Pre-Conference Activity 1b.

Environment   Sep 13, 2016 by stephanie zawaduk

Hello, my name is Stephanie Zawaduk and this blog post is being written to address the simulations in activity 1b. 

The first simulation I began with was the ecological footprint calculator. What I found most surprising about the footprint simulator was that my footprint was higher than Expected. My family recycles everything, has high efficiency appliances and even buy local produce; yet my ecological footprint is a 7.2. This means that it would take four of our planet if everyone lived the way I do. My Ecological footprint is higher than Canada's average by 1.4 and is lower than my cities average by 1.4. I would like to reduce my footprint but some aspects just don't seem doable. For example I can't change the fact that I live in a large house or that in the winter our produce comes from California; but I can turn down the thermostat and reduce my consumption of disposable products such as packaged foods.

The next simulation I completed was the Climate change simulator; I was able to efficiently reduce CO2 emissions, I did this by investing heavily in projects to reduce emissions such as carbon levies and renewable energy development. This also meant that Europe devolved into anarchy, I felt that the options expressed by the cards were unrealistic in the sense that it did not accurately represent the revenue these technologies would create, as well as the "popularity involved". I approached the international negotiations by leading by example and essentially taking the approach of this is what I have done take these concepts and apply them to your own nations. 

Unfortunately I was having a lot of trouble with the third simulation and was not able to make it work.

These simulations are really helpful and are an informative tool for youth to utilize, they really provide a unique perspective and increase your understanding of climate change.Understanding climate change is the first step in tackling the issue and this only reaffirms that this is the path we should be on.

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