Recently NEWS 24 featured an article on the warming of the Siberian permafrost which holds a quarter of the world's methane, the most deadly global warming gas (20 times more powerful than CO2). CO2 readings as well as those of methane are high because, what was frozen into the permafrost for 10,000 years is now beginning to be released. The scientists are resigned to the fact that this is dramatically beginning to and going to continue to alter our climates around the world. Maybe this is why the UK is almost upon its winter and is yet to have an Autumn as such!
Sir Nicolas Stern is bringing out his report tomorrow (commissioned by G. Brown) on the current extent of climate change and how we need to radically alter environmental policy to tackle our CO2 emmissions. The UK political parties are already manoeuvering to say that their polices will make the changes needed.
While we all know it is important to make personnel changes in our lifestyles, as many people are doing in this forum, we must continue to put pressure on our politicians to keep the 'environment' at the top of the agenda, locally, nationally and globally. If we don't all our individual efforts are simply going to be wiped out by events such as the warming of the Siberian permafrost.