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Welcome to Lancaster Climate Action
The earth's atmosphere is warming dramatically. The cause is increased emissions of carbon-dioxide (CO2) - the gas that is produced when fossil fuels such as oil and gas are burnt as fuel. Lancaster Climate Action are a group of local people concerned about the effects climate change will have on our lives and wanting to do something about it. to raise awareness of the effects climate change is likely have on our city and further afield to raise awareness of the causes of climate change and possible solutions to help people make positive changes to their lifestyles to reduce climate change, whilst improving their quality of life to support other local groups taking steps to reduce our 'carbon footprint' and provide a central place for them to post information campaign locally and nationally for businesses to reduce emissions and support local communities
The earth's atmosphere is warming dramatically. The cause is increased emissions of carbon-dioxide (CO2) - the gas that is produced when any fuel is burned. The problem started with industrialisation but has accelerated hugely in the last 50 years. If the problem goes unchecked it is certain to change the weather in ways that will harm both natural eco-systems and human communities. We can expect more severe weather events - droughts, storms, changes in ocean currents and temperatures - across the world. Life is likely to become very difficult for a lot of people.
The only solution is to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions world-wide. Governments need to act but individuals can help by adjusting their life-styles and showing that they support the need for change. How are we contributing to Climate Change? The way we live is dependent on huge amounts of energy, most of which comes from the burning of fossil fuels. Heating, lighting, cooking, home entertainment and travel all require electricity or gas. When we buy food in the supermarket or clothes and goods in a chain store, they have often travelled thousands of miles by road or air from the place of production, to a packing factory, to a warehouse and finally to the shop shelf. Fuel is used in transportation, energy is needed for production and packaging and to heat (or chill) and light places of storage. With the number of cheap flights increasing, more people travel by air. Aircraft consume large amounts of aviation fuel, emitting carbon dioxide. There are now more cars on the roads than ever before, with many people commuting to work individually by car and driving to shops and other places. Directly and indirectly, we consume energy and contribute to carbon emissions through most of our actions. We believe that it is possible to make lifestyle changes that will reduce our 'carbon footprint' such as buying local produce or using less fuel and energy in the home, and at the same time build a stronger and healthier local community. For example: Food from local farms has travelled far fewer miles and been stored for a shorter period of time, using less energy. Buying local produce also supports local businesses and means eating fresher, more nutritious food. Cycling or walking to work reduces carbon dioxide emissions from fuel and provides fresh air and exercise. For longer distances travelling by train avoids traffic jams, and allows time to read, sleep or enjoy the scenery. One of the first things you can do is calculate how much Carbon Dioxide you're producing - once you know that it's easier to work out how you can cut your emissions. Calculating your Carbon emissions doesn't have to be difficult - we have a simple Carbon Calculator for you to use. Over the coming months, we hope to provide more information about practical solutions to the climate problem As well giving information about Lancaster Climate Action, this website will be a posting site for local groups concerned with reducing carbon emissions and protecting our planet. It will also provide links to web information related to climate change and the activities of other national and international groups. Previous events ...... During May and June, we followed Paul Mobb's talk by showing a series of films at The Friends Meeting House, Lancaster. These were The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil, The End of Surburbia, two speakers from the Fuelling the Future conference in Kinsale, Ireland and finally Reclaim Power: Voices from the Camp for Climate Action 2006. The films were followed by a discussion about peak oil, climate change and how we can prepare locally. We hope to show some of these films again and others in the Autumn.
. We hope Paul will come back later in the year to talk about his new book 'Less is a Four Letter Word'. At the beginning of March 2007 we had a display at Lancaster City Library about climate change, which followed two stalls in Lancaster city centre providing information about the carbon impact of flying and other travel alternatives e.g. cheap bus and rail tickets and cycle routes, which tool place in December and January. Meetings The next meeting will be at 7pm, Tuesday 6th November at The Basement under Single Step Co-op, Penny Street, Lancaster. We are planning to organise more film showings, talks, skills-sharing workshops and tree planting. If you would like to get involved or find out what we do, please come along! To find out more about Lancaster Climate Action or if you would like us to link to your website, please contact us |
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