Need Some Inspiration?
If you're one of the legions who accepts global warming as fact, then you're likely also one of those who accept that there has to be some changes made, ASAP. The thing is continuing old ways is sometimes just so easy while breaking with them is not. It's an effort that has to come from each one of us, not just some vague "they" who we can self-righteously condemn for doing nothing while we continue to blast our AC's and buy more incandescent light bulbs. If you need a little inspiration to fuel your determination to save our planet, you can find some in an unlikely source - Formula One racing - according to Nick Fry, team principal of Honda racing. Interviewed at July 22nd's European Grand Prix, Fry had some interesting comments to make. "Unless Formula One can become a contributor to the technology that might help the environment, it's likely it will become a dinosaur," he predicted. Fry has been pushing for a cut to carbon emissions and waste in the sport and to get his message out there, he put a big picture of the earth on his team's two cars at this year's race, instead of the usual commercial logos.
Honda's race cars currently emit 17 tonnes of CO2 a year; 1,500 grams of CO2/km, a rate ten times higher than a small road car. Formula One's International Automobile Federation has proposed rule changes for 2011 that would include a switch to smaller turbo-compounded 2.2 litre engines that run on bio-fuel. Of course, there are those who are screaming about the proposed changes but if the FIA is getting involved, it doesn't seem too likely that the screamers will be able to impose their stupidity on the sport, and thereby the rest of us.
Surely, if a die-hard holdout like Formula One can make an effort, you can too. It's not really that hard. Just read on for a little help on how to start up your engines of change.
We Canadians produce approximately 700 megatonnes of greenhouse gases a year. We really need to change that, and it's a change that is within our reach. We just can't sit around waiting for others to do the doing. Each one of us needs to become the person we are waiting for.
If you need any tips to help you get started, there are a couple of interesting sites available to you. One is "Reduce the Juice", an Ontario youth-led electricity conservation program. Headed up by Phoebe Lusk and Sara Wicks, the project started two years ago and was meant to get the town of Shelburne to conserve electricity in 2005. Great results there inspired the two to take it to the town of Orangeville in 2006, and the only question now is where it will head next. Any high school teacher looking for a project to catch the students' interest first day back this September should take a look at the Reduce the Juice site. You could get your class off to a start that would motivate them all year and end up benefiting your whole community. It would all make great resume material, for you and your students.
Another site to check out, whether you're a teacher or not, is Flick Off, a site dedicated to helping each of "manage our damage". It will help you to "Flick Someone Off", and give you help to take action yourself, with suggestions for steps to take at home, at school, at work, at the store and with friends. That just about covers everything, doesn't it? If you want to do even more, they've got ideas for you from speaking your mind in their forum and nominating a "Flicker of the Week" to contacting your MP and entering the "FlickFest" contest. There are wallpaper and banner freebies as well as T-shirts and bracelets to buy. Rupert Grint, or "Ron" as Harry Potter movie fans know him, sported a Flick Off T-shirt for a recent MTV interview.
The site has something of value for everyone, not just Canadians. As a matter of fact, anybody who enjoys breathing is bound to find food for thought at this site. Got a little time to invest in your own future? Try spending a few minutes at Flick Off.
Honda's race cars currently emit 17 tonnes of CO2 a year; 1,500 grams of CO2/km, a rate ten times higher than a small road car. Formula One's International Automobile Federation has proposed rule changes for 2011 that would include a switch to smaller turbo-compounded 2.2 litre engines that run on bio-fuel. Of course, there are those who are screaming about the proposed changes but if the FIA is getting involved, it doesn't seem too likely that the screamers will be able to impose their stupidity on the sport, and thereby the rest of us.
Surely, if a die-hard holdout like Formula One can make an effort, you can too. It's not really that hard. Just read on for a little help on how to start up your engines of change.
We Canadians produce approximately 700 megatonnes of greenhouse gases a year. We really need to change that, and it's a change that is within our reach. We just can't sit around waiting for others to do the doing. Each one of us needs to become the person we are waiting for.
If you need any tips to help you get started, there are a couple of interesting sites available to you. One is "Reduce the Juice", an Ontario youth-led electricity conservation program. Headed up by Phoebe Lusk and Sara Wicks, the project started two years ago and was meant to get the town of Shelburne to conserve electricity in 2005. Great results there inspired the two to take it to the town of Orangeville in 2006, and the only question now is where it will head next. Any high school teacher looking for a project to catch the students' interest first day back this September should take a look at the Reduce the Juice site. You could get your class off to a start that would motivate them all year and end up benefiting your whole community. It would all make great resume material, for you and your students.
Another site to check out, whether you're a teacher or not, is Flick Off, a site dedicated to helping each of "manage our damage". It will help you to "Flick Someone Off", and give you help to take action yourself, with suggestions for steps to take at home, at school, at work, at the store and with friends. That just about covers everything, doesn't it? If you want to do even more, they've got ideas for you from speaking your mind in their forum and nominating a "Flicker of the Week" to contacting your MP and entering the "FlickFest" contest. There are wallpaper and banner freebies as well as T-shirts and bracelets to buy. Rupert Grint, or "Ron" as Harry Potter movie fans know him, sported a Flick Off T-shirt for a recent MTV interview.
The site has something of value for everyone, not just Canadians. As a matter of fact, anybody who enjoys breathing is bound to find food for thought at this site. Got a little time to invest in your own future? Try spending a few minutes at Flick Off.
1 Comments:
Believe it or not, some Torontonians are a bit peeved at "flick off." The thinking from the morality police goes that "flick" is just way too close to that unfailing of the English language, "fuck." They've accused the government of wasting a heck of a lot of money in helping to promote it. Which sort of misses the point entirely. "Flick off" is catchy. It's supposed to get attention and have stickiness.
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