Posts Tagged ‘global warming’
-
Matthew Hensby: my volunteering experience
By Climate Squad volunteer photographer and reporter, Matthew HensbyIn December of 2009 I was given the chance to travel to Fiji and work for the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) as a Communications Officer for six months.
I have always wanted to travel to a field office of a major conservation NGO to get a better understanding of how these organisations address the issues they publicise and how they make use of the money people donate – this was a great opportunity!
I have to admit, I have not always been a ‘volunteer’, but a wise friend of mine once said something to me that completely changed my outlook on the idea.
“Unfortunately I’m poor and don’t have any money to donate to good causes. But one thing I do have a lot of is time , so I donate that instead.”
I thought that it was a great outlook. Not everyone can afford to give their money away to charity but, for those who want to help, volunteering your time and expertise can be a HUGE help!
In Fiji I have had the opportunity to learn and participate in so many unbelievable projects – it has been an education. Being able to attend project and field work deep in Fiji I have had the opportunity to experience the country like I would never had been able to before.
Spending weeks living with families in the rain forest, giving workshops in turtle conservation, monitoring coral reefs 30m below the surface, seeing my conservation advice adopted by Fijian government, securing funding for future project work, visiting the Solomon Islands – it’s been magical!
Although Fiji was my first taste of volunteering it certainly won’t be my last. For me, the best thing about volunteering is that, no matter where you are or what you enjoy, there will always be someone who needs your help – music, sports, art, conservation, film, education, policy, a specific industry, anything!
-
Climate Change Game!
If you have ever wondered what it would be like as the Leader of a country and the great changes you would make- then now is your chance…
The BBC have developed an online game in which you assume the role of President of the European Nations with the mission to innovate, trade and persuade other nations to help save the environment.
As president you are required to help the environment whilst creating wealth and remaining popular. Achieving all of these will test your diplomacy and often involve making difficult decisions. Although fictional, the game does provide some interesting data and statistics and is also surprisingly difficult.
The BBC website is also a great place for you to check up on recent news articles, video clips and blogs on climate change with many interesting links.
Enjoy!
-
Project Dirt
Once again, the volume of bright, enthusiastic people taking action against climate change rises to the surface when “Project Dirt” are faced by a miserable “MrGlum” who calls into Project Dirt stating that there’s no point trying to combat climate change! We all know this is not true, and the latest video by Project Dirt show us how we can help, and with our help how we can generate large positive impacts on our environment!
“Project Dirt” is an active community linking community projects and likeminded people, giving them the opportunity to take part in a number and diverse range of projects in their local area. With alarming facts such as “bees have had a 75% decline over the past 100 years”, they promote a local project to Devonshire Road which aims to protect the local bee population.
The video blog also shows the impressive Clapham tree house which produces as much electricity as it consumes, and a group of Wandle trust volunteers cleaning up to 4 tonnes of rubbish out of the river Wandle every month! These are merely a handful of the exciting 131 environmental projects “Project Dirt” have for you to get involved with! If you would like more information on how to get involved with the projects and show “MrGlum” that climate change is not all doom and gloom, follow this link… http://www.projectdirt.com/
If you are interested in climate change volunteering opportunities or would like to try something new, exciting and different keep a look out on www.climatesquad.org.uk for new opportunities that will be launched along with our new website at the end of August! Or why not register your interest now!
-
Low Carbon Transition Plan
Yesterday the Government published the new “Low Carbon Transition Plan”, which outlines the UK’s strategy to minimize its carbon emissions and boost the low carbon economy for the next ten years.
To achieve the target of 34% carbon emissions reduction by 2020, set out in the budget, a number of actions are planned, including a series of incentives for homes and communities such as a “Clean energy cash-back” scheme, which would pay householders for the extra energy that they produce above their own needs if they install renewable technologies (e.g. solar panels), and a new personal carbon scheme to challenge people to save energy voluntarily.
Workplaces and jobs are also included and a new campaign is being launched to guide small and medium businesses as they reduce their carbon emissions.
Climate Squad’s volunteering opportunities also concentrate on reducing the carbon emissions of local communities and businesses, fitting well with the ‘Low Carbon Transition Plan’. By joining the Climate Squad team of volunteers you will have a unique opportunity to play your part in the UK’s historical move to tackle climate change by helping your local community move towards becoming a sustainable, low carbon society.
Accomplishing the commitments set by the Government would be a huge, positive step in the fight of climate change, and would put the UK at the forefront in this worldwide process.
-
Looking for a career in websites but need experience?
Vinspired.com is looking for two web-savvy volunteers to help us test an exciting new website we’re building for the Climate Squad project.
As a tester, you’ll spend a week following test scripts to make sure the site works. You’ll report any problems you find, using a bug tracking system. You’ll be based in v’s offices in Westminster, London, and will work with digital agency Made by Many, the brains behind Amnesty’s Protect the Human site.
The ideal candidates will be aged 16-25, passionate about all things digital, and able to work with minimal supervision. The positions would suit an IT undergraduate or someone with some experience of developing websites.
We’ll need you from Wednesday 22 July to Friday 24 July, and from Monday 27 to Tuesday 28 July. We can pay reasonable transport costs and a lunch allowance.
To apply, email us telling us about any relevant experience and the reasons why you’d like to get involved. Please attach a CV.
To find out more check here.
-
G8 agreement on climate change
On Wednesday, the G8 country leaders reached an historic agreement that developed countries will commit to reduce the 80% of their greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, in order to keep average global temperature from increasing by more than 2°C
The agreement is great in principle but there are a handful of concerns:
- First of all, the benchmark year from which the reductions will be measured has not yet been agreed. As more carbon has been emitted in recent years, the more recent the benchmark date, the easier it will be to make the reductions.
- Other weak points are the lack of specification on how these targets are going to be met and the absence of mid-term targets. We cannot afford to wait until the last minute to try to meet the greenhouse gas reduction target.
- Finally, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change states that developed countries should take the lead. However, at the moment, developing countries are concerned that the developed countries are not properly assisting them to meet the expenses involved with emission reductions, which means that they are less likely to sign a written agreement.
The G8 agreement is definitely a step in the right direction, but its success will depend on the commitments of the developed countries and the support that they formally provide to the developing nations. Both of these need our encouragement.
The next key meeting on the road to Copenhagen is to be held in September, when the G14 will look to agree more concrete arrangements. Hopefully, this will provide a positive start to the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference, in December.
-
One Million Feet to Copenhagen
Would you like to go to Copenhagen but don’t know how to get your voice heard?
Just send your feet and let them leave your footprint!Footprint Friends have launched their new campaign to give young people the chance to make a symbolic participation to the forthcoming UN Climate Change Conference to be held this December: “One Million Feet to Copenhagen”. It is an invitation to 10-18 year olds to paint their feet, take a picture of their own masterpiece and send it to Footprint Friends, in order to create a colourful and visually-impacting artwork.
The so called “Book of Dreams” (the final composition produced from these pictures and the eco-poems that young people are also invited to write to express their feelings about the environment) will then be presented at the conference, to highlight the awareness surrounding the summit and to show how much young people really care about this crucial moment.
To find out more check Footprint Friends website
-
Logicity
Us Climate Squad team members love a good game or quiz (as you may have noticed!) and this is undoubtedly the best one that has come our way.
The National Energy Foundation have come up with an amazing virtual metropolis, Logicity, where you begin in the year 2066. After having a chance to look around the city and see the effects of climate change you are transported back to the current day where you can make simple changes to the way the citizens of Logicity live their lives, scoring points for your energy efficiency. You can then return to Logicity in 2066 and see the results of the undemanding changes you made in the current day - a great demonstration of how easy it is to halt the negative effects of climate change.
But don’t take my word for it, see for yourself! Check out www.logicity.co.uk/ and see if you can beat the high scores.
-
Three quarters of 16-24s say tackling climate change is important
Hot off the press… This will probably be a shock to Daily Mail readers and the like, but it turns out far from spending our waking hours thinking up new ways to get high, sponge off the state and indulge in random acts of violence, we’re actually worried about climate change - and prepared to do something about it.
In a survey of 1,225 16-25 year olds, three quarters agreed that it’s important for them as individuals to do something about global warming. And they had no doubt that climate change will affect their lives - 78% believe they’ll see the effects in the next 50 years.
A massive 94% say communities working together is important to prevent the worst effects of climate change. Hopefully, Climate Squad can dish up some answers for the third of you who want to do something but don’t know how.
We’re planning everything from light audits and environmental flashmobs to longterm projects helping schools, businesses and councils to change their ways. Sign up at the top of the blog to find out how to get involved - or give us your ideas for volunteering opportunities through the suggestion box.
-
The DIY approach to cutting carbon
Climate change is real, it’s happening now, and the facts are pretty depressing. Without action, scientists predict nothing short of a global disaster - not hundreds of years in the future, but in our lifetimes.
But it’s not a done deal. The fact is that nearly half of all carbon emissions in the UK come from the energy we use every day - at home, at work and in transport. So rather than waiting for politicians to sort it out, we figured it’s time to take back the power and start cutting carbon ourselves. So, this is Climate Squad - the DIY approach to cutting carbon in our communities.
We’re aiming to get 3000 volunteers involved in persuading everyone from school kids, local councils and businesses to our friends, families and neighbours to take basic steps to cut the amount of carbon they use. To do this, we’ll train 300 leaders, aged 16-25, to run their own environmental projects in their communities.
The plan is, these 300 leaders will then be skilled up to embark on fabulous new careers doing something they care about. Meanwhile, politicians will see that England is prepared to change its carbon ways - so they’ll be pressured to make the international deals we need to get global warming under control. And our retirements will involve holidays and golf and bingo which, while dull, is much preferable to floods, droughts and general global catastrophe.
Climate Squad is still evolving. Help to shape the project by dropping your ideas in the suggestion box.
Recent comments: