The Dastardly Dilemmas of

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The Dastardly Dilemmas of
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And what we can do to slow them down
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Contents
Restrictions on car usage
Global warming and transportation
Whats Going on?
Miscellaneous
At school
Around the House
Summary
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Global warming. The newsreaders are bored of
talking about it, scientists are trying to
convince stubborn politicians and sceptics who
dont know better about it and the general
populace is wondering Is the threat real? What
part can I play to make a difference? The threat
is real. Very real. Global average temperatures
are soaring (0.3-0.8 degrees Celsius above
average, expected to become as high as 4.5
degrees above average by 2100) the Sahara desert
is far larger than it used to be many years ago
and our polar ice caps are melting. This is not a
good thing. Not only that, with some effort it is
a stoppable thing. One major asset is your voice.
Yes, you have to make yourself heard. If more
people push politicians to take action and we
take action ourselves, then weve already taken a
huge step towards kicking global warming. That is
what is important. If we do stop it, then we
wont have to face our coastal cities being
flooded, or even worse, suffering an ice age. It
isnt really that difficult. Switch off lights
that arent being used, dont use your car as
much, switch to a greener energy producer,
perhaps go so far as to switch entirely to solar
energy? Some of these simple steps will most
certainly make a major difference- provided that
everyone plays their part. Following are some
slides with more comprehensive measures that we
can take to stop global warming. Not only do they
benefit the Earth, they also save money for you.
Remember, were all in this TOGETHER. Turning off
one switch will only make a difference if we all
do it as a nation.
Whats going on???
The haze over car infested Beijing
as opposed to the clean skies of Curitiba, where
over 85 of people use buses.
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Global warming and Transportation
The car, quite frankly, is a brilliant invention,
an exemplary brainchild of human intelligence. It
allows easy transport from A to B in next to no
time. However, we must face the stark and sad
reality that the car , and versions of it, is
among the most influential factors to global
warming. We, as a nation, must take action to cut
the amount of green house gases being pumped into
the air by automobiles. One way we can do this
is to buy fuel powered or electric scooters. Fuel
scooters cost as little as 5 to top up, can go
as fast as 60kph, (more expensive ones can
double that!) and cost far less than standard
cars.
The average fuel Scooter
The government could take some initiative and
hand out rebates or rewards for scooters (like a
free GPS system with every scooter, or make)
scooter only lanes. Todays society majorly
adores and cherishes celebrities and media
luminaries, and since many of them own things
such as Vespa scooters etc, they could easily
start a trend. Car companies like Ford and
Holden could put more effort into building more
efficient scooters. Scooters are have numerous
advantages they are remarkable for getting
through car congested urban areas, the upfront
costs are very low compared to standard
cars(electric scooters are slightly more
expensive and take longer to charge up), they are
stylish and dont influence global warming as
much.
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• They still have a long road to go down in the way
  of development, but they are much more of an
  asset than cars. If the idea goes through, the
  economy would benefit as well, as exports and
  imports would start to take place. The Australian
  government, in the air of cutting green house gas
  emissions, could use the profit to upgrade the
  public transport system. It would be genuinely
  beneficial to the Earth if more Australian people
  used scooters as the number of passenger vehicles
  registered in Australia per 1,000 population
  increased from 250 in 1965 to 465 in 1995 and has
  been growing since. In Sydney alone, cars
  release 91 of the carbon monoxide in the air,
  82 of the oxides of nitrogen and 49 of volatile
  organic compounds . Research has also shown that
  the average car generates an INCREDIBLE 16 to 32
  times as much emissions as the average fuel
  scooter. All in all, scooters as the most
  common form of transport would cut greenhouse
  gas emissions by a HUGE amount.

A cheap electric powered scooter- these have zero
emissions!
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Stop using Cars
As was previously affirmed, cars are a major
cause of global warming and air pollution. If
there were legal restrictions on when you could
use cars, there would be numerous advantages.
In some countries such as Singapore, there is a
special system of car usage restrictions which
makes it so that the citizens have to bid for
the right to use private cars, and many surfeit
costs are involved. It hence pushes people to
use public transport or other forms of transport
and leads to much less carbon emissions.
Perhaps if the government installed more toll
booths to push people towards public transport?
The eventual rise in people using public
transport would generate more income for the
government, which in turn could be used to
improve the currently rather incompetent
standards. Maybe the train fares could be changed
to one fare for any distance, as in the bus
system of the Brazilian city of Curitiba?
Wouldnt it be better to have these 40 commuters
here?
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The lost money, of which there would be little
could be paid for out of the tax collected by the
government, and since more tax was being diverted
to public transport, less tax could be diverted
to unemployment money, which would in turn cause
more people to find jobs, meaning more tax payers
and more money to fund transport. One fare for
all distances would most certainly attract more
commuters anyway, so not much extra funding would
be needed. Yet if this is to work, the state
government must take some initiative and upgrade
the public transport system. More trains and
buses in the system will lead to more efficiency
and more reason for commuters to make the switch
to public transports. Perhaps more rigorous
driving standards to lessen the amount of young
people owning cars, or many more unnecessary
costs and formalities to deter people from buying
or using cars. One idea I think might work is
that everyone hands in their old number plates,
the government recycles them and hands out new
number plates which can be customized for free
(this will appeal more to people would strongly
oppose such a proposition). The number plate
would have a number starting from 1 and going
ever upwards, or perhaps some other form of
identification. If it were standard numbering,
say, the odd numbers would only be allowed out on
Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, etc and the even
numbers on every other day. If a car is urgently
required on an unassigned day, a permit can be
acquired one way or another. The proposition
about scooters would majorly facilitate such
movement. It would also encourage use of public
transport, bicycles, scooters, walking or
carpooling etc. The advantages are efficient and
rewarding, the disadvantages have been thought of
and have solutions, the only remaining thing to
do is to make yourself heard! As previously
stated, your voice is a major asset when fighting
global warming. It is the politicians who take
the major executive reins and it is them who
represent you! As a society, we must take action
for what we believe in.
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Around the House
To save energy around the house is VERY simple.
There are all the obvious factors such as turning
off the lights when not in use, waiting for a
full load if using dishwasher/washing machine,
switch from standard incandescent light bulbs to
compact fluorescent light bulbs etc. The last
option is a good one. Standard light bulbs last
8000 hours, maybe 3 weeks short of a year. A
normal incandescent light bulb uses 60 watts,
whereas a compact fluorescent light bulb uses
only 14 watts. Thats nearly 80 of energy
saved! Aside these simple steps, we can take more
comprehensive measures. You could switch your
energy provider to a more sustainable one if you
have not already done so. Some energy providers
such as Energy Australia or Jack Green offer
100 renewable for only a few dollars extra per
month. If everyone did this then carbon
emissions would be cut by unfathomable amounts!
69 of carbon emissions are caused by the
production and consumption of energy! 69! I
reiterate! If we all used renewable energy just
think of all the ramifications! To further prove
my point, contemplate this In Thailand 2005, 14
million businesses and households turned off one
light at a set time (like Earth Hour). In this
case, they collectively saved enough energy in 5
minutes to shut down one of their 14 power
stations! That is just a tiny taste of what
people power can truly do.
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Again, we are all in this together. It is not
acceptable for just, say, 10 people to do it
because that truly wont have an impact. As many
people as possible must contribute for this to
work. It is our earth and it is not fair if some
people not to make an effort and others not to.
Take the Vietnam war. When the Americans bombed
the Vietnamese transport bridges, the Vietnamese
would use people power to simply build another
bridge. They would constantly repeat this over
and over and it worked! We can do it as well, but
this time, instead of building a bridge all we
need to do is change our energy options, or
switch off a few lights! Its not that difficult.
You need to participate yourself, encourage
others to do so and make yourself
heard. globalwarming-facts.info/50-tips.html is a
useful website in that it has a variety of simple
yet advisable adjustments to make to help stop
global warming. Things such as putting on more
clothes instead of turning up the heater,
switching light bulbs, travelling less by air
etc.
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At School

• There are lots of ways you can make a difference
  to global warming while at school.
• When using computers, television sets, ovens etc
  make sure you turn them off completely (including
  the monitors) Objects on standby account for as
  much as 10 of their total energy usage.
• In the classroom, pull up the blinds and turn off
  the lights as much as you can
• Encourage your SRC members to use spare school
  funds for a solar energy project or the
  installing of more energy efficient hardware
  (e.g. Better lighting, data projectors etc)
• Try to raise awareness about global warming
  among your teachers and fellow students so that
  they can contribute as well.
• Encourage your friends to use public transport
  instead of getting dropped off. Organise for you
  and your friends to catch the same service or
  timetabled train/bus etc.
• Start recycling more and persuade other people
  to do so too. You may think that recycling has
  nothing to do with global warming, but think
  again! Each tonne of paper waste that ends up in
  landfill requires one cubic metre of space and
  produces four tonnes of greenhouse gases. Four
  tonnes! Thats equivalent to the emissions of a
  car travelling 12,000 kilometres
• Dont give up! Even if some people ridicule you,
  know that you are doing the right thing. Besides,
  chances are that it will be the bare minority of
  people who will ostracize you for it, if anyone
  even will. Keep at it and youre bound to make a
  difference.

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Miscellaneous things to do
Apart from the previous suggestions, here are
some tweaks for your day to day life that can
really make a difference
If your destination is, say, 3 kilometres or less
and the weather is fine, walk or ride a bike
instead of using your car..
Buy groceries locally- you dont pay anything for
the petrol you would use for driving to a
shopping centre so slightly higher prices dont
make a difference. The transport of goods also
uses less energy
If you live in an area with poor public
transport, e.g. near the CBD try carpooling with
your schoolmates or colleagues who live near you.
Its better to have 5 people in one car than 5
people in 5 cars.
DONT GIVE UP!!!
Make yourself heard. Encourage your friends etc
to take part in anti- global warming activities
as well. If your council representative has a
suggestion bank or something like that, voice
your opinions on climate change.
Recycle more. If recyclable objects didnt go
into landfill, a lot of energy would be saved.
Also, if you can, try composting. It saves a lot
of waste as well.
Service your car regularly- It will make it more
fuel efficient and eventually pay for itself.
Make sure your tyres are properly inflated- that
makes a difference too.
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SUMMARY

• So remember that with some of these previous
  steps we as a nation can make a difference to the
  future of the planet and climate change. It will
  only work if we all took part. People power is
  the key to success here. Dont be afraid to try
  anything new, remember that collectively, these
  incentives are simple, they make a huge
  difference and most of them save you a lot of
  money in the long run. As Confucius once stated,
  a journey of a thousand miles begins with the
  first step. So why not start now?