Why sustainability?
The world's leading scientists now agree that unless we change our attitudes the planet and its residents will be in trouble. We have to become more sustainable in the way we live and work today to secure our tomorrow.
There is growing consensus that climate change, also known as global warming, is becoming the greatest threat to our environment. It is caused by increasing levels of greenhouse gases which trap the Sun's energy in the atmosphere. Much of the warming is due to human emissions of greenhouse gases, and the changes are set to accelerate in the future, which will be responsible for a whole range of impacts around the world.
Over the past 140 years the earth's surface temperature (over land and sea) has increased by just over half a degree celsius, with the greatest increases occurring the second half of the last century. The 1990s were the warmest years in recorded history. Although this temperature rise may appear small it is scientifically significant and does have dramatic impacts on climate, e.g. Northern Europe is predicted to have warmer weather all year, wetter winters and drier summers and the Mediterranean will become drier.
