James Renwick, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
For every ten centimetres of sea level rise, the chances of a 100-year coastal flood increase three-fold. This means we’ll have to build flood defenses or retreat from the coast.
Rapid population growth and increased consumption are now seen as the main drivers of environmental changes.
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Discussions about climate change often skirt around the issue of population growth, but it is the main driver of rising carbon dioxide levels and many other environmental changes on a planetary scale.
The atmosphere of Mars is thin and very dry.
NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
The atmosphere of Mars is more than 96% carbon dioxide, but the planet is cold because its atmosphere is extremely thin, very dry and further away from the Sun.
Rapid and voluminous volcanic eruptions around 252 million years ago can be linked with a mass extinction event.
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There is evidence for catastrophic climate change from protracted volcanic eruptions in the past, but since the 1950s the emissions we produce far exceed those from volcanic activity.
The best way to compare emissions from electric cars is to assess all phases of a life cycle analysis.
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In New Zealand, where more than 80% of electricity is renewable, the carbon footprint of electric cars is 62% lower than that of fossil cars. But their lithium battery has other environmental impacts.
Even people who accept the science of climate change sometimes resist it because it clashes with their personal projects.
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People are more likely to deny climate change if they’re inclined toward hierarchy, have lower levels of education or are more religious. But the strongest predictor of denial is a person’s politics.
Eating less meat is one change many of us can make to reduce our contribution to climate change.
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Nick Golledge, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
Individual actions to reduce emissions are important in two ways. First, they have an immediate impact, and secondly, adopting low-carbon life choices sends a clear message to political leaders.
Research into low-carbon planes is underway, but we won’t see electric long-haul flights any time soon.
DENIS BALIBOUSE / POOL
Unlike a car, you can’t just stick a battery-powered engine in a plane and expect it to fly. Despite that, small planes might be the future of electric flight.
Polls show the gap between conservatives and liberals is widening on the issue of climate change.
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More and more evidence has accumulated which shows that changes in global and regional climate over the last 50 years are almost entirely due to human influence.
Since the industrial revolution began in the mid-1700s, atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations have gone up by 46%.
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James Renwick, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
For the past two and a half million years, Earth has experienced regular ice ages, but with carbon dioxide levels now over 400 parts per million, the next ice age is postponed for a very long time.
While hemp does not sequester as much carbon dioxide as trees, it can be used as an efficient energy crop or in concrete, both with a potentially positive carbon sequestration effect.
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All plants take up carbon dioxide when they grow, but when they are harvested or cut down, they release the greenhouse gas back into the atmosphere.
Putting a price on greenhouse gas emissions forces us to face at least some of the environmental cost of what we produce and consume.
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Traditional market transactions ignore the costs of greenhouse gas emissions. An emissions trading scheme is a tool to put a price on emissions and to influence us to choose lower-emission options.
Research shows the cost of damage through climate change will be much greater than the costs of reducing emissions.
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New Zealand is small and generates a tiny fraction of global greenhouse gas emissions, but investment in cutting emissions is important and could influence other, larger countries.
Fast-growing plantation trees store less carbon per surface area than old, undisturbed forests that may show little growth.
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Do you have a question about climate change? This collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre gives you the chance to ask – and we’ll provide expert answers.