A View to the future

The start of the new term has come as an unwelcome reality check for some. It's time to get back to work and start planning for the year ahead. 2015 marks the 70th anniversary of the United Nations, which means it is time to renew the commitment to the goals originally set. The action the world takes this year is more important than ever before, because as Ban Ki Moon put it, 'ours is the first generation that can end poverty, and the last that can take steps to end the worst impacts of climate change' in 'we are the last generation that can fight climate change. We have a duty to act', 2015. The UN will hold their annual climate change conference in Paris this December where they will attempt to reach a binding agreement on climate. Ban Ki Moon reminds us that we need to prevent the Earth reaching the threshold change in global temperature of 2 degrees, from which the Earth might never recover.

One of the largest issues facing the planet is the exponential rise in human population. As world population approaches 9 billion the demand on Earth will exceed the potential of natural resources. The growth of human population is both the ultimate cause of global environmental change, and the reason we need mitigate against future environmental issues.

To protect against future change we need to reduce climate emissions to stop global warming reaching a 2 degree rise. It is also necessary to invest in greater assessment of the worlds species so we can enforce protection measures on species currently unknown. In so doing, we can better predict how quickly we are losing biodiversity in order to understand if we are entering - and if possible, protect against - a 6th mass extinction. 

I hope you have enjoyed reading my blog over the last few months and I hope it has opened your eyes to the changes that both man and nature have caused over time.