As my
module comes to an end, this will be last blog. It seems only fitting to end
with what we can do and what needs to be done to prevent climate change
becoming detrimental to humanity.
These are the main things:
-Sustainable agriculture needs to be enforced. Too many pesticides and fertilisers are being used to produce crops and feed livestock, which are damaging the environment; they are depleting the fertility of soil, and leaking uranium into freshwater. This is a problem because studies have shown that uranium contaminated water can increase the risk of kidney damage, cancer, and high blood pressure. Livestock naturally live off eating grass, so there is no need to use pesticides to grow grains for these animals. By correcting our mistakes, and working on improving Earths' soil, we can eliminate carbon from the atmosphere, as soil absorbs carbon naturally.
-Stop deforestation, or at least slow it down. We've destroyed approximately 13 million hectares of forests each year between 2000 and 2010 because of agriculture. Forests play an integral role in regulating our climate, and providing a home for a huge mass of species. Globally, 1.6 billion people depend on forests to live, whether it be for food, medicine, fuel, jobs or living. Forests help with our current problem of carbon emissions, as they filter carbon dioxide through the process of photosynthesis.
-Fracking comes at a price. In the process of fracking, 600 chemicals such as lead, mercury, radium and ethanol, are used in the fluid that's put in the ground to pump the gas out. This will contaminate the soil and surrounding freshwater. Methane concentrations are 17 times higher in water wells located near fracking sites, compared to ones that aren't. Drinking this water can result in respiratory, sensory, and neurological damage. All of the fluid gets left behind after an area has been fracked, leaving it to evaporate into the air, releasing organic compounds that are harmful to the atmosphere- producing acid rain.
-Enforce the use of sustainable energy sources, like solar energy. We need to start eradicating the use of fossil fuels, as the release of greenhouse emissions is seriously impacting our atmosphere. Extreme weather is a result of carbon burning- droughts, storms, floods, will only increase and worsen if we don't stop.
-Excess packaging seriously needs to stop. It is a waste of resources, and only contributes to the landfill build up. I'm sure you've all had at least one thing in your hand and thought 'why does it need packaging around it'?! Like bananas for example...
-More awareness needs to be made about wastage and recyling. If everyone recycled, we wouldn't have such major issues to deal with, like rubbish and plastic building up in the oceans. Theoretically, world wide practice of recycling would cut down the use of energy resources used by half, as we'd be recycling what we have and not producing more. We have become an incredibly wasteful society, which needs to change. Recycling is so easy to do, and it's down to sheer laziness of people who don't.
So please, I encourage you to recycle as much as you can! Think before you throw something away. Think about where it will end up and what it could do to the environment- you could potentially be killing an animal the next time you throw away a piece of plastic!
Actively try to buy sustainable products, the more we buy, the more they thrive, and will cause businesses that aren't sustainable to either close, or change their ways.
Think about your carbon footprint. If you can walk somewhere rather than take a mode of transport that relies on fossil fuels, do so!
Thank you for taking the time to read my blogs over the past couple of months. I hope I've inspired some sort of change, or at least taught you something new!
These are the main things:
-Sustainable agriculture needs to be enforced. Too many pesticides and fertilisers are being used to produce crops and feed livestock, which are damaging the environment; they are depleting the fertility of soil, and leaking uranium into freshwater. This is a problem because studies have shown that uranium contaminated water can increase the risk of kidney damage, cancer, and high blood pressure. Livestock naturally live off eating grass, so there is no need to use pesticides to grow grains for these animals. By correcting our mistakes, and working on improving Earths' soil, we can eliminate carbon from the atmosphere, as soil absorbs carbon naturally.
-Stop deforestation, or at least slow it down. We've destroyed approximately 13 million hectares of forests each year between 2000 and 2010 because of agriculture. Forests play an integral role in regulating our climate, and providing a home for a huge mass of species. Globally, 1.6 billion people depend on forests to live, whether it be for food, medicine, fuel, jobs or living. Forests help with our current problem of carbon emissions, as they filter carbon dioxide through the process of photosynthesis.
-Fracking comes at a price. In the process of fracking, 600 chemicals such as lead, mercury, radium and ethanol, are used in the fluid that's put in the ground to pump the gas out. This will contaminate the soil and surrounding freshwater. Methane concentrations are 17 times higher in water wells located near fracking sites, compared to ones that aren't. Drinking this water can result in respiratory, sensory, and neurological damage. All of the fluid gets left behind after an area has been fracked, leaving it to evaporate into the air, releasing organic compounds that are harmful to the atmosphere- producing acid rain.
-Enforce the use of sustainable energy sources, like solar energy. We need to start eradicating the use of fossil fuels, as the release of greenhouse emissions is seriously impacting our atmosphere. Extreme weather is a result of carbon burning- droughts, storms, floods, will only increase and worsen if we don't stop.
-Excess packaging seriously needs to stop. It is a waste of resources, and only contributes to the landfill build up. I'm sure you've all had at least one thing in your hand and thought 'why does it need packaging around it'?! Like bananas for example...
-More awareness needs to be made about wastage and recyling. If everyone recycled, we wouldn't have such major issues to deal with, like rubbish and plastic building up in the oceans. Theoretically, world wide practice of recycling would cut down the use of energy resources used by half, as we'd be recycling what we have and not producing more. We have become an incredibly wasteful society, which needs to change. Recycling is so easy to do, and it's down to sheer laziness of people who don't.
So please, I encourage you to recycle as much as you can! Think before you throw something away. Think about where it will end up and what it could do to the environment- you could potentially be killing an animal the next time you throw away a piece of plastic!
Actively try to buy sustainable products, the more we buy, the more they thrive, and will cause businesses that aren't sustainable to either close, or change their ways.
Think about your carbon footprint. If you can walk somewhere rather than take a mode of transport that relies on fossil fuels, do so!
Thank you for taking the time to read my blogs over the past couple of months. I hope I've inspired some sort of change, or at least taught you something new!
