Posted by bex — 10 November 2000 at 9:00am
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As many parts of Britain lie under flood water, the relationship that these bouts of extreme weather have with fossil fuel pollution can no longer be separated. With more than 3000 homes and key transport networks falling foul of the flood waters, the answer can only be to change our ways, leaving coal and oil behind. If we don't, grab those sandbags because it's going to get worse.
So what? you cry, I can whip out my dinghy and pop down the local. Fun and community spirited it may be, but what many of us don't know are the underlying costs that these climatic changes have. In 1999, insurance claims wieghed in at a hefty 860 million, and this Autumn's stormy weather has already reached 500million, just think what is going to happen to your premium!
Autumn 2000 brought extreme weather to Britain. Flooding was the worst and most widespread in 100 years. More than 3000 homes were flooded across Britain and our transport system was paralysed.
Extreme weather is no longer simply a natural event. The current changes to our climate cannot now be separated from the impact of fossil fuel pollution. Unless we break our addiction to fossil fuels like oil and coal we are set to experience even greater changes.
The 1997-1998 El Nino event with its fires, floods and outbreaks of disease and pestilence, offers a glimpse of the future in a 'warmed' world and illustrates vividly the disastrous consequences that even minor fluctuations in the climate system can bring.
Scientists warn that the rates of climate change are likely to exceed any in the last 10,000 years, making it impossible for many ecosystems to adapt and survive.
