Towards a state conservation strategy 1. Planning to meet climatic changes.

Bibliography: p. 8

After much careful research and evaluation, there can be little doubt that man has unwittingly set in train processes that will cause very significant changes to global climate. This is the so-called "greenhouse effect" of heat being trapped in the earth's atmosphere more effectively than in the past. The process is largely due to the rapid escalation in combustion of fossil fuels since early last century, freeing carbon dioxide that had been locked away over millions of years. Other gases such as the freons, methane and nitrous oxides (even water vapour) add to this effect, and are also increasing. During the 1970's the combined effect of these was comparable with that of carbon dioxide, though in the long-term carbon dioxide is expected to be the major determinant. As there is no practical way that we can stop the train, we should see where it is taking us, how long before we begin to feel the effects, and what we can do to prepare ourselves for a changed environment