Why Do We Need Renewable Energy?

"2006 was the warmest year on record in the UK with a mean temperature of 9.7°C, closely followed by 2007 which was the second warmest year on record with an average temperature of 9.6°C. Over the last 100 years, the average annual temperature in the south west region has increased by 0.8°C – 0.9°C. Nine of the ten warmest years in the UK have occurred since 1989. Despite the natural weather event of ‘La Nina’, which generally reduces global temperatures, 2007 was a year full of weather extremes with devastating floods in May, June and July and other months of the year were drier than normal with warm nights".

The impact of the exceptional warmth in 2007 was especially apparent in the Arctic, where several feedback mechanisms amplified the effect of increasing greenhouse gas concentrations. Summer sea-ice extent in the Arctic Ocean shrank dramatically to a new low; 23% below the previous 2005 record. This opened the Northwest Passage for the first time in recorded history and prompted a scramble by neighbouring countries to claim large swaths of the newly exposed Arctic.

Several areas saw record-setting temperatures in 2007. Southeastern Europe suffered through temperatures as high as 45°C in a heat wave that killed up to 500 people. In Japan, thermometers in August reached 40.9°C; the highest temperature ever recorded in that country. Chart-topping temperatures and severe drought conditions proved a lethal combination, as extensive wildfires spread in both Greece and the American West in July and August.

While some areas baked under intensive heat or drought conditions, others were inundated by record amounts of rain. England and Wales experienced widespread flooding and damage estimated at £3 billion ($6 billion) during the wettest May to July period since records began in 1766. In South Asia, some of the worst flooding in decades occurred during the monsoon season, affecting at least 25 million people and killing more than 2,500. Fifteen countries across Africa—from Ghana to Ethiopia—were affected by severe floods in the summer of 2007 displacing hundreds of thousands of people and washed away crops and farmland which seriously damaged food security in the region. China, Indonesia, Mexico, and Uruguay also saw exceptional or record flooding in 2007.

Mean sea level in the South west is rising as shown by a 15cm rise since 1915 at Newlyn and an 8cm rise at Davenport.

In August 2004 Boscastle suffered from devastating floods when a 9ft wall of water swept through the Cornish village.

The plant growing season has extended by one month compared to 1900 and the annual arrival of chiffchaffs is a full 16 days earlier than it was in 1916.

In the next 40 years an increase in extreme events is predicted including storminess, flooding, heat waves and drought. Summer could be up to 3.5°C warmer, winters could be 5% - 20% wetter and summers 10% - 40% drier.