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Jürg Rohrer

Europeans attitude towards the environment

Summary of Eurobarometer survey published on March 13, 2008. The report shows that Europeans are increasingly aware of the role played by the environment in their daily lives. More than 95% of European citizens feel that it is important to protect the environment. Some 80% also feel it influences their quality of life and consider that they have a role to play in protecting it. Climate change (global warming) tops the list of Europeans’ environmental concerns, followed by pollution and man-made disasters.

A majority are also uneasy about the use of genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) in agriculture.

Water scarcity and global warming

With continued population growth, increased per capita consumption, and
anticipated climate change, the global water situation appears bleak.
Since water scarcity is a highly localized issue determined by regional
climatic and demographic factors, a single solution will not solve all
of the world’s water scarcity problems.

However, improved management,
more water efficient technologies, and support for the world’s most
vulnerable countries and ecosystems will likely play leading roles.
According to the UN-backed World Commission on Water, coping with water
scarcity will require global investment of $100 billion per year.
Willingness to invest this sum will be vital to the future of human
well-being and economic development in all countries of the world.

Nuclear power station causing cancer

An official study from the German government shows the risk of getting cancer is significantly increasing for small children growing up in the neighborhood of a nuclear power station. This is in particular true for leukemia, a special case of cancer.

Book «ABC of Awareness»

Personal Development as the Meaning of Life

This book explains human development on the basis of easily-understood examples and simple models. It is intended to arouse thinking about your own life and to offer help as to how we can specifically change our lives.
The author describes how we can achieve constant harmony and inner peace. The right choice and deliberate pursuing of our own, self-selected goals take on a key role in this so that we can achieve our own goals and not let ourselves be manipulated by others.

Invest in renewable energies - not in fossile

Investments in sustainable energies

Invest in renewable energies - not in fossile
«Aiding oil, harming the climate» is a new report from the organisation "Oil Change International", which shows dramatically that the major investments still go into the oil, gas and coal sector instead of renewable energies. For more than 25 years, wealthy countries have been using aid and other foreign assistance to subsidize the expansion of the international oil industry, a practice known as “Oil Aid”. It is impossible to actively subsidize the expansion of the oil industry and effectively fight global warming at
the same time.

CO2 concentration causing global temperature increase

There is no doubt any more: In order to mitigate global warming, the
emission of greenhouse gases must be reduced, the sooner the better.
This will then lead to a stabilization of the greenhouse gas
concentration in the atmosphere – and in the very long term hopefully
to a decrease of its concentration.The level at which the greenhouse gas concentration gets stabilized does determine the warming effect, i.e. the temperature increase.

The
following graph shows the relation between the greenhouse gas
concentration (expressed as CO2-equivalents) and the resulting average
global temperature increase on the surface.

Climate Change: 4th report of IPCC

Observational evidence from all continents and most oceans shows that
many natural systems are being affected by regional climate changes,
particularly temperature increases. Warming of the climate system is
undeniable, as is now evident from observations of increases in global
average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice,
and rising global average sea level.

The following is an excerpt and summary of the 4th report from the Intergovernmental panel of Climate change (IPCC) about the causes and effects of global warming.

The effects of global warming by region

A further IPCC report on predicted effects of climate change by geographical regions (Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Europe, Latin America, North America, Polar regions, small islands) has been released in November 2007. This report does confirm the cause and effects of climate change, which have already been know for years. They also basically confirm their projections about likely regional effects of global warming in their report of April 2007.