Does climate action really start from home?
The current crisis we face from climate change, tends to be due to the amount of fossil fuels being burnt, as well as the current rate of deforestation. The excess amount of fossil fuels being burnt is down to the high demand for electricity around the globe. This tends to mean the need for fossil fuels being burnt as the use of reusable energy, such as wind or solar, is not being used to its full potential.
The carbon footprint of every person in the globe will always be possible to be reduced, for example turning of plugs overnight, making sure heating isn’t on in a room that isn’t being used, or perhaps only using lights when they are in dire need.
All this would reduce the amount of electricity being needed for each household, meaning fewer fossil fuels burnt for the production of electricity, reducing emissions into the atmosphere. However, climate action may start at home, but the largest component to climate action would be travel. The increased use in cars and air travel has skyrocketed the global emissions due to the burning of petrol or diesel in each car, as well as the huge amounts of aeroplanes that travel the skies 24/7.
‘London residents aged 16+ make 4.6m car driver trips and 1.4m car passenger trips on an average day, of which 3.7m are within London.’ There is a significant change in recent years, with an increase in the usage of peddle bikes, and public transport such as the underground or buses, which is positively effecting the global warming crisis, reducing emissions. However, is enough being done to prevent the earth heating up?
Is veganism the best way to tackle climate change?
Veganism has been spoken about to be the best way to tackle climate change at home, as it reduces the consumption of meets such as beef, coming from cows which produce methane which is a greenhouse gas that contributes to the warming of the planet.
This comes from large farms, with the largest being in China, with a ‘farm manages 22,500,000 acres. The Mudanjiang City Mega Farm specializes in dairy and has around 100,000 cows.’ The methane produced from these cows supposedly had a greater effect on global warming than the alternatives that vegans believe.
These alternatives, however, offer a different type of problem for global warming. The increase in veganism, calls for an increase in vegetables and fruit being produced somewhere in the world, this has caused for large amounts of space to be needed in areas occupied by trees, and has led to a great amount of deforestation. Not only does the cutting down of trees affect global warming because of the lack of photosynthesis, turning the carbon dioxide in the world into oxygen, but also releases large amounts of carbon dioxide, stored usually in the trunk of a tree, out into the atmosphere. Meaning veganism is a possible way to tackle climate change from home, but also has reverse effects which could be just as bad as not being a vegan.
Why we need fewer cars and more investment in public transport
Cars are a huge part of the climate crisis, especially due to it being the most used method of transport currently in global economies. Petrol is a much larger beneficiary to global warming than diesel, however, the effect they both have could arguably be the largest factor effecting the worlds heat. The change to public transport for a large population in a city such as London for example would be colossal.
With little to no cars on the road, and public transport being used for efficiently by maximising capacity, the usage of petrol would decrease a significant amount. Some public transports such as the underground also run-on electricity which is much more beneficial in terms of usage from fossil fuels, as less emissions are produced in the making of electricity, compared to the combustion in a car. However, with the growing trend of electrical cars, public transport may not be needed as much as it would do with petrol and diesel run cars.
The growing concern from global warming has been spoken about for years but highlighted a lot recently being close to the inevitable, where we are unable to return to atmosphere back to its original state, this leads to believe that people will really do anything for money, as many people, such as Sir David Attenborough highlights on a constant, the change is easy, but is it easier to make money?