From Ian Murray
Policy and Strategy Manager
Community Resources
South Lanarkshire Council

I would like to congratulate you on your web site and ‘Bloggathon’ event.

Climate change is undoubtedly the biggest issue affecting humanity in the 21st century and there is no doubt that people’s this has been caused by human activity and in particular the burning of fossil fuels on which the industrial revolution of the past and our lifestyles today depend. There are new pressures too: the earth’s rapidly increasing population has result in ever greater demand on the planet’s natural resources leading to the burning of rainforests and loss of soils and further release of greenhouse gases. There are also fears that the rate of global warming will increase due to the release of even more greenhouse gases due to the unfreezing of arctic permafrost and the gradual heating of the oceans.

It is now clear that the earth will experience an average temperature rise of at least 2 degrees over the next 50 years. This does not sound much but the effects will be significant. Sea levels will rise leading to greater flooding of coastal areas where most of the earth’s population lives, vast populations may have to move in some parts of the world where there is already too much pressure on land and other resources. Some regions of the world will become too hot and dry to grow crops, again leading to population displacement, famine and creating the kind of competition for scarce resources which in the past have led to wars.

Our lifestyles in the developed world are largely the reason for climate change. We are consuming more than ever before. In doing so we are using more resources and burning more fossil fuels. Our current lifestyles are unsustainable. Our lifestyles also have a global impact for example greenhouse gas emissions in China are rapidly increasing because of our demand for cheaper manufactured goods. Economic development is needed to improve the quality of life of many of the world’s poorer countries, but the implications for climate change are serious. There is a very real question about how the world will manage to reduce global emissions in an equitable way – try a search on ‘contraction and convergence’ and you will see what I mean.

Can young people have an influence on solutions to these problems? Very definitely yes!! Here are just a few ideas:

· Get to know more about the issue - the more knowledge and information you have, the more likely it is that you will be able to influence key decision makers.
· Don’t be afraid to express your opinion – some people can’t accept the reality of climate change, but you are entitled to your view regardless of your age.
· Learn the skills you will need for tomorrow – some of the solutions to climate change will involve new technology so we will need engineers, plumbers, electricians, and scientists of every kind. There will be real jobs out there to help us all adapt to new lifestyles. We will also need people who can think creatively, plan, negotiate, use the media etc.Try to live more sustainably – the choice of stuff you buy makes a big difference to the impact you make on climate change and by doing you can influence others – loads of web sites on this (for example check out http://www.wwflearning.org.uk/wwflearning-home/). Use cars less and walk or cycle and use public transport where you can. Buy products with less packaging, reuse and recycle all you can. Switch off electrical equipment you are not using and don’t keep TV sets on standby etc.

Good luck with the blogspot...