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Autumn 2021 is an exciting time for taking action to combat climate change. Representatives from nearly 200 countries are meeting in November, in Glasgow to help decide our global climate change strategy and plans, so we will be hearing lots about climate change over the next few months. Do you think it is just the governments and big businesses that hold the ‘key’ to solving our climate crisis? What can we do at home? Well Young Climate Warriors also hold a ‘key’ … this week’s challenge is to find a very special key, and use it … it’s a key to your electricity meter. Ask your parent/carer if they can help you find it. Do you think it looks like a car key or a house key? Or more like a Playmobil/Meccano spanner?
Your challenge this week (with your parent / carer’s permission) is to write down some meter readings and work out how much electricity you use – in a day, in a week?How does your electricity consumption compare to the average UK household - using 8-10kWh a day on average across the year?You could check again in the middle of winter – when it is dark and cold outside our electricity usage is normally higher. Do you think you could reduce the amount of electricity you consume?You probably already have lots of ideas of how to do this, and over this year Young Climate Warriors challenges will provide many other fun suggestions. Understanding how much we use is a helpful first step in then seeing how we can reduce it.
When you have found and used your electricity meter ‘key’ please HIT THE RED BUTTON and let us know!
Electricity is generally produced by burning fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas) – which release carbon emissions when burnt - the main cause of climate change. Excitingly however, carbon emissions-free, renewable sources of energy are increasingly being used – like SOLAR (harnessing the sun), HYDRO (harnessing waves or fast-running or falling water), WIND (turbines on land and out at sea) and GEOTHERMAL (using heat from the earth’s core).
A QUARTER of GLOBAL electricity is now created from RENEWABLE sources. In 2020 RENEWABLE energy made up just over 40% of the UK’s electricity generation – great progress is being made!! We still need to play our part in reducing our electricity consumption to help us reduce our carbon emissions more quickly.
If you’d like to see a ‘live’ snapshot of how much electricity is being produced by renewables, at this exact time – you could have a look at this website: https://gridwatch.co.uk/renewables/percent/
If you want to remind yourself of ways in which you can save energy at home, and reduce your electricity consumption and carbon emissions, you could watch this European Commission YouTube clip. No doubt you will also think of plenty of ideas of your own!
Don’t forget to HIT THE RED BUTTON when you have put the electricity meter key to good use!
