and

Our ResponsibilityTo Sustain God’s Earth

CLIMATE CHANGECLIMATE CHANGE

How this presentation came about …How this presentation came about …

In November 2005 I was given the opportunity to attend In November 2005 I was given the opportunity to attend a conference in Canberra a conference in Canberra Climate Change – our Climate Change – our responsibility to protect God’s Earth.responsibility to protect God’s Earth.

The conference was organised by The conference was organised by Catholic Earthcare Catholic Earthcare AustraliaAustralia,, the national ecological agency of the the national ecological agency of the Australian Catholic Bishops mandated to promote the Australian Catholic Bishops mandated to promote the ‘ecological conversion’ called for by Pope John Paul II. ‘ecological conversion’ called for by Pope John Paul II.

It is not possible to recall/record everything that one It is not possible to recall/record everything that one hears at a conference! The following presentation is my hears at a conference! The following presentation is my attempt to share with others what I found compelling. It attempt to share with others what I found compelling. It includes updates as I continue to read in this area of includes updates as I continue to read in this area of Climate Change.Climate Change.

Annette Shears pbvmAnnette Shears pbvm

REFLECTIONREFLECTIONonon

God’s EarthGod’s Earth

PSALM 104PSALM 104adaptedadapted

Praise the Lord, my soulPraise the Lord, my soul

My God, how great you My God, how great you areare

You are clothed with You are clothed with majesty and lightmajesty and light

You have spread out the heavens

like a tent

You use the clouds as your chariot

and ride on the wingsof the wind

You placed the ocean

over the earth

like a robe

You make springs flow

in the valleys

And rivers run

between the hills

They provide water for the wild animals

In the trees nearbythe birds

make their nestsand sing

From the skyyou send rainon the hills

and the earth is filled with your

blessings

You make grass growfor the cattle

and plants for us to use

So that we can grow our crops and

produce wine to make us happy

and olive oil to make us cheerful

and bread to give us strength

You created the moonto mark the months

You made the nightand the darkness

The sun knows the timeto set

There is the ocean, large and wide, where countless creatures live,

large and small alike

All of them depend on you

to give them food when they need it.

Lord, may your glory last Lord, may your glory last foreverforever

I will sing to the Lord all my I will sing to the Lord all my life.life.

As long as I live As long as I live I will sing praises to my I will sing praises to my

GodGodMay God be pleased with May God be pleased with

my song.my song.

Global WarmingGlobal Warming

What are What are

some of the changes/effects some of the changes/effects

that we can see that we can see

as a result as a result

ofof

Global Warming?Global Warming?

A report commissioned by the Australian

Government points out that some regions are highly vulnerable to climate

change:

• Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef• The Murray Darling Basin

• SW Western Australia

Climate Change 2001: The Scientific Basis

Some effectsSome effectsDUE TO RISING TEMPERATURES:DUE TO RISING TEMPERATURES:

• Land ice sheets are meltingLand ice sheets are meltinge.g. Greenland, Polar Ice Caps e.g. Greenland, Polar Ice Caps

• Glaciers are shrinkingGlaciers are shrinking

Greenland ice sheets are breaking off Greenland ice sheets are breaking off faster than previously believed – faster than previously believed – in the last 10 years,in the last 10 years,twice as fasttwice as fast.

As the ice sheets in the Arctic recede, polar bearshave difficulty finding food.

• Krill, whale food, is not as plentiful

Krill, whale food,is in short

supply.

Because of the melting of the polar ice caps, the Inuit people, whose whole livelihood depends on the environment and the cycle of change in the Arctic region, are losing their habitat, food source, way of life, culture.

Sea levels are rising

Loss of land, crops, freshwater supplies in Pacific Island Statese.g. Tuvalu, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, the

Carterets in PNG, Bangladesh

People have had to relocate, leaving whole islands empty

and, in the process of relocating, losing their

culture.

(Bangladesh marked above)

A 1 metre rise in sea level would flood

rice fields in Bangladesh,

Vietnam, Thailand, India and China,

and force many millions

from their homes.

NZ has agreed to accept climate NZ has agreed to accept climate change refugees from Tuvalu.change refugees from Tuvalu.

Canada is funding relocation of Canada is funding relocation of parts of Vanuatu.parts of Vanuatu.

Australia has so far refused to Australia has so far refused to accept any residents from accept any residents from Tuvalu who appealed for Tuvalu who appealed for

relocation. relocation.

Other effects of global warming:Other effects of global warming:

Increase in water temperatureIncrease in water temperaturein areas where hurricanes formin areas where hurricanes form

is already resulting is already resulting in more intense in more intense

and more devastating hurricanes and more devastating hurricanes e.g. Hurricane Katerina that devastatede.g. Hurricane Katerina that devastated

New Orleans in 2005.New Orleans in 2005.

Areas affected by the Tsunami experienced greater damage and loss in places where mangroves had been

removed.

Monsoons failing – some areas in

Thailand can no longer grow

rice.

The Australian SceneThe Australian Scene

SPECIES EXTINCTION

We could be facingWe could be facing

20 to 50% of species20 to 50% of species

becoming extinctbecoming extinctover this century.over this century.

Shearwaters on Heron Island have to fly too far to find food for their young.

When the temperaturerises, the amount of food the birds bring back goes down.

As the heat affects the plankton, the schools of small fish thin out.

The tipping point of water temperature is 29o and the margins of survival are only 1 or 2 degrees.

Mountain Nursery FrogMt Lewis, North Queensland

At 1200m, the forest is shrouded in mist. It is moist enough for the frogs to lay eggs on leaves. As the forest warms, the mist goes further up the mountain, so the frog’s habitat gets higher up. Eventually, there will be no part high enough for the frogs to go as the mist will be above the mountain, not over it.

(Picture is from clipart – it is not the actual Mountain Nursery Frog)

Mountain Pygmy PossumSnowy Mountains

When the snow falls on the boulders,

it creates a blanket like a doona

that keeps the hibernating possums

warm underneath.

(Picture is from clipart,it is not the actual possom)

If the snow melts too frequently during the winter,or melts early in the spring,

the possums lose their insulating environment.

They wake up and use up their own body fat –and then there is no food to find.

With 1o rise in annual average temperature, the snowline will creep

almost to the top of the mountain.

If the Mountain Pygmy Possumloses its environment, it will become extinct.

The loss of the rainforestshas a great effect on Global Warming

ANDencapsulates

many other ecological issues.

The Earth’s Rainforests

Effects of Loss of RainforestsEffects of Loss of Rainforests

Land degradationLand degradation Increase in COIncrease in CO²² and methane and methane

(greenhouse gases)(greenhouse gases)Contributes to the breakdown of the Contributes to the breakdown of the

ozone shieldozone shieldChanges rainfall patternsChanges rainfall patternsAids the extinction of speciesAids the extinction of speciesAids the destruction of human beingsAids the destruction of human beings

Loss of biodiversity Loss of biodiversity

will mean will mean

a radical impoverishment a radical impoverishment

of biological life of biological life

and a drastic loss and a drastic loss

of the Earth’s capacity of the Earth’s capacity

for biological adaptivity.for biological adaptivity.

Effects on Health

• Increased incidence of infectious diseases and their movement into ‘new’ regions

e.g. malaria in some parts of world,tick-born encephalitis in Sweden.

• Older persons are susceptible to thermal stress.

One effect is increase in deaths due to heate.g. in Paris in recent years.

Prof Tony McMichael

What causes global warming?

What causes What causes GlobalGlobal Warming?Warming?

Effects

of

Solar Radiation

Composition of Earth’s Atmosphere

The earth’s atmosphereis made up of:

78% Nitrogen21% Oxygen 1% other gases

Dividing the 1% on the left into 100 parts gives:

76% Carbon Dioxide 13% Methane 6% Nitrous Oxide 5% Fluorocarbonsand small amounts of ‘rare’ gases

Which gases contribute most Which gases contribute most to Global Warming?to Global Warming?

Carbon DioxideCarbon Dioxide

MethaneMethane

Nitrous OxideNitrous Oxide

FluorocarbonsFluorocarbons

Major contributors to high levels

of Carbon Dioxide in the

atmosphere:

Power plants Cars and trucks Major Transportation Factories Home Heating

Systems Deforestation

Methane Emissions

• during production and transport of coal, natural gas and oil

• decomposition of organic waste

• rice cultivation• raising livestock (in 1

day, a cow can emit 250gm methane – 1.3 billion cattle burp several times/minute)

Nitrous Oxide

Emitted during

• Industrial activitiese.g. nitrogen fertilizers

• Automobile exhaust• Disposing of human

and animal waste in sewage treatment plants

Greenhouse gasesare not naturally occurring

and contribute to Global Warming

Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)(used in air conditioners and refrigerators - don’t harm ozone layer BUT trap heat)

Perfluorcarbons (PFCs)

Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6)(generated in a variety of industrial processes)

Australians are the highest emitters of greenhouse gases

in the world.

We are one of the big causes of the problemyet we have been unwilling to accept the

consequences of our lifestyle.

Climate Change refugees who are suffering as a result of our lifestyle have been refused entry

to Australia by our Government.

One way our lifestyle worsens the situation:

FOODThe average food item travels over 2,000 km

to arrive at our table. If we eat 10 or so items a day, in a year’s

timeour food will have conquered 8 million km

by land, sea and air.

Adapted from Small Wonder, Barbara Kingsolver

Picture a truck loaded with apples and oranges and iceberg lettuce rumbling to the moon and

back ten times a year, all just for you.

Multiply that by the number of Australians who like to eat – picture that flotilla of 21 million

trucks on their way to the moon and ask yourself the question:

Isn’t it time we revised that scenario?

• The amount of fuel used to transport our food to where we buy it …

• The effect of the emissions from this fuel as it burns to propel the vehicle …

This is just ONE contributer to global warming!

Names of PresentersNames of Presenterswhose ideas I drew on for this presentation:whose ideas I drew on for this presentation:

• Fr Bill Stoeger SJFr Bill Stoeger SJ – cosmologist and – cosmologist and astrophysicist from the Vatican Observatory astrophysicist from the Vatican Observatory and University of Arizonaand University of Arizona

• Dr Janette LindsayDr Janette Lindsay – senior lecturer in – senior lecturer in climatology, climate variability and change at climatology, climate variability and change at Australian National University. She also holds Australian National University. She also holds the position of Education Manager for the the position of Education Manager for the Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Accounting. Accounting.

• Professor Tony McMichael MBBSProfessor Tony McMichael MBBS (Univ (Univ Adelaide), PhD (Monash Univ), FAFPHM, FTSE Adelaide), PhD (Monash Univ), FAFPHM, FTSE – biomedical scientist and Director of the – biomedical scientist and Director of the National Centre for Epidemiology and National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health ANU. Tony has recently Population Health ANU. Tony has recently coordinated the Assessment of Health coordinated the Assessment of Health Impacts project for the United Nations Impacts project for the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

• Fr Sean McDonagh SSCFr Sean McDonagh SSC – Christian Ecologist, – Christian Ecologist, lecturer, author of many books in the area of lecturer, author of many books in the area of religion and the environment, missionary religion and the environment, missionary priest with the Columban Fatherspriest with the Columban Fathers

• Brendan MackeyBrendan Mackey – has a PhD in plant ecology – has a PhD in plant ecology from the Australian National University. He from the Australian National University. He has worked as a research scientist with the has worked as a research scientist with the CSIRO and the Canadian Forest Service. CSIRO and the Canadian Forest Service.

• Fr Denis Edwards MAFr Denis Edwards MA Fordham, STD, CUA – Fordham, STD, CUA – senior lecturer in systematic theology in the senior lecturer in systematic theology in the School of Theology of Flinders University. He School of Theology of Flinders University. He teaches for Catholic Theological College teaches for Catholic Theological College within the ecumenical consortium of the within the ecumenical consortium of the Adelaide College of Divinity. Adelaide College of Divinity.

• Fr Michael MackenzieFr Michael Mackenzie – a Catholic priest from – a Catholic priest from the Pacific Island nation of Kirabatithe Pacific Island nation of Kirabati

http://www.catholicearthcareoz.net/http://www.catholicearthcareoz.net/conference.html#content conference.html#content

AcknowledgementsAcknowledgements

Pictures used are from clipart, with the exception of the Pictures used are from clipart, with the exception of the followingfollowing

slides:slides:

1,3,6,181,3,6,18 C O’Keeffe pbvmC O’Keeffe pbvm

32-3632-36 c/f ABC TV c/f ABC TV CatalystCatalyst, 25 May 2006, ‘Tipping Point’, 25 May 2006, ‘Tipping Point’

50, 5150, 51 adapted from adapted from Small WonderSmall Wonder, Barbara Kingsolver, , Barbara Kingsolver, SMALL WONDERSMALL WONDER New York: HarperCollins Publishers, New York: HarperCollins Publishers, April 2002, http://www.kingsolver.com/about/about.asp April 2002, http://www.kingsolver.com/about/about.asp