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Santa's Winter Wonderland is Melting |
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Written by WWF
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Friday, 16 December 2005 |
As Santa prepares his sleigh and reindeer for their annual Christmas journey from the North Pole, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) sends out an urgent warning that his snowy home is in danger of melting well before the end of this century, unless greenhouse gas emissions are cut drastically.
A WWF study, 'Arctic Climate Change with a 2 degree C Global Warming' by Dr. Mark New of Oxford University, suggests that the earth may have warmed by 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels as early as 2026. The study used simulations of global climate change to predict that the Arctic will warm by up to three times this amount which could result in Santa's home changing forever.
WWF is concerned that Santa is not the only resident who will be affected by the devastating impacts of dangerous levels of climate change. Summer sea ice in the Arctic is already melting at a rate of nearly 10 per cent a decade. If this trend continues the Arctic Ocean will be entirely ice-free in summer well before the end of the century. In the Arctic this could lead to a loss of polar bears, seals and to fundamental changes in the ways of life of indigenous communities and other Arctic residents, including Santa.
The report points out that on-land warming over Greenland could lead to substantial melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet, contributing to an increase in sea levels around the world. The tens of millions of people living in low lying cities like Bangkok, Calcutta, Manila and the US states of Florida and Louisiana are particularly susceptible to rising sea levels. Greenland contains enough potential meltwater to raise the global sea level by about seven metres over a time-scale of centuries.
"We are already seeing signs of significant change in the Arctic with the mountain glaciers retreating, snow cover disappearing, the Greenland ice sheet thinning and Arctic sea ice cover declining. All of these changes tell us there is no time to lose, we need to take drastic action now to combat climate change," said Andrew Lee, Director of Campaigns at WWF.
According to WWF, global emissions of CO2, the main greenhouse gas, needs to be reduced by 60 per cent by 2050. Renewable energy technologies are available now and in many cases would save consumers money as well as helping the planet.
Although the power sector is the biggest single polluter of CO2, we can all take simple steps this Christmas to reduce the impact our lives have on our climate and help prevent Santa's home from melting - making sure he and other Arctic residents can stay in their winter wonderland.
Top four tips to help combat climate change this Christmas:
1. Turn down your heat 1 degrees C. You probably won't notice a
difference in the temperature and you will save about 10 per cent on
your bill.
2. Switch to LED Christmas lights. LED lights use about 90 per cent less
energy than regular bulbs, which means less pollution that causes
climate change.
3. Set your Christmas lights on a timer or turn off your lights overnight
and when you are not home.
4. If you are thinking about buying a new appliance during those January
sales buy the most energy-efficient model. They will pay for themselves through lower energy bills |
