern France, close to a nuclear power station. Earlier in 2003 the same area experienced a long drought. Climate change means more extreme weather like flooding and droughts. |
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Health, food and water |
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| Sandstorms originating from the Mongolian desert can reach as far as Japan. Each year, volunteers from Japan come to plant trees in Western China. |
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Sea level rise |
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| Pita Meanke, of Betio village, stands beside a tree as he watches the 'king tides' crash through the sea wall into his family's property, on the South Pacific island of Kiribati. |
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Extreme weather |
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| Floods in southern France only months after a severe drought and forest fires in the same area. Global warming, caused by ever increasing consumption of fossil fuels like oil, means extreme weather events are becoming more frequent. |
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Climate voices |
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| A family living next to the sea in the village of Tenoraereke, stand with Greenpeace Climate Change campaigner on the South Pacific island of Kiribati, beside some collapsed coconut trees, fallen over due to sea erosion. |
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Hong Kong: a city isolated from the global village? |
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| Right before the release of the “Fourth Assessment Report” by United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Greenpeace members hanged 40 “Doomsday Clocks” on the gate of the Central Government Offices, and erected a banner “Time’s Up! Save the Climate” to show their their dissatisfaction with government’s inaction to climate change, and urge the government to formulate greenhouse gases reduction policy and targets. |
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Protect ancient forests |
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| Throughout the world, ancient forests are in crisis. Many of the plants and animals that live in these forests face extinction. And many of the people and cultures who depend on these forests for their way of life are also under threat. But the news is not all bad. There is a last chance to protect these forests and the life they support. |
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Eliminate toxic chemicals |
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Unborn babies are exposed in the womb to synthetic chemicals.
The production, trade, use, and release of many synthetic chemicals is now widely recognised as a global threat to human health and the environment. |
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Hi-Tech: Highly toxic |
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| A Chinese child sits amongst a pile of wires and e-waste. Children can often be found dismantling e-waste containing many hazardous chemicals known to be potentially very damaging to children's health. |
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