Sustainable gardening (which is taken here to include sustainable landscapes, sustainable
landscape design, sustainable landscape architecture and sustainable sites) comprises a disparate group of horticultural interests that share, to a greater or lesser extent, the aims and objectives associated with the international post-198s sustainable development and sustainabilit! programs developed to address the fact that humans are now using natural bioph!sical resources faster than the! can be replenished b! nature" #ncluded within this compass are those home gardeners, and members of the landscape and nurser! industries and municipal authorities, that integrate environmental, social and economic factors in an attempt to create a more sustainable future" $rganic gardening and the use of native plants are integral to sustainable gardening" What is Climate Change? %limate change is a long-term shift in the statistics of the weather (including its averages)" &or example, it could show up as a change in climate normal (expected average values for temperature and precipitation) for a given place and time of !ear, from one decade to the next" 'e know that the global climate is currentl! changing" (he last decade of the )th %entur! and the beginning of the )1st have been the warmest period in the entire global instrumental temperature record, starting in the mid-19th centur!" Why is the Climate Changing? Natural variability %limate change is a normal part of the *arth+s natural variabilit!, which is related to interactions among the atmosphere, ocean, and land, as well as changes in the amount of solar radiation reaching the earth" (he geologic record includes significant evidence for large-scale climate changes in *arth+s past" ,n example of this variabilit! is shown in the plot below of temperature data for the last -), !ears, derived from an ,ntarctic ice core" Human-induced change Greenhouse Gases %ertain naturall! occurring gases, such as carbon dioxide (%$)) and water vapor (.)$), trap heat in the atmosphere causing a greenhouse effect" /urning of fossil fuels, like oil, coal, and natural gas is adding %$) to the atmosphere" (he current level is the highest in the past 01, !ears" (he &ourth ,ssessment 2eport of the #ntergovernmental 3anel on %limate %hange concludes, 4that most of the observed increase in the globall! averaged temperature since the mid-)th centur! is ver! likel! due to the observed increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations"5 What Is Global Warming? Global warming is the rise in the average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans since the late 19th century and its projected continuation. Since the early 2th century! Earth's mean surface temperature has increased by about ." #$ %1.& #'(! with about two)thirds of the increase occurring since 19".*2+ ,arming of the climate system is une-uivocal! and scientists are more than 9. certain that it is primarily caused by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases produced by human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation.*/+*&+*0+*1+*2+ 3hese 4ndings are recogni5ed by the national science academies of all major industriali5ed nations.*"+*6+ 3he term 7global warming7 refers to the increase in the average temperature of global surface air and oceans since about 190! and to continuing increases in those temperatures. Global warming refers to the increased temperature of Earth's surface! including land! water and near)surface air. The Causes of Global Warming Global warming is caused by e8cessive -uantities of greenhouse gases emitted into Earth's near)surface atmosphere. Greenhouse gases are both man)made and occur naturally! and include a number of gases! including9 :carbon dio8ide :methane :nitrous o8ide :chloro;uorocarbons Greenhouse Gases Generated by <an=ind 3he scienti4c community as a whole has concluded that naturally occurring greenhouse gases have remained fairly constant over the past several hundred years. Greenhouse gases directly and indirectly generated by man=ind! though! have increased radically for the past 10 years! and especially in the past 1 years. <ajor sources of greenhouse gases generated by man=ind are9 :>urning of fossil fuels! which includes oil and gas! coal and natural gas. :$hloro;uorocarbons! commonly used in refrigeration! cooling and manufacturing applications. :<ethane! which is caused by emissions from land4lls! livestoc=! rice farming %which uses methane)emitting bacteria(! septic processes! and fertili5ers. :?eforestation @er Aainforests.com! 73he largest %manmade(contributor to the greenhouse eBect is carbon dio8ide gas emissions! about 22 percent of which comes from the combustion of fossil fuels and 22 percent of which is attributed to deforestation.7 Cehicles >urning 'ossil 'uels 6re @rimary Source 3he largest single contributer to the rise of man)made greenhouse gases is! of course! the burning of oil and gas to power vehicles! machinery! and produce energy and warmth. 3heDnion of $oncerned Scientists observed in 209 7<otor vehicles are responsible for almost a -uarter of annual D.S. emissions of carbon dio8ide %$E2(! the primary global)warming gas. 3he D.S. transportation sector emits more $E2 than all but three other countries' emissions from all sources combined. 6nd motor vehicle emissions will continue to increase as more vehicles hit 6merica's roads and the number of miles driven grows. 73hree factors contribute to $E2 emissions from cars and truc=s9 :6mount of fuel used :6mount of $E2 released when a particular fuel is consumed :Fumber of vehicle miles traveled.7 ?eforestation Gs 6lso <ajor Source >ut deforestation is also an important! if lesser =nown! culprit for causing greenhouse gas emissions. 3he Dnited Fations 'ood H 6griculture Ergani5ation %'6E( observed in 219 7<ost people assume that global warming is caused by burning oil and gas. >ut in fact between 20 and / percent of the greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere each year I 1.1 billion tonnes I is caused by deforestation... 73rees are 0 percent carbon. ,hen they are felled or burned! the $2 they store escapes bac= into the air... ?eforestation remains high in 6frica! Jatin 6merica and Southeast 6sia.7 6nd the situation is worsening! per Science Fews ?aily! which wrote in late 2"! 7?ecreasing forest cover! almost e8clusively from deforestation in tropical countries! was responsible for an estimated 1.0 billion tons of emissions to the atmosphere above what was gained through new plantings.7 Summary of 7$auses of Global ,arming7 Global warmming is cuased by greenhouse gases! which occur both naturally and are directly and indirectly generated by man=ind. ,hile optimal amounts of greenhouse gases are necessary for Earth to be habitable! a profusion of greenhouse gases create disturbances in weather and storm patterns that can be catastropic. <an)made greenhouse gases have increased greatly in the last 0 years. 6mong the largest sources of man)made gases are fossil)fuel burning vehicles! worldwide deforestation! and sources of methane such as sand4lls! septic systems! livestoc=! and fertili5ers. Global ,arming $auses Global warming is primarily a problem of too much carbon dio8ide %$E2( in the atmosphereKwhich acts as a blan=et! trapping heat and warming the planet. 6s we burn fossil fuels li=e coal! oil and natural gas for energy or cut down and burn forests to create pastures and plantations! carbon accumulates and overloads our atmosphere. $ertain waste management and agricultural practices aggravate the problem by releasing other potent global warming gases! such as methane and nitrous o8ide. See the pie chart for a brea=down of heat)trapping global warming emissions by economic sector. Global ,arming Gs Drgent and $an >e 6ddressed $E2 survives in the atmosphere for a long timeKup to many centuriesKso its heat) trapping eBects are compounded over time. Ef the many heat)trapping gases! $E2 puts us at the greatest ris= of irreversible changes if it continues to accumulate unabated in the atmosphereKas it is li=ely to do if the global economy remains dependent on fossil fuels for its energy needs. 3o put this in perspective! the carbon we put in the atmosphere today will literally determine not only our climate future but that of future generations as well. Substantial scienti4c evidence indicates that an increase in the global average temperature of more than /.1 degrees 'ahrenheit %#'( %or 2 degrees $elsius *#$+( above pre)industrial levels poses severe ris=s to natural systems and to human health and well)being. 3he good news is that! because we as humans caused global warming! we can also do something about it. 3o avoid this level of warming! large emitters such as the Dnited States need to greatly reduce heat)trapping gas emissions by mid century. ?elay in ta=ing such action means the prospect of much steeper cuts later if there is any hope of staying below the /.1#' %2#$( temperature goal. ?elayed action is also li=ely to ma=e it more diLcult and costly to not only ma=e these reductions! but also address the climate conse-uences that occur in the meantime. 3he $onse-uences of a ,arming ,orld Ever the last century! global average temperature has increased by more than 1#' %.2#$(. 3he 21)21 decade is the warmest since 1""Kthe earliest year for which comprehensive global temperature records were available. Gn fact! nine of the warmest years on record have occurred in just the last 1 years. 3his warming has been accompanied by a decrease in very cold days and nights and an increase in e8tremely hot days and warm nights. 3he continental Dnited States! for e8ample! has seen record daily highs twice as often as record daily lows from 2 to 29. ,hile the record shows that some parts of the world are warming faster than others! the long)term global upward trend is unambiguous. Ef course! land and ocean temperature is only one way to measure the eBects of climate change. 6 warming world also has the potential to change rainfall and snow patterns! increase droughts and severe storms! reduce la=e ice cover! melt glaciers! increase sea levels! and change plant and animal behavior. Aegional 6ctions 6dd Dp to Global Solutions ,e encourage you to visit the solutions section of this web feature to 4nd out how you can ta=e action to slow the pace of climate change and help minimi5e the harmful conse-uences described in the hot spotsM 6ny action to reduce or eliminate the release of heat)trapping gases to the atmosphere helps slow the rate of warming and! li=ely! the pace and severity of change at any given hot spot. Jocal sources of carbon emissions vary from region to region! suggesting that solutions are often decided at the community level. 3he $limate Not <ap points to regional e8amples of climate)friendly energy! transportation! or adaptation choices. Some regions! however! must rely upon global solutions such as international agreements to reduce the carbon overload in the atmosphere that threatens them. Small islands! for e8ample! are a paltry source of carbon emissions and yet are disproportionately aBected by the conse-uences of global carbon overload as accelerated sea level rise threatens the very e8istence of low)lying islands. Gndividual! regional! and national actions can all add up to global solutions! slowing and eventually halting the upward climb of $E2 concentrations in the atmosphere.