An Inconvenient Truth

Global Warming
My CRC students are creating blogs containing not only their own personal details but also their views on climate change and global warming. The starting point is Al Gore's movie, 'An Inconvenient Truth'. The main thesis presented, it must be admitted very impressively, at the outset of the film is that climate change and global warming are inextricably linked to human activity. Gore presents a mass of statistical evidence, backed by impressive graphic displays and photographic evidence, to back up his argument. The film footage is colourful, dramatic and well-matched to Gore's commentary. The movie is well directed and very thought-provoking, whether or not one accepts all of Gore's arguments.Over the coming weeks the students will post blog entries on their views of the movie, definitions of global warming, its causes and possible solutions.

Rodin's Thinker

Public transport is all very well, but...

This is an extract from an article by Andrew Neil in The Spectator, 10.05.08, which highlights some of the pitfalls associated with advocating public transport as a key element in combating traffic congestion, pollution and, hence, global warming.

To Liverpool to chair the annual conference of the British Chambers of Commerce, stout yeomen of the country’s small- to medium-sized businesses. I’ll let the train take the strain, I thought, and burnish my green credentials, even though I planned to travel on a Sunday, which meant the normal two-and-a-half-hour trip would take an extra hour. In fact, it was my wallet which felt the strain first: Richard Branson’s Virgin charged me £320 for the privilege of a first-class return from London, an obscene amount of money for a modest train ride. (I can fly business class to Nice and back for less!) Undaunted, I arrived at Euston in plenty of time for a 4 p.m. departure. That’s when it all went pear-shaped. The concourse was packed tight with people all staring at departure boards displaying the same word in capital letters: ‘DELAYED’ (to be strictly accurate some carried another word: ‘CANCELLED’). I made my way to what is laughingly described as Virgin’s first-class lounge, a dreary, scruffy room which was rapidly turning into the Black Hole of Calcutta as delayed passengers accumulated.
I inquired how long the delay to Liverpool would be. ‘No idea, sir’ was the polite but uninformative reply. I stood against a wall for 20 minutes (there was no place to sit — even floor space was at a premium). Nothing was moving. I could be here all night, I thought, might as well drive. So I jumped in a taxi and returned home. I’d spent £40 on taxi fares to get back to where I started. But it proved to be the right decision. I made it to Liverpool in my small but speedy BMW Mini Cooper in three and a half hours, with only the usual delays around Birmingham, checking into, while it was still daylight, the Liverpool Malmaison.
Driving turned out to be as fast as the Sunday train service — in fact, it turned out to be a lot faster for I learned later that my train, when it eventually departed, took seven hours, trundling like some magical mystery tour round Middle England to avoid repair work on the track and power cuts. Memo to self: never again try to travel by train in Britain on a Sunday.

Sheringham

Global warming 1

Carbon footprint

I measured my U.K.carbon footprint & it was 2.82, which seems bad enough, but is, in fact, below the national average.

The measurement of my A.D. carbon footprint is a different story, as you can see below.

My carbon footprint

My Ecological Footprint - Quiz Results
If everyone on the planet lived my lifestyle, we would need:

= 11.41 Earths
Reduce your footprint
Table View

To reduce my footprint, I pledge (check all that apply):
To retrofit my house for energy efficiency
To walk more and drive less
To replace belongings only when they wear out
To increase the share of local, organic foods in my diet
To plant a garden
To recycle more of my waste
To increase my use of renewable energy
To adopt energy saving habits
To take mass transit whenever possible
To buy more products certified as sustainably produced
To purchase carbon offsets
To eat lower on the food chain
By taking these actions, I hope to reduce my annual footprint to: global hectares or acres next year.
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Your results
(in global hectares)
Footprint
Country Average
Carbon footprint
18.62
31.48
Food footprint
37.72
45.45
Housing footprint
11.85
16.86
Goods and services footprint
111.11
68.48
My total footprint
179.30
162.27
(in global hectares)
Footprint
Country Average
Cropland footprint
19.65
17.91
Pastureland footprint
48.10
42.98
Marine fisheries footprint
40.48
37.92
Forestland footprint
71.07
63.47
My total footprint
179.30
162.27
Number of Earths
11.41
10.33
Monday, May 5, 2008 Work View
My Footprint Country Average
------------------------------------------------+---------------+-----------------
Carbon footprint (in global acres) 18.62 31.48
Food footprint (in global acres) 37.72 45.45
Housing footprint (in global acres) 11.85 16.86
Goods and services footprint (in global acres) 111.11 68.48
------------------------------------------------+---------------+-----------------
My total footprint (in global acres) 179.30 162.27
My Footprint Country Average
------------------------------------------------+---------------+-----------------
Cropland footprint (in global acres) 19.65 17.91
Pastureland footprint (in global acres) 48.10 42.98
Marine fisheries footprint (in global acres) 40.48 37.92
Forestland footprint (in global acres) 71.07 63.47
------------------------------------------------+---------------+-----------------
My total footprint (in global acres) 179.30 162.27
------------------------------------------------+---------------+-----------------
Number of Earths 11.41 10.33