Extreme Weather

World Preservation Foundation > Environment > Climate Change > Extreme Weather

Problem
Cause

Problem

The world has only a few years to stop catastrophic warming

“The world is not ready for the impacts of climate change, including more extreme weather and the likelihood that populated parts of the planet could be rendered uninhabitable, says the planet’s leading body of climate scientists in a major new UN report. The 772 scientists who wrote and edited the report argue that world leaders have only a few years left to reduce carbon emissions enough to avoid catastrophic warming, which would produce significant sea level rise and large-scale shifts in temperatures that would dramatically disrupt human life and natural ecosystems”

National Geographic, 2014

Disasters increase five fold since 1970’s

“Disasters including storms, floods and heat-waves have increased fivefold since the 1970’s, United Nations finds”

The Guardian, 2014

Global warming has displaced 26 million & costs $125 billion annually

“Earth’s gradual rise in temperature has resulted in 26 million people displaced, $125 billion in annual economic losses and more than 300,000 yearly deaths, as climate change speeds desertification and magnifies scourges from malnutrition to flooding”

Time Magazine, 2009

Every 1°c rise = 20x more global conflicts

“Every one-degree rise in temperature means a 20-fold increase in global conflicts”

United Nations, 2013

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Cause

“TRENDS IN THE NUMBER OF REPORTED HAZARDOUS EVENTS”

“We can no longer hold back from speaking out on the silent suffering of millions worldwide” – Ko Annan, UN Secretary-General

Ignoring methane and nitrous oxide, livestock emit 7.1gt CO2 a year (warming impact over 100 years)

“Food systems emit 30% of all human greenhouse emissions… Livestock is responsible for 7.1 GtCO2 estimate a year of greenhouse gas emissions, just under 15% of the global total, and equivalent to tailpipe emissions from all the world’s vehicles”

Chatham House,
The Royal Institute Of International Affairs, 2016

Livestock create 51% of GHG emissions warming impact over 20 years

“Livestock and their by-products actually account for at least 32.6 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year, or 51% of annual worldwide GHG emission”

Worldwatch Institute, 2009

Livestock cause 50% of GHG emissions in Australia

“Beyond Zero Emissions in Australia found that livestock produced almost half the national emissions when accounted over 20 years”

The International Journal of Climate Change: Impacts and Responses, 2015

Meat eaters create 100% more GHG emissions than vegans

“Dietary GHG emissions in meat-eaters are approximately twice as high as those in vegans”

Springer Link, 2014

Livestock cause 65% of nitrous dioxide emissions

“Livestock is responsible for 65% of all emissions of nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas 296x more destructive than carbon dioxide and which stays in the atmosphere for 150 years”

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2006

Livestock occupy 30% of earth’s surface

“Livestock presently use 30% of the earth’s entire land surface”

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2006

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