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2016 Jan Feb Marina World

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The magazine for the marina industry

INTERNATIONAL

INTERNATIONAL INTERNATIONAL P.O. Box 144 NL - 1135 ZK Edam The Netherlands Tel: + 31 (0) 299 622 396 E-mail: Info@JLDinternational.com Website: www.JLDinternational.com Increase your business intelligence to deliver superior marina management. › Marina & Rental Management › Occupancy & Revenue Reporting › Haul Out Yard Management › Boatyard Management › Integrated Accounts Receivable and Payable › Integration with your Financial System › Visual Marina & Boatyard Maps › Leasing/Ownership Management › Ship Shop Point of Sale Program › Club Membership Management › Security Gate System Interface › Utility Meter Interfaces › 3rd Party Systems and F & B Interfaces › Multi Language User Interface Contact one of our regional agents to understand how PacsoftNG can transform your revenue management and growth. www.pacsoftmms.com Pacsoft - Marina World Dec 2015 - Quarter.indd 1 16/12/15 3:16 pm Design solutions for your next destination marina. Makronisos Resort and Marina, Ayia Napa, Cyprus www.smithgroupjjr.com/practice_areas/waterfront MW2016JanFeb.indd 52 05/01/2016 09:36:26

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT mean surface air temperature and sea surface temperature (on the Australian land mass and surrounding seas) have both increased by 0.9°C since 1900 and the rate of change is increasing (source: CSIRO). This sounds minimal but on a national and global scale even the slightest changes make a huge difference in the amount of water vapour that can be absorbed by the atmosphere and its implication for weather patterns. These trends are indisputable. The majority of the discussion about climate change centres on the cause and the modelling of projected implications. Scientifically, the role of carbon dioxide in what is known as the greenhouse effect is proven. The levels of CO ² in the atmosphere are also measurable. So, the big challenge is how to model the implications of this for global temperatures over the next 50-100 years. If we take a step back and consider the issue from a risk management perspective, a new approach comes to light. The major contributor to increased levels of CO ² in the atmosphere is the combustion of fossil fuels (i.e. coal, oil and gas). Changing land use, for example, is another. Logic says that if you take carbon that was buried in the earth 300 million years ago and burn it in the presence of oxygen you are going to get more CO ² in the atmosphere that you have now. To put this in context, in 2013 it is estimated that approximately 40 billion tonnes of CO ² from the combustion of fossil fuels was injected into the atmosphere. It would be difficult to argue that such a dramatic input into the atmosphere could occur without implication, be that minor or catastrophic. As there is no chance of us ceasing to put CO ² from fossil fuels in the atmosphere anytime soon, we can expect atmospheric CO ² to continue to rise and consequential warming to continue. The only issues of debate and complexity become the long term consequences, and the weight of scientific opinion indicates that they will be significant and detrimental. So, why is there so much debate? Fundamentally, this stems from the distance between cause and effect. Individual actions today have consequence in the decades to follow. Political policy makers today need to address the needs of a future beyond their tenure; quite a challenge in our global political framework. It is much easier to adopt the convenience of denial. An interesting analogy is the health implication of smoking. Once again there is a large time difference between action and consequence and, in the face of the risks of personal consequence, many people still choose to prioritise the immediate pleasure of smoking over the potential consequence of premature death. Interestingly, it is arguable statistically that there is a greater chance that human activities are causing climate change than that a smoker will die from lung cancer, not that this is a good reason to take up smoking. The point is that the challenge humankind faces, and more specifically the marina industry faces, is that our actions today have implications for the future and our industry is very vulnerable to these implications. On the one hand, we need to plan for sea level rise and increased frequency of extreme weather and, on the other hand, we need to show initiative and do our bit to reduce our contribution to the problem. www.marinaworld.com - January/February 2016 53 MW2016JanFeb.indd 53 05/01/2016 09:36:26

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