Published on: Monday, December 12, 2022
On Friday 9 December, 21 Sixth Form geographers took a trip to Plymouth University to attend a sustainability conference where climate change issues, and potential solutions, were discussed. One of the most fascinating topics was the importance of peatlands and their role in carbon capture. These waterlogged landscapes can store up to 550 million tonnes of carbon in their soil whilst also acting as a water filtration system and encouraging biodiversity.
In another talk, Professor Tim Daley presented on how modern satellite technology is helping us prove that ice sheets are becoming less resistant to hotter summers. We learnt that the shrinking Arctic is not measured entirely by spatial area but also by the decreasing resistance of glacial ice to global temperature increase.
One of the most entertaining talks demonstrated the role of transport in contributing to climate change. This professor clearly portrayed a deep love for buses as one of the most sustainable modes of transport. Buses, however, have been given a negative reputation through the media and government. This was especially true during the coronavirus pandemic with campaigns like “coronavirus takes the bus too”. He also touched upon some more extreme topics claiming that we ignore the carbon impact of our pets!
The conference left many pupils evaluating their own lifestyle choices, including the modes of travel we will use in the future, such as our use of aeroplanes.