Climate change. From the bbc website

Discussion in 'Bulletin Board' started by SuperTyke, Aug 14, 2022.

  1. Brush

    Brush Well-Known Member

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    No problem mate, I've always loved science.
     
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  2. Brush

    Brush Well-Known Member

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    If I have to go somewhere, I always walk if it's less than 2 miles and always cycle if it's less than 5 miles. The car is the last resort.

    When I do drive, I have reduced my speeds, particularly on motorways where I now drive at 60 instead of 70. I also turn the engine off at traffic lights.

    For the 2 years up to the pandemic, I cycle commuted (6 miles each way) and I think only used the car maybe a dozen times (bad weather etc).

    I stopped using single use supermarket bags years before they started charging for them.

    I used to fly several times a year (mostly to Spain) but only fly once a year on average now.

    I'm sure there are more but my brain has given up...
     
  3. Ses

    Sestren Well-Known Member

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    Yep, 100%. But the idea that anyone can make a real difference on their own is silly, unless they happen to be a billionaire. Anybody who really wants to make a difference in todays society has to do it at the ballot box.
     
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  4. Ses

    Sestren Well-Known Member

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    That's just industrialisation. Expecting the developing world to hold back in order to fix the mistakes of the minority is really problematic. I read a really good article about this the other day - I'll try and find it and put it here tomorrow.
     
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  5. Merde Tete

    Merde Tete Well-Known Member

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    Yes. Eat much less meat and try to avoid factory farmed stuff entirely, and try to only buy vegetables that are in season to cut down on food miles, limit car usage to essential trips only (although in St Petersburg I was guilty of using taxis far too much as they're dirt cheap, but certainly won't be doing that in the UK), planning on ordering an electric car this year. I'm sure there's loads more that we should be doing but we're not, but I certainly try to take environmental considerations into account when making decisions.
     
  6. RedKen-dal

    RedKen-dal Well-Known Member

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    Yes it matters what we do as individuals and as a society. It’s cumulative, so what we do is on top of what China does. Further if you look at the co2 per head of population China produces far less than we do.
    We need to think about transport, food, heating, holidays in terms of carbon. Just checked out trains from Leeds on the 24th COYR’s
     
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  7. Brush

    Brush Well-Known Member

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    I agree - up to a point. If everybody makes small changes they add up to something significant. It also causes businesses to see that change and modify their practices to take advantage from it. But ultimately it is down to governments to make the right strategic decisions which is never going to happen with this lot.

    Edit; All drivers of SUVs (worldwide) added together as a "country" would be ranked 7th worst producer of CO2. So if every SUV driver in the UK switched to a sensible car that would be a very significant reduction in our carbon footprint with virtually NO impact on people's lives.
     
    Last edited: Aug 15, 2022
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  8. Merde Tete

    Merde Tete Well-Known Member

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    China still has a huge rural population, who probably eat local food, cycle rather than travel by car, and certainly don't fly anywhere. But I'm guessing that China's heavy industry is probably some of the most environmentally unfriendly on the planet.
     
  9. Sco

    Scoff Well-Known Member

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    That depends. If the stuff in the atmosphere is similar to the atmosphere of Venus (mainly CO2), we'd get very, very hot - to the extent that it would be incompatible with liquid water (and most lifeforms). Remember the surface of Venus is hotter than Mercury despite being a lot further away from the Sun.

    And yes, the Sun can get hotter and cooler over time and will one day likely expand until the Earth is part of it, but that is only part of the problem. The atmosphere of the planet is another big part of the problem. We can't currently control the Sun, we can - if we work together - help to control the atmosphere.
     
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  10. Sco

    Scoff Well-Known Member

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    China now has enough renewable energy to supply the entire UK and have some capacity to spare. They are still massive users of coal, but that is moving in the right direction.
     
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  11. Dan

    DannyWilsonLovechild Well-Known Member

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    Thanks to everyone for the replies.

    It's pretty demoralising really. The biggest challenge we've ever faced, of our own doing, having had nigh on 40 years of ever escalating warnings and as a planet, we're collectively destroying our home.

    I fully appreciate that it's not easy to adapt or change, in plenty of aspects it can cost more than what we've done before and it certainly isn't convenient either. So on top of high inflation and energy prices booming, I understand at first glance its easy to dismiss it as something to perhaps worry about later. Though we've been doing that for 40 years and at a just 1.2 degree increase in temperatures, we're already seeing significant disruption to our short term climate patterns. Current projections, given our current emission levels is 2.7 degrees (if we acted). Some experts have been forecasting a 4-5 degree rise by the end of the century.

    I'll admit now that in the last year in particular, the environment and our tiny miniscule interaction with it has become a much bigger concern than ever before. Largely because my missus moved into an ESG role and so the information at hand is much greater than what it ever was and the consequences brought into much sharper focus.

    I fully concur that governments need to do more and a Truss government of even just a few months fills me with dread at what devastation would follow or be tolerated or even waged war against.

    The first question is should we individually do something? Or do we wait for governments and corporates to make us? And do we wait for other countries to do more before we individually chose to play our part? Personally, looking at the consequences, I'd say for everyone to do as much as they can as quickly as they can and hope others follow suit rather than carry on regardless.

    And in doing something, look at small things. Look at sustainable replacements and things that last if you can.

    There's a great book called "Is it really green?" It covers just about every aspect of our lives and simply outlines what is the least damaging choice, or at least, details what our current choices may be costing us environmentally.

    One of the worst things we found were the yellow and green pan scourer things. We've been buying them for years and hadn't really thought about it. They are hugely damaging and just don't break down in landfill. So we bought a bamboo brush that was about a fiver. Big difference, over the lifetime of that brush we'll probably save hundreds, probably thousands of scourers going into the ground and still being there in future centuries.

    I posted a while back about the big plastic count. In the space of a week we counted over 100 pieces of plastic being used. And we've started to recycle flexible plastic by nipping it to the local Sainsburys once a week early in the morning.

    But I think the biggest thing we can all do is try and buy and use less and what we do have, try and utilise it for all it's useful life or if you want to change it, try and pass it on to someone else to get use and value out of it.

    The aspect that very often gets overlooked though is nature. When you start to assess the state of life that we share our planet with, we're devastating it. Not just from directly killing it, but from destroying habitat through choice or ignorance, not always wilful. Last month, we bought a bug hotel from the national trust. That adds to the bird box and the multiple feeders and watering holes we've introduced. But have a look at your immediate environment and assess if it looks like a concrete jungle, consider how you might be able to add something that an insect or bird might benefit from.

    Alone I can't make a tangible difference and there is so much more we'll need to do and bit by bit we're trying and making changes at the point of making decisions. But if nobody does anything and then doesn't apply pressure to governments or companies, nothing will change at all. And if we don't change, the planet will, to levels that make parts of it uninhabitable and parts of it unable to grow the food we all need.
     
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  12. La Dent de Crolles

    La Dent de Crolles Well-Known Member

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    All the "modern" industries are all massive polluters its why most of it is done in countries/areas with lowest enviromental standards.
    China playing catch up and the fastest way is done by not applying strict regulation
     
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  13. Jay

    Jay Well-Known Member

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    I don't have any children. I don't have a pet. I don't own property and never will. I don't own a car. I don't have any crypto currency. I've given to carbon offsetting schemes (tree planting) and planted tress myself. My carbon footprint is pretty close to zero.
     
  14. churtonred

    churtonred Well-Known Member

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    I'll be looking for a bamboo brush on my next shop and renounce the scourers.
     
  15. Dan

    DannyWilsonLovechild Well-Known Member

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    And there’s still always more we can do.
     
  16. RedKen-dal

    RedKen-dal Well-Known Member

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    It’s a critical point. Currently the more affluent the more we consume and the more carbon we burn. This has to change.
     
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  17. Merde Tete

    Merde Tete Well-Known Member

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    Why does not owning a property make a difference? Assuming you don't live off grid in a tent or bivouac.
     
  18. Jay

    Jay Well-Known Member

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    I'm pretty sure I'm not responsible for the carbon emissions of plane journeys I haven't taken, cars I don't own and electricity I haven’t used. Doesn't that also extend to houses I don't own?
     
  19. Ses

    Sestren Well-Known Member

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    I think that not owning my own place makes my carbon footprint considerably worse! If I had my own place I'd make doubly sure it was insulated to the max, for one thing. Good luck convincing a landlord to shell out for that.
     
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  20. Merde Tete

    Merde Tete Well-Known Member

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    What I meant was that the carbon footprint from the house you live in would be the same whether you rent it or own it.
     
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