Canada: 1b - Interactive Simulations

Environment   Sep 21, 2017 by Sahaj Kinshuk

How do these simulations relate to your community? Do any of them feel irrelevant to your context?

All of the simulations feel relevant to me, living in Canada. The ecological footprint calculator made me realize how my lifestyle was unsustainable, and the water calculator showed me how much water goes into every aspect of my life, even if not directly, such as showers or drinking. The simulations said that my community of Edmonton has a high ecological impact, which is understandable because of the substantial amount of energy required to power houses and maintain heat during long winters, as well as the high percentage of energy coming from fossil fuels in my province.

How do these simulations help you (or not help you) find your place in combating climate change?

The simulations helped me see which areas of my life require action, such as lower meat consumption and the purchase of more locally produced goods. They’ve also encouraged me to pursue renewable energy to power my home. With this in mind, I strongly believe that my greatest influence on climate change lies in advocacy and the potential causation of societal change, at least in my local area.

Have these simulations changed how you think climate change should be tackled?

While the simulations provided me with useful information on ways that individuals could reduce their ecological impact, I still believe in my previous notions of how to combat climate change: mass awareness and action. Rather than a few people making large changes, I would rather everyone should make small ones. The latter would result in far more benefit for the environment. That being said, I still think it is important that individuals make changes in their lives, because there must be trendsetters within the population that lead through example.

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