"Even the best democracies agree that when a major war approaches, democracy should be suspended for the time being. I have the feeling that climate change may be as serious a problem as war It may be necessary to suspend democracy for a while” - James Lovelock (Hickman, 2010)Climate change is a long-term change in the climate. of the Earth, primarily due to increases in average atmospheric temperature (global warming) According to the National Snow & Ice Data Center (2012), the most commonly used definition of climate change is a change in the statistical properties of the system. climate when considered over a long period, regardless of the cause. Furthermore, fluctuations over periods of less than a few decades, such as El Niño, do not represent climate change. Simply put, some short-term climate variations are normal, but longer-term trends now indicate climate change. A year or two of extreme change in temperature or other conditions does not mean that a climate change trend is occurring, but a long-term change in temperature or other conditions indicates that climate change is occurring. occur. However, the term is primarily used to refer specifically to climate change caused by human activity, rather than climate changes that might result from Earth's natural processes. In this sense, particularly in the context of environmental policy, the term climate change has become synonymous with anthropogenic global warming. (UNFCCC: COP 17, 2011) Climate includes patterns of temperature, precipitation, humidity, wind and seasons. Many systems are linked to climate. Therefore, a changing climate will likely affect many regions...... middle of article ......ica-iceberg-science-glacier/>.National Aeronautics and Space Administration 2012, 'Global Climate Change: Around the Earth", Earth Science Communications Team, California Institute of Technology, accessed February 12, 2012, National Snow & Ice Data Center 2012, "Arcic Climatology & Meteorology: Climate change", Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, accessed February 12, 2012, .United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 2011, “Conferences of the Parties 17”, accessed February 14, 2012, .See referenceNASA – see National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationUNFCCC – see Convention -UN Framework on Climate Change