What can we do as individuals in our school and community to prevent and reduce climate change ? 

When I thought about questions about climate change, I thought about what changes we can make as individuals in our lives because the government isn’t willing to help out and I don’t believe someone else is gonna swoop in and fix all problems related to climate change. I believe that we can make a change with one person at a time, we can make climate friendly choices in our lives and make our community a climate friendly one. We can continue to expand until we have nearly the whole world making climate-friendly life choices. It starts with you.

I came up with a couple of solutions and changes we can all make in our lives to make Po Co a climate-friendly community.

 

solution #1 : change your transportation

In order to be climate-friendly, we have to reduce the amount of fossil fuels being burned. Cars burn fossil fuels and the fuel we use for other vehicles such as buses is the same. In order to limit the amount of fossil fuels that are released into the atmosphere, we must limit our car use. We can walk our short distances by foot and this way you get more exercise too. We can ride bikes for longer distances. If you these options aren’t possible, use public transportation and trains because this way the same amount of fuels are burnt for a larger amount of people-same goes for carpooling. Places in downtown Port Coquitlam are usually walkable so this should not be too much of a challenge for our community. Make this small change in your life so that we can be one step closer to reducing and limiting our climate change.

images:

bicycle  railroad walking

solution #2 : change your diet

In order to reduce climate change, we need to change our diet and the food we buy. We should try to buy more from local stores and the farmers market. We should support small local companies rather than big factories that fill the air with fossil fuels every day. Try to eat more simple foods that did not need much processing in factories. This way, you are saving your body from the harsh chemicals and saving the planet-it’s a win win situation! You can also grow your own garden. You can also eat less meat in order to decrease greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture because they are currently an even bigger problem than fossil fuels. Now this doesn’t mean you should become a vegetarian but even just reducing the amount of meat you consume and buy can make a difference. Plus, there are so many delicious vegetarian recipes. Also try to limit takeout because they usually deliver with trucks that burn fossil fuels, plus dining in is so much more enjoyable.

images:

veggies pizza avocado toast

solution #3 : limit waste

Another thing you can do is limit your waste. Only Canada generates 3.25 million tonnes of plastic each year. Pollution is important because this year alone, the plastic pollution equals nearly the pollution of  200 coal-fired power plants with a 500-megawatt capacity. That is a lot. We must use reusable resources such as reusable bags, water bottles and containers. Avoid buying one use plastic and Styrofoam. We should  also buy locally to limit the packaging of foods. We buy everything on a foam tray that is covered by plastic wrap. The reason this is so bad is because this is later burnt and released into the air or put in the landfill. It pollutes the air with chemicals and makes the atmosphere warmer. Also, even if you buy recyclable materials, only nine percent will actually get recycled. The rest will go in the landfill. So in conclusion, make sure to reduce the amount of waste you use first, then reuse as much as possible and finally recycle what is left. Also try to buy products made of recycled materials because we want to encourage recycling as much as possible plus this way you know you’re not using much new material and creating new waste.

images:

trash landfill reusable bags

 

Reflection

1) The main questions that I had to research “Ways to help climate change”, “pollution and climate change”, “climate friendly diet”, “why is meat bad for climate change?”, “does Styrofoam decompose”, “causes of climate change”

2)I brainstormed ideas and searched for answers and supporting ideas to my questions/solutions. I found sources with these answers and I used my brain to break down the information into facts.  I needed to learn how to use “easybib” to cite my sources. I had to analyze and identify the difference between facts and opinions. I used multiple sources to confirm the same information to make sure it was true so that I knew the information was a 

3)I brainstormed ideas and supporting details/solutions for each one. After, I chose my favorite and researched questions related to my topic. I had to find the facts in the information and find out if the source was credible and just in case the source wasn’t credible, I used multiple sources to confirm the information. Then I used the information the break down into facts and add it to the blog.

4) I checked if the sources were well known and if they had a good author and date. If not, I used multiple other sources to verify the information before I used it.

5)First, I brainstormed possible main questions and supporting ideas. Then, I chose my idea and did some research on possible cause of climate change. I also thought of ideas I’ve heard help climate change and did more research on them. I took notes on the facts I found and then added my own opinion. Then I edited and sourced the websites I used for research. I am somewhat proud of what i accomplished because I used my knowledge and sites to make an interesting article  with facts and my opinions too. Overall I like how it turned out, although I wish I gave myself more time to add new solutions and elaborate on the existing ones. 

 sources:

Findlay, Justin. “Is It True That Styrofoam Never Decomposes?” WorldAtlas, 31 May 2017, www.worldatlas.com/articles/is-it-true-that-styrofoam-never-decomposes.html.

Smith, Catharine. “New Report Issues Dire Warning About Plastics And Climate Change.” HuffPost Canada, HuffPost Canada, 17 May 2019, www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/plastic-climate-change_n_5cdd8f4be4b09648227ca194?ri18n=true.

Chin, Jessica. “These Businesses And Governments In Canada Are Banning Single-Use Plastics.” HuffPost Canada, HuffPost Canada, 12 June 2018, www.huffingtonpost.ca/2018/06/11/single-use-plastics-canada_a_23456208/.

Carrington, Damian. “Huge Reduction in Meat-Eating ‘Essential’ to Avoid Climate Breakdown.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 10 Oct. 2018, www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/10/huge-reduction-in-meat-eating-essential-to-avoid-climate-breakdown.

UNUniversity. “Eating Less Meat Essential to Curb Climate Change, Says Report.” Our World, ourworld.unu.edu/en/eating-less-meat-essential-to-curb-climate-change-says-report.

“The Causes of Climate Change.” NASA, NASA, 30 Sept. 2019, climate.nasa.gov/causes/.

“Top 10 Things You Can Do about Climate Change.” David Suzuki Foundation, davidsuzuki.org/what-you-can-do/top-10-ways-can-stop-climate-change/.

Pilkington, Alisha, et al. “Back to Nature: How Gardening Can Help Combat Climate Change.” Eastlondonlines, 17 May 2019, www.eastlondonlines.co.uk/2019/05/garden-for-climate-change/.