Green Focus: How have the local elections affected climate action?
The results of last week’s local and devolved government elections had to fit into a brand-new four-party base – not the old two parties – with all previous English governments stupidly slow in enacting changes in all voting to proportional representation (PR) and/or preferential voting as appropriate, writes Alan Debenham.
We now have dumped upon us the local working out of arrangements within the parties for ever so many councils of how ‘no overall control’ will be determined.
Albeit with the glad news for most of us of no consideration for Reform UK, plus all councils still cutting greenhouse gas emissions via existing climate conservation strategies.
That is, to limit global warming and hopefully maintain the very vital Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) as best we can?
Read more
Green Focus: Is looking after the environment a moral issue?
Green Focus: Why can’t we see people proving the environment is important?
Green Focus: Why you should see this important film on the climate crisis
AMOC is a large-scale system of ocean currents which helps to distribute heat around the world, transporting warm salty water from the tropics to the North Atlantic.
It’s a vital part of Earth’s overall climate as a key ‘ocean conveyor belt,’ bringing heat north, where it eventually cools and sinks to flow back south again in a return circulatory loop.
The Gulf Stream is the northward-moving surface portion of AMOC, which sadly is weakening due to climate change.
Melting ice and increased rain dilute the salty water, stopping sinking, and this likely 100 per cent AMOC collapse, potentially between 2025 and 2095, will bring severe cold weather (up to minus 20°C) with survival problems for northern Atlantic and European folk like us.