The consequences of global warming
The workshop was divided into four parts:
- the meaning of global warming and what are its causes (natural and anthropogenic ones)
- the consequences/effects of global warming. There were three categories of consequences: a) on health, b) on weather patterns and c) on wildlife. All these effects were depicted through comic pictures, videos (showing 'signs' of global warming on earth: collapse of mountain glacier in Antarctica, melting of polar ice cap, rise of sea level, Greenland cracking, shrinking of Antarctic penguin and polar bears populations), diagrams from surveys (showing the increase of temperature during the last years and prediction of the increase of temperature by 2100), comparison of different places (Muir and Riggs Glaciers, Alaska).
- finding the fingerprints that global warming has left and is still leaving on different countries. In this point each country referred to the consequences of global warming in their country
- Hungary: spring and autumn season are missing.
- Greece: some islands have big problems with drinking water.
- Denmark: the sea level is lower than years ago.
- Poland: no seasons in their country. They also mentioned that they feel optimistic as they see the whole fact as a climate circle that it will change through time.
- Cyprus: lack of water due to high temperature and long waterless periods. They imported water from Greece and they created factories to desalinate seawater. They have drinking water day by day.
- Czech Republic: they have crazy weather
(one day it snows heavily and after 4 days the temperature is 26°C). - Estonia: seasons are changing week by week.
One week there is rainy weather and the next week is summer.)
'What we do'. There was a reference in the agreements of Kyoto conference and also to some simple things that WE can do to help curb global warming. All countries agreed that undoubtedly each of us is responsible for the climate change and through their personal behaviour can change the planet! We should all act now!
Workshop led by Cypriot organization