The impacts of Climate Change

 The impacts of man made climate change that I have read in respected newspapers, magazines, books and websites are:-

1. Increased rate of glacier retreat.

2. Less sea ice in antarctic and arctic.

3. Increased rate of melting of Green land ice cap and other land ice.

4. Sea level rise due to land ice melting and ocean expansion leading to increased coastal erosion and flooding.

5. Greater risk of ice melt water lakes bursting.

6.4% reduction in the strength of the North Atlantic Gulf Stream due to fresh water from the Greenland  ice cap altering salinity of the ocean.

7. A change in the tilt of the earths axis due to changes in the distribution of fresh water.

8. Greater evaporation from the oceans.

9. Increase in frequency of storms.

10.Increase in the intensity of storms ie windier weather.

11. Higher levels of precipitation ie more down pours.

12. Greater risk of flooding from storms.

13. Greater risk of man made dams being breached.

14. More frequent heat waves.

15. Hotter heat waves.

16. Increased desertification.

17. Acidification of oceans leading to coral reef collapse and shell fish extinctions.

18. Melting of permafrost, leading to rotting of peat, generating CO2 and methane.

19. Increased risk of peat ground fires.

20. Increased rates of under sea methyl hydrates melting.

21. Melting of permafrost and destablisation of building foundations.

22. Increased risk of landslide due to high rain fall.

23. Increased frequency of droughts.

24. Increased duration of droughts.

25. Increased risk of wild fires.

26. Increased soil erosion.

27. Greater risk of crop failure leading to famine especially in the tropics.

28. Damage to existing ecosystems.

29. Migration of warmth tolerant species to cooler climates.

30. Migration of topical diseases to cooler climates that are now warming.

31. Extinction of species that cannot migrate.

32. Mass migration of humans from areas that become too hot, stormy or flooded.

33. Increased mortality of humans due to heat stress, flooding, ecosystem collapse, wildfires, storms.

34. Large Economic expenditure adapting to man made climate change ie repairs to damaged infrastructure and buildings.

35. Large Economic expenditure preventing man made climate change.

36. Large Economic expenditure developing and implementing large scale climate mitigation projects.

37. Increased risk of war (and violence to migrants) as humanity fights over the land and resources that become more valuable in a hotter world.

38. Man made climate change has permanently changed the earth, hence the new geological period the Anthropocene.

39. Reduced mental health in humans particularly for young people (which is cured by coming to terms with the reality of man made climate change and taking positive action against it). 

40, Increased stratification of the oceans as surface water warms but mixes less.

41. Increased oxygen depletion in seas and oceans.

42. Cancellation of outdoor events such as music concerts, fairs and sporting events.

43 Increased insurance costs 

44. Ground water depletion.

45. Changes to food prices, most likely up. 

46. Increasing the number of air conditioning units from 1.6 billion units to 5 billion units in 2050 also increasing energy demands and HFC refrigerants which are green house gases.

47. The jet streams are being pushed further north in the northern hemisphere and further south in the southern hemisphere. 

48. Extreme El Nino events will have twice as frequently.

Happiness

 People want to be happy, but don’t seem to be able to understand what happiness is, let alone know how to achieve it. To tackle this problem, it should be recognised that there is more than one kind of happiness. Perhaps because we only have one word for it, we fail to acknowledge the fact that there is more than one way to achieve the state of being happy. The types of happiness I’ve experienced and witnessed are -

The happiness of innocence

This is the happiness of childhood in which we don’t have a care in the world and can play to our hearts content with friends sheltered from reality. Living is easy and knowledge of the big bad world is absent or lost. Adults can return to this state when they get drunk together, or experience music at a festival, or watch their team win at sport. The troubles of their lives and the world are temporarily forgotten at least until the next day, or for Children when they grow up and learn about reality and life’s problems.

The happiness of parenthood.

The joy of a mother and father at the birth of their children is often described as the happiest moment of their lives. This is something I’ve not experienced first hand, so I will have to take their word for it. Perhaps it’s a deep rooted biological emotion, programmed in to us to ensure the continuation of the species.

The happiness of delusion

An epitaph on a grave stone I came across  read “Always Cheerful”. More like “Completely deluded” I thought to myself.

 I don’t think it is normal to be always happy, as if we were always happy, how would we know we were happy? Happiness must be relative to how we were feeling at an earlier time. As children do we recognise that we are happy or do we later realise how happy we were? If our football team always won, how boring would that be? Aren’t we happier when our team unexpectedly beats a much better side, or we are about to achieve something every one said was impossible?

To experience happiness you have to experience sadness, and humans, at every moment of their lives, are on a  continuum spanning from very sad through to very happy . Being sad all the time is not healthy. Being happy all the time ie deluded, is just madness. Being in the middle is normal and nothing to worry about.

Social Happiness

Being social animals, we crave social acceptance and adulation. All of the above forms of happiness are magnified by sharing with other people, and the more the merrier. Having lots of friends, who act and think like you, means we have status, a support network and hence an easier life. The opposite, ie enemies, people telling you re wrong, and being a loner means you cannot achieve the happiness of innocence, parenthood or achievement. You can achieve the happiness of delusion, but it would be a false happiness, such as the happiness of a religious hermit, who thinks he only needs Gods love to be happy.  
 
The happiness of a worthwhile, recognised achievement

For me, the greatest happiness is experienced when you are about to achieve with your friends, a noble, near impossible, worthwhile goal that earns you status, adulation and respect from your social group.

I say “about” to achieve, because when you accomplish the goal, it always seems to be an anticlimax, and not as satisfying as when you and your friends first realise that you are going to achieve what you didn’t really know was achievable. The moment of success is quickly tainted by the daunting realisation and emptiness of “What next?”.    

This is why I choose to “Make the World a Better Place”. I will never achieve complete success, but small victories along the way, make me very happy.