This weeks input on climate change really opened my eyes as to whats going on in the world. I was shocked after seeing some of the visuals on the build up of CO2. 

Before this weeks input I had not realised how bad the pollution in the air is. During the spring and the summer many plants can absorb some of the CO2 during photosynthesis. However after summer there is a build up of CO2 and although this change is expected, we are seeing a increase each year in the volume of CO2 in the atmosphere. This is contributing to the long term trend in the rise of global temperatures.

Another thing that I hadn’t been aware of was the amount of carbon monoxide that the southern hemisphere releases in to the atmosphere during summer.

This carbon monoxide build up is not as talked about as much as the CO2 build up, even though it is a harmful gas to not only the environment but humans as well.

I think because Climate change is something we do not always see the effects of, unless we were to watch a documentary about the icecaps melting in the antarctic, I think many people often forget about it. Also because it is something which is happening over a long period of time and changes are happening gradually this is another reason people forget about the importance of it. I think the media need to be publishing more stories and visual images like the ones above to show people the harm that is being created.

I also hadn’t been aware of how rapidly we have started using up our carbon budget. To not exceed 2 degrees celsius of warming means we cannot realise more than 3 trillion tones of CO2. However by 2011 we had used 65% already and if emissions continue to rise with the historical trend, we will have exceeded our budget of 3 trillion by 2033. I found this quite a scary fact and it is obvious that more needs to be done to prevent this.

When looking into ways to reduce my carbon foot print, something that I hand not considered before was my diet. I had never thought about how the things I eat can have a large impact on the planet. I will try to at more veg and slightly less meat and I will also try to make sure I purchase more locally grown food whenever possible, rather than imported fruit and veg from supermarkets. There were also a number of tips on how to make your car journeys more efficient, which I spoke about in my direct study task, that I will now take into consideration when driving.

I think it is important that children learn about climate change as, without scaring them about the dangers that are arising, they still need to be aware of what is going on in the world. If they all change 1 thing about their current lifestyle, wether it be recycling more or putting a jumper on instead of putting the heating on, all of these small actions can make a difference. After all, it will be their generation and the generations after them that will be the most affected by climate change, so it is important that they are well educated on it and know what they can do to prevent it.

After completing the carbon emissions test, my result was 162% of my share of carbon emission, which I was very shocked by.

I had thought that my result would’ve been much lower, as my family always try to recycle as much as we can, don’t waste food, use energy saving lightbulbs and insulation etc. However I think the main reason my carbon footprint was so high was my travelling. As I live in a small remote town with a lack of public transport, I have to drive almost everywhere. The bus services are very infrequent and unreliable and we do not have a train station, therefore even if I was to try and be more green by getting public transport and get the train, I would still have to drive to the nearest train station which is in the next town.

Although it may not be realistic for me to quit driving and use public transport all the time, after doing some research I found that there are a few things I could do to make my car journeys more efficient and reduce my carbon footprint. Making sure your tires are properly inflated can can increase your petrol milage by 3%, which would mean I wouldn’t have to use as much petrol. Planning my driving routes to avoid traffic as much as possible would also reduce my carbon footprint as being stuck in traffic wastes petrol and creates more CO2. Something else which I hadn’t considered was my style of driving, unnecessary acceleration and speeding wastes petrol, releases more CO2 and can reduce your miles to the gallon by 33%. These are all things that I will take into consideration when driving in the future, as well as taking public transport whenever it is possible.