8 | MANE ENERGY | AUGUST 2017
CLIMATE CHANGE IS REAL
AND WE MUST DO OUR PART TO PROTECT OUR PLANET
s climate change becomes the topic on everyone’s minds it’s important to understand what is currently happening to our planet (or not happening).
Climate change deniers and skeptics have long pointed to satellite data showing lower temperatures than those recorded on the ground. However recent data has revealed the rate of warming was about a third higher at 0.174 degrees Celsius per decade between 1976 and 2016, compared to 0.134C per decade. Data scientist Dr Zeke Hausfather said it showed an even faster rate of warming since 1998 – at nearly 140 per cent – than previous satellite-based studies.
We understand that we are being affected by climate change and it is ever important that each person does what they can to lower their carbon footprint. Many businesses have taken a stand to climate change and adopted greener policies and practices. Sainsbury’s, for example, has said to be exchanging the standard light bulb for more energy efficient LED bulbs. With 250,000 new fixtures the change will lower emissions by 3.4% annually. Across the waters, Czech motor company, Skoda, have signed an agreement with a Swiss battery company, Leclanche, to increase their fleet of electric buses.
Whilst these efforts are the now, many countries and companies have made pledges for future policies to be implemented, however is this too late? London Mayor Sadiq Khan revealed his ambitious plans to make London’s huge transport network zero emissions by 2050. Mane has recently been working on projects such as the Gospel Oak electrification which will introduce a fleet of electric trains and with the introduction of electric buses it looks like a good start to Sadiq’s vision.
Despite all the efforts made for people to recycle and reduce their carbon footprints, many individuals are unaware of the real change to the climate in the past few hundred years. Recent data has confirmed that the Earth’s surface temperature has increased about 0.85 degrees Celsius, with 2015 being the hottest recorded year to date. Scientist believe that gases which are released from industry and agriculture (emissions) gets in the way of the Earth’s atmosphere which consequently traps some of the energy from the sun.
Burning fossil fuels increase the about of CO2 which is the highest impacting gas on climate change. There are many effects which climate change are having on our plant such as increase temperature and melting of the arctic ice causing sea levels to rise without efforts to increase renewable and clean energy it is feared that these impacts could result in catastrophic results. Therefore the work that scientists and other professionals are doing is vital, Mane is supporting them by finding individuals to work on saving our planet from itself.
The UK is playing its role, quickly eliminating coal power generation as its output has dropped by over half in last two decades.
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