Akhil - London Champ 08

4 - An Update...

Climate Action! — Fri, 23 May 2008 10:29:00 GMT

I haven't written a blog for a while, so I thought I would give a quick update on what has been happening. I've been busy with exam revision and am currently in the midst of doing exams which will all be over on June 18th !

In my first blog I mentioned what events I would be planning with my £1000. I purchased a solar powered complete weather station which has now been installed and is now providing updated information on the local climate conditions which we can now compare and monitor over time. The device is wireless and feeds information through sensors powered by sunlight. There are four main things that it records information for: temperature, humidity, wind speed and rainfall, but it can also record air pressure etc. as well as providing weather forecast data. The station has been working well and I am now hoping to get the information fed live onto the school website so we can have up to the minute data and logging tools available. Surprisingly the station works well even with only limited sunlight so it should work well through even the winter months.

The other main part of my project is the environmental garden. Work has already begun on it and the opening and launch date has been set for Wednesday 25th June. The garden is to be called "Queen Elizabeth's School Environmental Awareness Garden" and will include a pond ecosystem as well as lots of self sustaining plants that don't require much water and can grow regardless of their position in sunlight. Apart from the obvious 'green credential' is has by being a garden, the plan is to incorporate themes of 'Reduce, Reuse, Recycle' by using things like solar powered lights and pond pumps, water butts and recycled materials.

Catch up soon...

Akhil

3 - The 11th Hour

Climate Action! — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 17:01:00 GMT

This is a bit of an interlude to my initial timeline of events, but it's really exciting and quite special so...

I was invited to a pre-screening of a new climate change film called The 11^th Hour on Monday evening. It is a special release because of the severity of the issue, so unlink normal films which release on DVD, then satellite and finally terrestrial (many years later), this film is on limited release in the West End before a television premiere on Channel 4, in May!

I had a great evening meeting the footprint friends gang and then watching this great new film with a real focus and visual motive.

MY REVIEW:

A fast paced eye-opener, though slightly overwhelming. 4 Star ****

The 11^th Hour describes the last moment when change is possible. The idea that we are ‘in the 11^th hour and at 11:59' is central to the movie. The whole film is intended to be a catalyst for people to take action and change their ways before it is too late.

Drought. Famine. Severe flooding. Record rainfall. Hurricanes. Acid rain. The highest average temperatures in recorded history. Catastrophe is reported on the nightly news as isolated incidents. But are these incidents isolated, or pieces of a larger global puzzle that could unlock humanity's future?

Like An Inconvenient Truth, this film is a documentary style with interviews from various important people. The film began with a shocking sequence of footage showing recent environmental disasters, before a lengthy session of facts and general information about the causes of global warming as given by top scientists such as Stephen Hawking and former Soviet Prime Minister Mikhail Gorbachev. Throughout the explanation of the causes and in an attempt at proving that the warming is caused by humans, there are many references to globalisation and its associated environmental problems and well as using visual imagery of nature and its beauty to show us what is being destroyed. Towards the end, the film attempts to deal with the solutions of the problems shown. In an effort to ensure viewers do not come out feeling depressed through the sheer scale of the problem, the film tries to make us feel that we can do something. Interviews with sustainable design experts William McDonough and Bruce Mau along with plans for use of renewable energy on a larger scale help reassure and guide people to a cleaner, greener, sustainable future for all. In the end, the main message is that we should all take responsibility for our actions and now that we are so close to experiencing a global disaster, we should all work together to tackle the problem.

I thought the film was very good and a great way to get the message across to as many people as possible. I think their unique release strategy means that lots more people will be able to watch it and the Channel 4 showing will greatly help to raise awareness. I would definitely recommend the film to all budding environmentalists, but for those who are not yet convinced, or would like to take small steps to change their lifestyle, the film is slightly intense and only briefly concentrates on solutions. This is a minor point, but may well affect those who view it and may decide to turn off after a while after being totally overwhelmed!

Well worth a watch if you can catch it at the Apollo in Regents Street running from this Friday (21^st March) or on Channel 4 in May!

we are the generation that can change the world

2 - Where it all started...

Climate Action! — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 23:03:00 GMT

So, when people say to me; "How did you become a champion?" I find it quite difficult to answer, as it's hard for me to know exactly where it all started! I visited the "Climate Challenge" website occasionally and had it in my ‘favourites' list. On one visit, I saw the link to the competition and decided to read about it further. I thought it was a brilliant opportunity and decided to have a go.

To enter I had to create something which showed that I could:

"encourage my friends, family, school or community to make positive steps to reduce their carbon footprint."

I wanted to make something which could directly appeal to young people through a specific medium which would be relevant to them. For me, the internet was an obvious choice as I wanted to make climate change a fun topic and find a way to make it interactive. I made a website full of information, ideas and quizzes about climate change.

My website address is http://www.yourclimateaction.co.uk/ . If you have any feedback with considerations for improvement, I would greatly appreciate it - there is a feedback form on the site under the ‘Contact Us' section. I am looking to make new sections and changes to some content. There is even a mini competition!

Anyway, I was called to the semi-finals in Central London, where I had a panel interview to find out more about me as a person, my entry and my views on climate change. Then I got the call and feedback from the interview and here I am now as one of the champions...

My First Blog...

Climate Action! — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 19:23:00 GMT

Hi All!

This is my first blog post, where I hope to share my views, ideas, experiences and photos along this incredible journey as a young climate change champion. I think it's very important to get young people involved in climate change which is why this initiative by Defra is so brilliant and important in tackling the problem. It's great that we can be hosted here on Footprint Friends where there are so many like-minded young people who are all eager to spread the message!

My views on climate change are probably identical to those of the other champions - but I'll highlight them anyway:

Climate Change is the single largest, global, long-term issue we are going to face.
Our approach must be targeted but be practical at the same time.
Young people need to be directly involved because they will be the ones who are likely to suffer the potential consequences

I would like to spread the message through the media, speaking at events and conferences and also though the £1000 to spend at school.

I hope that this first blog is a brief introduction and plan to go through the entire year as champion right from the beginning - starting from the next blog, with a bit about my competition entry.

Speak Soon...

Akhil

www.yourclimateaction.co.uk