Late last year, Sir David Attenborough, attended crucial UN climate talks, and implored that human behaviour and attitudes to climate change and global warming must change if we want to save our planet. Attenborough states “given the chance it can recover, and we know how to do that.” It’s not too late.
In observing data from Climate Central, there is an obvious correlation between dramatic increases in carbon dioxide in the air and temperature rise. Carbon dioxide accounts for 75% of greenhouse gasses, and is largely a result of human behaviours such as burning fossil fuels and deforestation. These greenhouse gasses trap heat within the Earth’s atmosphere which is normally remitted back into space during night time when the temperature drops. Essentially, these gasses resemble glass in a greenhouse, which allows sunlight to pass into the ‘greenhouse,’ but prevents heat from escaping into space leading to a global temperature increase.
Image source: Climate Central (2018) ‘GLOBAL TEMPERATURE & CARBON DIOXIDE’, Available at: http://www.climatecentral.org/gallery/download/co2-and-rising-global-temperatures
(accessed: 27.11.2018)
National Geographic suggests that the continued increase in the global temperature could have catastrophic impacts on our wildlife, sea levels and the rate of melting icecaps and glaciers. The frequency and intensity of extreme weather events will also be effected. Already we have seen heatwaves, extreme storms, and seasonal changes as well as changing animal behaviour, all of which indicate climate change and global warming. Plus, a recent article in The Guardian revealed that scientist Brad Lister returned to a Puerta Rican rainforest after 35 years to find that 98% of ground insects had vanished, with the most likely reason being global warming. This crash in insect numbers, impacts the foundations of the rainforest food chain, risking “ecological Armageddon”.
This decline has had a snowball effect on other creatures who feed on the insects. This includes the Puerto Rican Tody, numbers of which have dropped by 90%. Lister describes this as a “bottom-up trophic cascade” because “when the invertebrates are declining the entire food web is going to suffer and degrade.” This is further supported by an article in The Guardian, by Jonathan Watts, which explains “45% of all potential environmental collapses are interrelated and could amplify one another.” Action must be taken before this cascades into an even wider, and more devastating problem. Whilst businesses and governments need to take a stronger stance on climate policy, there are small changes that individuals can also make to reduce their carbon footprint and have a positive impact on the environment.
Individuals can focus on small domestic changes, such as switching off plugs, using low carbon or public transport rather than fuel-based vehicles, utilising renewable energy sources, and insulating their homes. EnergiToken is incentivising people to make these changes, by awarding those who display energy saving behaviour with EnergiTokens (ETK). ETK is a financially tangible cryptocurrency which is given to customers who, for example, purchase low carbon transport, solar panels, or energy efficient appliance from one of their partners. This ETK can then be spent by customers within the EnergiToken ecosystem of approved partners.
EnergiToken’s partner, ON5, encourages domestic and commercial changes in energy consumption through workshops, and their recently launched Energy100 which educates people on how to be more efficient in their homes and workplaces. Individuals may be surprised by how small changes to one’s behaviour can really have a meaningful impact on the wider environment. If everyone makes a small change to their consumer habits, collectively the impact can be huge.
Working with several energy efficient and environmentally passionate partners, EnergiToken plans to lead decarbonisation, and energy consumption reduction in order to help reduce the human-caused, damaging impact on the environment. Incentivising behavioural change with ETK, will motivate more people to make ‘greener’ choices until it becomes instinctive practice, thus having a sustained, and increasing impact on the environment. Small changes can have big consequences.
“Every action counts.” — Juan Rocha, Stockholm Resilience Centre
Reduce consumption and get rewarded. Visit www.energitoken.com today to find out more.
