Last week Wimbledon High School held 'Wimbledon Week of Action'. Each day a different event was held, focusing on a different set of the United Nation's (UN's) Global Goals. This brought me back to my primary school days when I was a dedicated eco warrior, collecting litter from the school playground after the Christmas fair! It also reminded me of the homegrown hyacinths which I happily did the rounds of handing to friends and family, which I thought was a nice contribution to inspire people to garden more.
Having participated in one of the school's activities: the Energy and Global Goals kahoot quiz, I will share one of the quiz questions to test your knowledge:
*By 2025, how many people will be living in countries with absolute water scarcity?
(answer at the end)
Whilst at home this week, a smart metre was installed and I hadn't realised how much energy was used up when leaving the TV on standby.
If you're feeling inspired, take this questionnaire to calculate your carbon footprint:
https://footprint.wwf.org.uk/#/
Furthermore, after watching both of Sir David Attenborough's new documentaries during half-term, and the awareness week, I realised that changes can be made which will make a drastic difference to meet the target date. Attenborough's main three action plans were:
That if more trees were planted and there were less farms, then this would encourage animals and humans to live in harmony. This would reduce carbon emissions. He gave the example of Chernobyl and how being inhabitable, nature has re-dominated the city - proof that nature thrives without the present of human's.
By eating less red meat (it wouldn't be sustainable if the entire planet went vegan just like it wouldn't be if everyone ate red meat) the carbon footprint would be minimised.
If the world had 'fishing free zones' fish would overpopulate in these protected areas and transfer to the fishing zones where there would be enough fish to feed the population without becoming extinct.
Having spoken to my physics teacher Ms. Sinclair - who made the whole week possible - she has endorsed David Attenborough's views:
'In terms of making a difference, I think I can’t put it better than David Attenborough: Don’t waste.
If we all valued energy, resources, food and the natural environment more, instead of seeing them as disposable commodities, we would greatly reduce our impact on the world around us.'
Even the Prime Minister announced a goal of all petrol and diesel cars to be off the road by 2030 (see here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-54981425) - bringing forward the date to address the climate crisis.
Fortunately there is light at the end of the tunnel as small changes and even more awareness by everyone may help decelerate global warming and help accelerate the meeting of the UN's global goals.
*NB Answer to the quiz question: 1.8 billion
By Ambar Madhok
