Think about our planet

I love gardening and providing an environment for the wildlife (birds, squirrels, hedgehogs etc) in my garden to live and enjoy from. As this world equally (if not more) belongs to them. It is nice to hear the sounds of the birds and seeing how happily and intelligently the wildlife live together. Better than us humans. It is sad to see how many people totally remove their gardens and replace with hard landscaping (slabs/paving/tarmac). Most don't have any green at all, some replace real trees with artificial ones too (yes, it is happening).

The benefit of having plants, is that plants store Carbon. The plants take Carbon Dioxide from the atmosphere and turn it into the sugars that become leaves, stems roots and woody trunks.

Your Carbon Footprint

In the UK, on average a person's carbon footprint is approx 10 tonnes (from www.carboncalculator.co.uk) per year. Have you ever thought when landscaping your garden to at least have a garden which is Carbon neutral? What is this? This is by using Carbon Offsetting. Which means, to cancel out the CO2 emissions used to for the manufacture and install of your hard landscaping by planting the equivalent number of trees. For example, if you hard landscape approx 60 cubic metres of paving that could calculate to 780kg of CO2 emissions, you would need at least 2 trees (soft planting) to be planted to cancel out or offset those Carbon emissions. This would be a carbon neutral garden.

It will be difficult for us all to totally remove our carbon footprint, but it is not difficult to reduce it.

How can you reduce your carbon footprint?

For example, using the gymnasium, select an exercise which does not consume electricity, which will be even better for the health as well as environment.

This could be by doing high intensity body weight exercises, like battle ropes, using a rowing machine that utilises kinetic energy or a cross trainer.

If you are planning on going on holiday, obtain the awareness for the whole year of how many tonnes of CO2 emissions you are responsible for. If possible, reduce the number of flights and go for a longer period of time which may benefit in having a better quality break may be. If you have the awareness, you will most likely know what you can do to offset the CO2. In our daily lives we must do our best to minimise the Carbon Footprint by not wasting water, planting greens instead of removing them, not wasting food and only cooking what we can finish, minimising pollution, recycling waste and using energy efficient equipment in the home.

What can you do as an Engineer?

As Engineers, think about simple things like using skype for meetings, minimising site visits, utilising technology such as drone surveys and desktop information. Proposing sustainable design solutions that are energy efficient such as selection of transformers, environmentally friendly heating and ventilation, renewable energy (wind and solar), class 2 power, smaller cable sizes, think of the life costs of an installation, use GRP enclosures with green roofs/walls, concrete free foundations and many other available solutions.

It is our planet our home

It is our planet, ours meaning humans and wildlife. Let's not destroy the planet or at least reduce the damage to the planet, so that our future generations and wildlife can survive.

Think green, think carbon offsetting, know your carbon footprint and make a better world.

We want to see less of this!!!

We want to see more of this!!!

Our oceans are being destroyed too, life under sea is also dying....

But, we can save or atleast minimise further damage and contribute to recovery. This will not only bring smiles to our future generation, but even our wildlife.

How does carbon footprint cause global warming?

“Most climate scientists agree the main cause of the current global warming trend is human expansion of the "greenhouse effect"1 — warming that results when the atmosphere traps heat radiating from Earth toward space. Certain gases in the atmosphere block heat from escaping.”

https://climate.nasa.gov/causes/

What happens when global temperature increases?

“If the world temperature rises by two degrees, mountain glaciers and rivers will start to disappear, and mountainous regions will see more landslides, as the permafrost that held them together melts away. By 2100, sea levels could rise by a metre, displacing 10% of the world's population.”

https://news.sky.com/story/what-will-happen-as-the-world-gets-warmer-10336299

The reduction of the carbon footprint will reduce global warming and help to stay below 2 degrees C.

Try your best to contribute to the 17 sustainable development goals

https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2015/12/sustainable-development-goals-kick-off-with-start-of-new-year/

Landscaping Carbon Offset Calculator

https://www.marshalls.co.uk/homeowners/hard-landscaping-carbon-footprint-calculator

Carbon Footprint Calculator

https://www.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.aspx

Climate Care Carbon Offset Calculator – Pay your way to support Carbon Offsetting projects

https://climatecare.org/calculator/

#carbonfootprint #carbonoffset #globalwarming #sustainability #efficiency #technology