Tag: climate

Travel Without Pollution

It is time for the latest blog post by ‘The Climate Change Collective.’ We set up a group of bloggers who take turns writing lead articles about global warming and being ecofriendly. After each post appears, all of us keen eco bloggers add our own thoughts on the matter, whilst linking to the lead piece.

This month’s thought-provoking article is by the brilliant @MidLifeOnEarth who is considering how we can change our attitudes to travelling locally to work, school and shops.

The benefits of active travel – could it save you and the planet?

My Thoughts

When I went to University my geography lecturer spoke about the need to replace short car journeys with walking, cycling and public transport. I feel that he was ahead of the times in 1996 as he was consulting on cycling access throughout Europe and leading initiatives for sustainable transport.

Twenty seven years later and we still haven’t made much progress in the UK. It is a struggle to cycle alongside cars on roads filled with potholes. I feel ashamed that the UK government are not prioritising walking and cycling routes as these should be priority schemes.

It will take a huge mindset shift for people to transition to making local journeys on foot or on bikes. The results of such a move would be greatly reduced danger from vehicles, due to fewer cars on the roads. Also, fitness would improve due to increased amounts of cardiovascular activity. It would be a win-win situation.

In A Nutshell

Check out the latest article about the benefits of active travel and let us know your thoughts on this important environmental matter. For my last link post, perhaps also have a look at Why Greener Spaces Matter.

Thanks for looking at my post. Please read through MidLifeOnEarth’s fascinating article and drop a comment with your own ways of reducing vehicle travel.

Are You Ready For Hot Weather?

This week they have announced that mid-July is likely to see several days of hot weather with temperatures over 40 degrees C in the UK. This is a startling piece of news which illustrates the massive impact that global warming is having on our climate. It is time for us to get ourselves ready for hot weather by planning to take reasonable precautions.

While it may be nice weather for BBQs, even they produce pollution.

In June, which has been a record breaking month, daily temperatures were about five degrees higher than previous years. Various weather experts have commented on a distinct raise in average June temperatures. ITV Weather reminded us that average June temperatures in 1940 were 14.9 degrees C. Quite a big change over the last 80 years is clearly linked to rising levels of pollution.

Be Prepared

We all have to think about ways to prepare for any forthcoming heatwave. Relatives may struggle, especially the elderly. Animals may also find it tricky to handle such extremely high temperatures. There are many things we can do to get ready for the 40 degree days though.

– We can avoid long journeys, working from home if possible.

– Ensure we have plenty of chilled drinks ready so that we can avoid dehydration,

– Wear sunscreen and cover our heads with hats or ensure we have sunshades.

– Stay out of the sun and only go out before midday and after 3pm if possible. Any time spent in direct sunlight should be kept to less than twenty minutes at a time.

Moving On…

The real headache is planning for the future. We know that temperatures will continue to increase and this curve will only be broken if we take dramatic action to reduce pollution.

Surely, with so many negative things happening, governments have received a wake up call. Huge wildfires in Canada and Australia, melting ice at the Poles, crop shortages and flooding in central Europe and Pakistan… The list goes on and on.

Final Thoughts

I really hope that we can start to take helpful steps in reducing global emissions and undoing the damage that we have done. Hopefully you are ready for hot weather. But is the world ready for a blisteringly hot future?

Have a look at my Hot Weather Poem for more on this matter. Please consider following my blog for similar future posts.

Nearly Summer – Poem

I have begun to notice the temperature rise quite early this year. As it gets to 20 degrees C this weekend (in April!) it is clear that we are going to have another record breaking year. Mixed in with the warmth we have more rain than usual with an extremely wet March, according to the weather people. So my ‘Nearly Summer poem’ is a kind of warning that milder weather is not necessarily a good thing. It’s a warning.

Nearly Summer,

Feel it getting warm,

Nature awakens

And bees begin to swarm.

Spring feels different,

Windy and wet,

Hope we don’t get

Flooded quite yet.

Flowers blooming

All around,

Thunder making

A booming sound.

Still seems different,

Warm too soon.

Sometimes the rain

Feels like a monsoon.

Global warming

Less crops grow.

A very hot summer

On its way, though.

Yes it’s lovely

Weeks of fun

Basking and playing

In the burning Sun.

Nearly Summer

But it can mean

Desertification

Heat stroke and water unclean.

Pipes overflowing

With sewage and grime

Sunburn and famine

For a very long time.

Enjoy your Summer,

It’s nearly here.

But remember for many

It’s a time to fear.

Thank you for reading my ‘Nearly Summer poem’. I hope that it got you thinking about how vulnerable our planet has become because of climate change. Here is a story I wrote imaging what it might be like if global warming keeps going, entitled Caused By Climate Change.