Student Tribune
Green Tip: Sustainability and Climate Change
Carbon Brief is a
UK-based website covering the latest developments in climate science, climate
policy, and energy policy. Carbon Brief has mapped every
extreme-weather attribution study published to February 2021 (to the best
of their knowledge). These studies have the power to link the abstract
concept of climate change with personal and tangible experiences of weather.
This is around 350 peer-reviewed studies looking at weather extremes –
heatwaves, droughts, flooding, and hurricanes—that is mounting evidence
that human activity is raising the risk of some types of extreme
weather—especially heat-related events.
Mapped: How Climate Change Affects
Extreme Weather Around the World
The map on the Carbon Brief page shows 405 extreme weather events and trends
that have had attribution studies. You can select different types of extreme
weather, and whether the published study showed a link to human-caused climate
change, no link, or inconclusive evidence. When you click on a symbol on the
map, you see more information, including a quote from the original paper that
summarizes the findings and a link to the online version.
What Can I Do?
According to UN
ActNow, everyone can help limit climate change. Here are some steps
to take:
Save energy at home – lower your heating and cooling,
switch to LED light bulbs, buy energy-efficient appliances, wash laundry with
cold water
Drive less – walk, bike, take public transportation
or carpool if you can; group, schedule, and map out errands to be more
efficient
Eat more vegetables - Eating more vegetables and fruits and
less meat and dairy can significantly lower your environmental impact.
Producing plant-based foods generally results in fewer greenhouse gas emissions
and requires less energy, land, and water.
Throw away less food – plan meals to avoid waste,
label food in refrigerators so it is used before it goes bad -- When you
throw food away, you're also wasting the resources and energy that were used to
grow, produce, package, and transport it; and when food rots in a
landfill, it produces methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.
Reduce, reuse, repair, and recycle - buy fewer things, shop
second-hand, repair what you can, recycle correctly
Penwarden, Ann
Sustainability Steering Committee
01/31/2022