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Want to take steps to be greener but aren't sure where to start? Here's a full page of resources to dive into.
Nottingham City Council has reacted to the environmental and climate crisis by making carbon neutrality one of its 2019-2023 Council Plan policies. A Carbon Neutral Charter was created and published in 2019 setting out the high-level objectives to make Nottingham the UK’s first carbon-neutral city by 2028.
Taken from Nottingham’s 2028 Carbon Neutral Charter, here’s some terms we think you’ll find useful:
Carbon budget:
The maximum amount of carbon dioxide that can be emitted to be in line with keeping temperatures well below 2oC and pursue a 1.5oC limit to rising temperatures.
Carbon dioxide (CO2):
A key greenhouse gas with a long-lifetime in the atmosphere and both natural and human sources.
Carbon neutral:
Having a balance of how much carbon dioxide is emitted into the atmosphere Vs the amount that is absorbed through carbon capture.
Carbon Sequestering:
Localised carbon offsetting can be implemented. For example, it is recommended that Nottingham increase the capture of CO2, in a process called sequestration, through tree planting, forestry yield improvement and management21. This would allow Nottingham to offset emissions elsewhere in the city, helping to achieve our carbon neutral commitment.
Consumption:
The action of using up a resource.
Climate change:
The long term change of climate, typically measured over decades or longer. This is different to weather, which is now.
Climate emergency:
Climate change presents the greatest threat to life: on the economy, social well-being and the natural environment.
Global warming:
Increase in temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere over long timescales, caused by increased levels of greenhouse gasses.
Greenhouse gas (GHG):
The Earth can maintain a regular average temperature (about 15oC) despite heat leaving the planet’s surface because a layer of gases in the atmosphere absorb and release heat – a process known as the greenhouse effect. Greenhouse gases are those that have this effect, each with differing lifetimes and abilities to capture heat (infrared radiation).
Net Zero:
The term net zero means achieving a balance between the carbon emitted into the atmosphere, and the carbon removed from it. This balance – or net zero – will happen when the amount of carbon we add to the atmosphere is no more than the amount removed.
Planetary boundaries:
The environmental limits of what the planet can sustain as result of human actions and other processes..
Resilience:
The ability of a system and its component parts to anticipate, absorb, accommodate, or recover from the effects of a hazardous event in a timely and efficient manner, including through ensuring the preservation, restoration, or improvement of its essential basic structures and functions.
Sustainability:
Meeting the needs of current generations, without compromising future generations or the natural environment.
Sustainable Behaviour Change:
Efforts put in place to change people's personal habits and attitudes around activities that impact the environment. This can be encouraging positive behaviours such as recycling through education or discourage negative behaviours such as regular car use by improving public transport.
Complete this short quiz, designed by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to calculate your personal carbon footprint and see where you can make small adjustments to your lifestyle that will have a big impact!
Check out these documentaries, currently available on Netflix. You can learn about the world from the comfort of your sofa! Sometimes hard hitting, documentaries created by people whose passion for the planet are mostly just going to inspire and encourage you to take action.
@GretaThunburg The ultimate climate and environmental activist.
@earthrise.studio A creative studio dedicated to communicating climate & justice.
@mrspress Clare Press is a podcaster, book writer & founder of @thewardrobecrisis. Join their new “Sustainable Fashion 101” course at Wardrobe Crisis Academy
@nottinghamrecycles Recycling inspiration and information from Nottingham City Council
@greenpeace Greenpeace exists because this fragile earth deserves a voice. It needs solutions. It needs change. It needs action.
LeftLion, a monthly magazine about all the cool stuff in Nottingham, is available to pick up in and around the city. LeftLion's been about since 2003; serving up everything from local contemporary literature, to interviews with local heroes. They’ve recently started featuring useful stuff about the environment too.
FYI: LeftLion magazine is fully recyclable and home-compostable. They print on paper that is recycled or made using FSC certified sources, on a renewable powered print press.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries - developed and developing - in a global partnership. Get to know the 17 goals and pick one to focus on this month or year.