Tag: UK

Sorting the climate -step by step.

Where do we start? We want to help with climate change? We have all been made aware of the real threat that it poses. Now it is time to consider ways that each of us can contribute to change.

Pushing for political movement is a start. It is vital, indeed. But we need to look at other ways that everyday members of the public may do our bit to help slow climate change a bit. Lots of raising awareness has happened with protests and the wonderful influence of activists such as Emma Thompson and David Attenborough. We are all very much aware! Let’s act now by making changes to our routines, our choices and especially the way in which we travel.

Small change 1: Getting around

One small thing we can do is think very carefully with regard to our daily travel. On a small scale, something that might help is changing our routine with regard to visits to the local shops and dropping off kids at school. Sometime we get ourselves into such a rush that we feel we must use the car to make these tiny journeys.

Traffic would be so much lighter in urban areas were we all to be a bit more pragmatic. Most journeys to school are less than a mile and a half and so we could be encouraging our kids to walk or cycle to school, preventing a lot of standing vehicles churning out copious amounts of pollutants. Few cars on the local roads would make them safer. Plus, having more people walking gives a greater sense of security. Empty paths feel awkward. Busy paths feel safe.

A few schools have begun preventing cars coming near to their sites before and after school. This is refreshing to see. The gases produced on ignition and whilst vehicles are in slow traffic, is damaging to airways as well as contributing massively to environmental damage. We can do something about this, simple by adapting our timings and making the effort to walk, cycle or scoot.

Studies have suggested that some kids get into the car, switch on mobile devices and arrive at school, unaware of the journey they have taken. It is as if they go from island to island with no interaction with their surroundings. Walking to school wakes up their bodies and minds. The journey can be a social one if they walk with friends. It develops independent thinking skills and promotes geographical alertness. Children become aware of their communities, how to cross roads safely and have time to think about their lives, consider their day ahead and take in the world around them. I have fond memories of walking and cycling to school and loved picking up my friends en route as well as the exercise. It made me feel wide awake and ready to learn when I arrived for registration.

Let me know your thoughts.

Environmental Truth

Let’s go back to basics.

When I was a geography student at university twenty years ago, the issue of environmental decline was a subject that we were well aware of but hardly ever seemed to make headlines.

I studied environmental transport management as well as environmental change in the biosphere. I was made aware of projections which included sea level rises, mass extinctions of animals and dramatic weather systems. It has been known about but so many people held back and waited for the evidence.

Let’s be honest. We waited. The evidence is now smacking us in the cheeks. We cannot let people undermine this issue. I read some influencers who say that Greta Thunberg is trying to guide policymakers. That is fine with me. She is not inflating the truth. It is unavoidable. The future she describes is visible on the horizon.

Do I need to justify the level of concern? No. We don’t have time to deliberate. We need to start to act and ignore the ridiculous naysayers who seem to think money-making is far more important than saving animals from extinction and protecting coastal towns etc.

Yesterday reports confirmed that the UN is warning people not to buy low-lying homes on the coasts. So many islands have suffered from unusual floods and many have already become partly submerged due to sea level rises. Nuatambu Island is part of the Solomon Islands and has already suffered partial submersion, losing half of its inhabitable lands since 2011. It is just one example and the impact of more floods is already highlighting how this process is increasing in pace.

Ice sheets are melting at a faster rate than before. A well known glacier, Sermilik, in Greenland has depleted by 9m this summer alone. This is upsetting and we know that the thinner the ice gets, the more warming affects the lower layers, especially those covering up land. Less ice also means less reflection of solar energy, contributing further to a general warming of the local climate. This spiral of events now presents with habitat threats for polar bears, seals and penguins as well as other creatures which exist within their food chains.

I intend to continue highlighting and analysing the information which is forthcoming and hope that you will engage with me as I endeavour to find out how we can move forward, support Greta with her cause and spread the word about the facts which surround the utmost significant event of our times. Forget Brexit and Trump. Climate change is dangerous, REAL and undoable. Help us to undo it by joining the debate, emphasising ways we can make a difference and encouraging governments to make environmental policy changes that will stave off climate change.