![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
Bangladesh is drowning
This isn't the future, this is now. Climate change is destroying land in Bangladesh every year and the number of environmental refugees is rising steadily.
If you really want people in the West to understand the effect they are having here, it's simple. From now on, we need to have a system where for every 10,000 tons of carbon you emit, you have to take a Bangladeshi family to live with you. It is your responsibility.
The UK emits 500 million tons a year of CO2. That means we, as a country, are making 5,000 Bangladeshi families homeless every year. Not in some vague future time period. THIS YEAR and every year from now on.
The USA needs to take around 60,000 families every year; Australia around 3,000.
Of course, that's only from Bangladesh...
I won't bore you with the data on Pacific Islands, changing rainfall patterns in Africa and the effect on crops, the impact on poor people around the globe. You can find the information yourself if you want to.
Here's a carbon footprint calculator to try. I hadn't tried this one before, but was impressed by the sensible suggestions you get at the end. I initially thought one of the suggestions was stupid, but upon reading the more detailed explanation I found that it did actually make sense.
Our household is currently around a third of the UK average CO2 emissions, but that figure is unusually good at present becasue Henry is at home from university - so our emissions are split between three people instead of two. The easiest way to slash your CO2 rating is to have more people in the house. (slightly tongue in cheek - take a lodger, save the planet!)
We also benefit from being a mid-terrace house, which really does help reduce the heating bills (although we also have excellent insulation). The fact that Richard is currently working from home is a big bonus on the petrol consumption. If he has to travel in future, then that would pull us up again.
(Remember, carbon offsetting is not the answer. Around 95% of carbon offset schemes are probably achieving nothing of any practical use.)
If you really want people in the West to understand the effect they are having here, it's simple. From now on, we need to have a system where for every 10,000 tons of carbon you emit, you have to take a Bangladeshi family to live with you. It is your responsibility.
The UK emits 500 million tons a year of CO2. That means we, as a country, are making 5,000 Bangladeshi families homeless every year. Not in some vague future time period. THIS YEAR and every year from now on.
The USA needs to take around 60,000 families every year; Australia around 3,000.
Of course, that's only from Bangladesh...
I won't bore you with the data on Pacific Islands, changing rainfall patterns in Africa and the effect on crops, the impact on poor people around the globe. You can find the information yourself if you want to.
Here's a carbon footprint calculator to try. I hadn't tried this one before, but was impressed by the sensible suggestions you get at the end. I initially thought one of the suggestions was stupid, but upon reading the more detailed explanation I found that it did actually make sense.
Our household is currently around a third of the UK average CO2 emissions, but that figure is unusually good at present becasue Henry is at home from university - so our emissions are split between three people instead of two. The easiest way to slash your CO2 rating is to have more people in the house. (slightly tongue in cheek - take a lodger, save the planet!)
We also benefit from being a mid-terrace house, which really does help reduce the heating bills (although we also have excellent insulation). The fact that Richard is currently working from home is a big bonus on the petrol consumption. If he has to travel in future, then that would pull us up again.
(Remember, carbon offsetting is not the answer. Around 95% of carbon offset schemes are probably achieving nothing of any practical use.)