UWS BA ePDPs – Page 263 – Personal Development Plans of BA(Hons) students of education

Climate Change (learning log)

Before I started the climate change topic, I had a vague understanding of the concepts. Throughout the lecture, my understanding between climate change and global warming, as I thought they were mostly the same thing. I also thought that the climate and weather were the same, but I now know that the climate is the […]

The misconceptions that I had about climate change included the my thought that global warming meant that we would have warmer temperatures all year round. I now know that global warming means the fluctuation of weather, not just the weather getting warmer. I also know that the seasons are not fixed, that they blur together.

I have learned a lot in this module so far, which I will bring to the classroom. I have learned how our climate has changed, and how they measure the changes of the ice cover. Other interesting facts I have learned through this lecture is the effects of climate change to the world. for example, I now know the effect on agriculture includes the risk of crops being wiped out in low lying areas that suffer from flooring. Significant amounts of agricultural land on the edge of deserts become unusable, through the process of desertification. Sea levels are also effected, as the costal land is at risk and sea defences are under more stress.

After taking the “WWF Measure Your Footprint” quiz, my awareness has been increased of my own carbon footprint. From the results, it is clear that I could do more to reduce my carbon footprint. I have already taken steps to improving this. For example, I take the Bio-Bus when available and reduce the time I spend on public transport, choosing to walk when convenient. I also make sure to recycle whenever possible, and often reuse plastic bags.

Climate Change Learning Log

The bill for The climate Change Act (2009) was passed by parliament in June 2009. This act set a target for 2050, and an interim target for 2020 as well as annual targets. These targets where to lead to “the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions; to provide about the giving of advice to the Scottish Ministers relating to climate change; to confer power on Ministers to impose climate change duties on public bodies; to make further provision about mitigation of and adaptation to climate change; to make provision about energy efficiency, including provision enabling council tax discounts; to make provision about the reduction and recycling of waste; and for connected purposes” (Scottish Government, 2009). By the year 2050 Scottish ministers must make sure that total Scottish emissions are at least 80% lower than the baseline.

One of the ways I think the government have progressed towards meeting these targets is charging people for carrier bags. On the 20th October 2014, legislation was passed by the Scottish government the requires all retailers to charge at least 5p for all carrier bags. This was to promote bag re-use and to reduce the effects of littering. Scotland alone uses a staggering 800 million single-use bags each year. And each year, council litter collectors pick up at least 7.4 million bags from our streets and surroundings. These bag charges hopefully will encourage people to re-use bags and prevent people from littering.

This has definitely had an impact on me personally and also upon my family. Whenever we go to the supermarket we always re-use bags from previous shopping trips and have several “bags for life”. We also ask for our shopping not to be put in bags when we are getting it delivered to our home. Whenever we do have to purchase a carrier bag we never throw it away but will keep them to re-use again.

Having completed the WWF Environmental footprint I learned a number of things about my lifestyle and my own carbon footprint.

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My carbon footprint was at 115%. I did anticipate it being high. In fact, I actually thought it would be higher 115%. Despite this evidently it is not a good result. It is definitely somewhat of a thought provoker. What is plainly clear is that if I want to reduce my carbon footprint I need to make some changes.

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During my carbon breakdown it was revealed that the area I need to reduce the most is “food”. This does not surprise me. I eat a lot of animal products which I know has environmental repercussions. I also live in a family home and we probably purchase far more food than we need each week. This of course leads to waste. We also have a young, rather fussy, child in our home who rarely cleans their plate and often refuses to eat the meals cooked for them. In addition we have a very pampered pet cat that frequently turns up their nose at their food dish, expecting something better as a replacement. This obviously leads to even more food waste. However all of our food waste gets put into our brown bin and not just into general rubbish. Perhaps taking this into account my carbon footprint would be slightly less but I am not sure.

The thing that really surprised me while completing this quiz was my own ignorance. There are so many things I never even associated with my carbon footprint. When you mention environment my first thoughts would be about transport, recycling, heating your home, food waste and so on… It never even occurred to me that all of the “stuff” I buy and use such as makeup, beauty products, my phone, the television and clothes are linked in a strong way. I admit that I love shopping and there is no doubt in my mind that I purchase significantly more items than needed.

I was surprised to see that my carbon footprint is smaller than the UK average. I suspect this is partly because I cannot drive, rather than my own efforts to be greener. However when compared to the world average it really quite embarrassing to see how large my footprint is. I suspect others in the UK feel the same way. This topic has been somewhat of an eye opener and highlighted that I do need to make some small changes in areas I had previously never thought about in order to make a difference.

References

http://carrierbagchargescotland.org.uk/

http://www.greenerscotland.org/cleanerscotland/carrier-bags

http://footprint.wwf.org.uk/questionnaires/

Learning Log: Climate Change

Theme: Climate Change Key learning: This input really opened up my eyes to the dangers of climate change. It is becoming increasingly more important that we do our best to prevent it before the damage becomes irreversible. I was somewhat … Continue reading →

Theme: Climate Change

Key learning:

This input really opened up my eyes to the dangers of climate change. It is becoming increasingly more important that we do our best to prevent it before the damage becomes irreversible. I was somewhat aware of the effects of global warming such as the icecaps melting, but watching the video of the build up of CO2 was a huge shock.

Deforestation plays an immense part in the build up of CO2. Trees take in the CO2 in the atmosphere and produce oxygen, what we breathe in. With the deforestation happening at such a rapid pace, there are less trees to take in the increasing levels of CO2.

Climate change is something that we are briefly told about, and then every so often reminded of, but it isn’t reiterated often enough for people to take more than a fleeting interest in. More should be done in the media to show the effects of climate change, what can be done to prevent it and to help people really understand that they world they live in is in danger and that it does affect them.

I never realised that the more developed countries tried to get the less developed countries to cut their emissions so that they did not have to. I thought this was awful, as it was be even more challenging for these countries to develop while trying to cut back on emissions and this in turn furthers the imbalance between developed and less developed countries.

I think that it is vital that we teach children about climate change, especially as it is the future generations that are in more danger from it. It is important that it is taught in a way that is informative and highlights the importance of making changing to our lifestyles, but not so that it scares the children.

Climate Change Study Task

After completing the WWF Footprint Calculator test, it showed me that my carbon footprint was sitting at 117%. This number really surprised me as it is a lot higher than I had anticipated. I never thought that some of the things that I do everyday in life could have such an impact on the environment. However, I was quite … Continue reading Climate Change Study Task →

I would say that my household was quite environmentally friendly as we tend to recycle almost everything, such as: glass, plastic bottles, paper, etc. Also in the house we usually turn everything off, like the lights when we are not using them or we put the television off correctly rather than leaving it on standby. We also have double glazing windows, energy saving light bulbs and insolation in our house. However, we have recently bought some new kitchen appliances, and I now realise that this can contribute to the percentage of our carbon footprint.

I believe that I could possibly decrease my carbon footprint by reducing the amount of car journeys I go on. I tend to go out a lot with my friends in the car, mostly for socialising but also to go shopping or to other places. I sometimes travel by car to university, but I mainly get there by bus and I feel that if I continue to use public transport rather than a car then I can reduce my carbon footprint and become more environmentally friendly.

After having studied the Climate Change Act (2009) it has made it more clearer to me that Climate change is a serious threat that Scotland and the world is facing. Therefore the aim of this act is to create a framework in order to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions in Scotland (GHG). The Climate Change Act creates mandatory aims in order to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions.I think that a decision by the Scottish Government that has had a huge impact on us is the 5p carrier bag charge. Due to me working in retail, I have seen a huge difference in the amount of carrier bags that are given out. Many people now tend to use re-useable bags when they go shopping, which is what I now tend to do also. Previously, I would have always just have thrown away carrier bags, but now I realise that recycling bags, even plastic Asda or Tesco bags makes a huge difference.

References

http://footprint.wwf.org.uk/tips

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2009/12/contents

Climate Change

After studying the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 I gathered that the Scottish government are doing a lot to help climate change. I do believe that it is possible to reach the 2050 target, in which the acts commits to Scottish Ministers ensuring that by 2050 that the net Scottish emissions fall by at least 80% from the baseline, 1990 levels. The 80% target includes GHG (greenhouse gasses) emissions which currently accounts for around 20% of the countries total emissions.

I have always been very much aware of climate change but I have never really gave it much attention since primary school as I was in the eco committee. I think the 5p plastic bag charge was a very effective decision by the Scottish government, I myself can not remember the last time I used a plastic bag as I always have ‘bags for life’ with me. I also think it was a good idea that if customer does decide to purchase a 5p bag, the government say that that 5p will go to charities.

I just recently passed my driving test but I have yet to purchase a car. I mainly use the train to commute which I understand is not helping the climate change issue. I do try my best to walk everywhere but it is very hard to so sometimes due to where I live. I was also always able to walk to my work but due to recent roadwoarks around my town I now have to rely on getting dropped off by my parents or getting a bus as the footpath has been shut.

I was very shocked when calculating my carbon footprint on the WWF Footprint Calculator. My carbon footprint was 223% which is extremely high. However, the site informed me that 68% of this is due to my travelling. In the past year I have flew to both Florida and California from the UK as well as two flights to London, one to Dublin and Spain. I also travel to Ayr everyday by car to university which is around an hours drive. As well as that I often go drives with friends and family. I also was not anticipating questions on new house appliances and as my house is getting redecorated we have had a lot of new appliances such as dish washer, oven etc.

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Sustainable Development: study task climate change

The climate change act 2009 was passed by parliament in on the 24th of June 2009. This act was brought into place to try and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, to make people more aware of energy efficiency and also to … Continue reading →

Part 1 -The 2050 target – this is to ensure that the net Scottish emissions account for the year is 2050 is at least 80% lower than the baseline.

Part 2 – In this part this is to ensure that the net Scottish emissions account for the year 2020 is at least 42% lower than the baseline.

Part 3 – In this part for each year between 2010-2050 set a target for the maximum amount of the net Scottish emissions account.

This is just naming a few parts of the acts and outlining what they do.

This act has had quite and impact on our lifestyle for example when they brought in the 5p charge for carrier bags, this is to encourage more people to recycle and reuse their carrier bags as even though this is just a small act this can have quite a large impact. Before the charge came into place I did not think twice about throwing carrier bags away but now I tend to reuse more (maybe not as often as I should) and after doing this input and finding out even more about the environment and climate change I will me more aware of my actions and the steps I can take to help change things for future generations.

After taking the carbon footprint test my carbon footprint was 168%. I found this quite interesting doing this test as even some of the things you do in your day to day life that you think wouldn’t effect this is in fact having an effect for example buying clothes and footwear. After researching further I found a few simple tips that I can do to reduce my carbon footprint, I can for a start walking more places as I rely on my car far to much when there are times I can easily walk. I can also start buying more seasonal food.

Climate Change: Learning Log

Key Learning: Fridays lectures and workshops definitely made me more aware of climate change and the impact we are having on issues such as global warming. It specifically allowed me to […]

Key Learning:

Fridays lectures and workshops definitely made me more aware of climate change and the impact we are having on issues such as global warming. It specifically allowed me to gain a deeper understanding into:

What climate change actually is and it differs from day to changes in the weather. I now have a better understanding that climate change is taken from the average weather and temperatures over a considerable period of time.
How politics and climate change are so closely linked and the impact our politics and our beliefs can have and are having on climate change. Louise’s workshop allowed me to see that as humans we are far less likely to support a party that is aiming to fight climate change and global warming as the language we use when discussing it is always so far in the future meaning we struggle to want to take responsibility for it when we aren’t going to see its affects immediately in our day to day lives.
Some interesting ways of teaching or doing practical activities in class related to climate change and the weather. In particular I found the cloud in the jar and the thermometer task quite interesting experiments and our both something I would consider doing with a class in the future.
The impact that climate change is having. The lectures and work involved in this module to do with climate as always when dealing with the issue of climate change and global warming makes it shocking clear the impact its having on the planet with videos of ice caps melting and others showing the amount of CO2 that we are putting into the air.

Impact on my views/lifestyle/practice:

This weeks work has impacted on my views of climate change. I am now far more aware of it than I have been in the past and far more concerned about doing my bit to help reduce my own carbon footprint which while already not too bad at 71% could probably be slightly lower. As a flat I know that we are now trying to recycle a lot more, this is something that I have never really done in the past but as Ayrshire council provides recycling bins and with their being a bottle bank near by it seems only fair that we start to our bit their and recycle more.

In practice I can definitely see myself using a lot of the activities and experiments Andrew showed us linked in with some lessons on climate change as I could see how making a tornado in a jar and building their own thermometer could be very interesting for children. It is also very important that we educate children in climate change from a young as they will want to do something about it they will be keen to do walk to school weeks and recycle more and contribute to other environmentally friendly projects in and around the school. This then makes them more aware of the impact they are having on the environment and gives more hope for a healthier future for the Earth.

Areas of interest to explore further/develop:

I plan to look into the politics behind climate change slightly more as it was something that I had never truly considered just how much it impacted in how we try to tackle the issues of climate change and global warming.
I also plan to look further into the experiments Andrew showed us to see what other ideas are available when teaching about climate change and how others would suggest linking them into a lesson.

Sustainable Development Learning Log : Climate Change

Key Learning: After this week’s lecture and workshops on climate change I have learned about: What climate change is, that climate is the average weather at a given point and time of year, over a long period (typically 30 years). … Continue reading →

Key Learning:

After this week’s lecture and workshops on climate change I have learned about:

What climate change is, that climate is the average weather at a given point and time of year, over a long period (typically 30 years). We expect the weather to change a lot from day to day, but we expect the climate to remain relatively constant.
Evidence of climate change is collected by: weather recordings , ice cores , rocks and fossils and analysis of pollen and trees.
The impacts of climate change
The Greenhouse effect
Global Warming and weather
Politics and Global Warming

Impact on my views/lifestyle/practice:

Prior to this week’s input on Climate change I did not have a great deal of knowledge on the topic however after both lecture and workshops from Louise and Andrew, I now feel that I have expanded my knowledge and can see the benefits of teaching children the impacts of climate change. Also before the inputs I believe that I had been quite ignorant to climate change and the effects it has on our planet.

I found the practical workshop with Andrew to be most effective as it allowed us to carry out a few different experiments with regards to climate change such as making a cloud in a jar and the weather front experiment. Both experiments were very easy to carry out, engaging and would be perfect in a classroom.

Furthermore, after calculating my carbon footprint – which was larger than expected – I have taken into account my own personal effects on our planet and have become more aware on how to reduce my carbon footprint.

Areas of interest to explore further/develop:

I found that using the WWF website to calculate my carbon footprint effective and I believe that using it with children would be easy and also effective as it illustrates the areas which impact our carbon footprint such as food, home and travel.
Explore further reading and research regarding this theme.

Sustainable Development Study Task : Climate Change

In 2009, the Scottish Parliament unanimously passed the Climate Change Act, which aimed to reduce emissions from 1990 levels by 42% by 2020 and by 80% by 2050. The Act hopes for the public body to act in the way best calculated to contribute to the delivery of the targets and also in a way that it considers is most sustainable. The Act is comprised of several parts:

Part 1 of the Act, creates the statutory framework for greenhouse gas emissions reductions in Scotland eg. The 2050 target.
Part 2 of the Act contains provisions which will allow the Scottish Ministers to establish a Scottish Committee on Climate Change or to designate an existing body to exercise advisory functions should it be decided that this is appropriate.
Part 3 places duties on the Scottish Ministers requiring that they report regularly to the Scottish Parliament on Scotland’s emissions and on the progress being made towards meeting the emissions reduction targets set in the Act.
Part 4 places climate change duties on Scottish public bodies.
The Act includes other provisions on climate change in Part 5, including adaptation, forestry, energy efficiency and waste reduction. Public engagement is a significant feature of Part 6 of the Act, which also includes provision on carbon assessment.

The Act has impacted our lifestyle choices in many ways on of which being the carrier bag charges. Legislation was passed by Scottish Parliament, on 20th October 2014, that requires ALL retailers (food and non-food) to charge a minimum of 5p for each new single-use carrier bag .The aim being to encourage bag re-use. This new piece of legislation has had a positive impact as the number of plastic bags handed out in stores was slashed by 80% – the equivalent of 650 million carriers – in the first year of Scotland’s 5p charge – the net carbon saving is more than 2,500 tonnes of CO2 equivalent annually. Personally I have seen a great change in the way people use plastic bags now, most of my friends and family re-use bags everyday instead of buying a bag with each shop. Furthermore, now schools are making children more aware of their carbon footprint and also by taking actions eg. Eco committees , to reduce carbon footprint within the school environment.

After taking the WWF ‘How big is your environmental footprint?’ I was shocked with my carbon footprint result as it was much larger than I thought it would have been at 180%. The quiz asked a number of questions, some of which I was not aware even related/ influenced my carbon footprint such as clothes, beauty products and food. The quiz also provides some useful tips after completing such as buy more seasonal foods and take up cycling or walk to work.

Sources;

http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Environment/climatechange/scotlands-action/climatechangeact

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-34575364