Open Air

Climate Change is BAD

October 15th, 2009 Posted by: lukebeaman

Today is Blog Action Day and the subject is climate change. Over 8000 bloggers have signed up with an estimated readership of almost 12 million people. While I fear anything I say will be a further duplication, that’s really the point, to spread the message.

While we all believe we have a handle on climate change, how much do we really know and are we aware of small things we can do to have a positive impact? Personally, I don’t own a car and take the bus to work. I’m actually moving closer to work and will then be able to walk. I’m not obsessive but I recycle as much as I can and would say that 90% of general packaging now goes in a red bag as opposed to a black one. I started being more proactive about recycling 6 months ago and it’s quite scary to think how much recyclable material I was sending to landfill. I have a small bin on the counter in the kitchen now for regular waste and my 50L bin is now the recycling bin. I suspect many people do the converse and this is one simple way to literally turn climate change around.

I’m lucky that I live in a south-facing apartment and rarely need to use heating (I’ll simply wear an extra layer when I move). My wife is a vegetarian, I switch everything off at the mains (except for the PVR) at night, buy furniture from sustainable sources and, best excuse I’ve found so far, don’t have kids! So there you have it, simple, everyday actions like this mean my carbon footprint is pretty small and I’m sure many of us are able to implement at least one of these changes – though you shouldn’t really give up your kids.

The Open University (OU) had computers setup at their recent 40th anniversary event to calculate carbon footprint which I hope had an impact. The area certainly seemed popular – there’s some pictures of the events here on flickr. If we created the tools ourselves, they’re a well kept secret so here’s a good carbon footprint calculator.

OpenLearn, the OU’s site which gives free access to its learning materials has a number of study units relevant to climate change in the LearningSpace (detailed below). In the LabSpace, you can remix and reuse materials and there is also the opportunity for collaboration with others. There’s a collaborative space for the 10:10 Climate Change Campaign which also links to OU iTunesU podcasts, YouTube videos and use of the OU’s Cohere tool which makes sense of ideas/arguments and shows the connections between these and other people.

So there you have it. There’s plenty of information out there to become better informed and make a positive impact on climate change and global warming. Congratulations to Blog Action Day for informally raising the profile and getting people thinking and, hopefully, acting. You can follow Blog Action Day and OpenLearn on Twitter – @blogactionday & @OpenLearn.

OpenLearn courses related to climate change:

Climate change
Climate change is a key issue on today’s social and political agenda. This unit explores the basic science that underpins climate change and global warming.

Climate change: island life in a volatile world
What impact will global warming really have? This unit examines the potential problems faced by the people of the Pacific Island of Tuvalu as a result of rising sea levels. Where would you go if your island is only a few feet above sea level? Who would you blame?

Global warming
This unit provides an introduction to global warming. We will be considering the history of global warming by looking at the pattern of ice ages and analyisis of recorded temperatures. We will aim to gather meaningful information from this data. We will briefly assess the impact and influence of humans on global warming and, finally, we will examine climate models and how to predict future changes.

Managing coastal environments
Coastal environments are by their nature ever-changing. This unit looks at the example of the Blackwater Estuary in Essex, England, describing how the current state of the estuary came to be. It examines the contests and conflicts that centre on the estuary in terms of managing the environment for human needs and the needs of the other species who make their habitat there.

Water and human health
Water is a natural resource that is vital for human survival and health, although only a tiny fraction of the Earth’s supply is available to humans and terrestrial animals. In this unit we look at threats, such as pollution, to water’s capacity to support life around the world.

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