Environmental Awareness.pdf

the principles of
environmental awareness.

1. Environmental Awareness L1

2. Session Outcomes
By the end of the session learners will;
Be introduced to the principles of
environmental awareness.
Understand the meaning of some common
terminology.
Have an awareness of the impact of
environmental change.
Have an awareness of resource efficiency.
Identify practical ways to reduce
environmental impacts.

3. What do we mean by
‘Environmental Awareness’?
Highlight environmentally friendly
working practices, relating to
Waste
Energy
Transport
Water issues

4. Group Exercises
Define the following terms;
Climate change
Ecological footprint
Carbon management
Sustainable development
The three strands of sustainable development
GROUP TASK 1

5. Climate change
Climate change is a significant and
lasting change weather patterns over
long periods.

6. Ecological Footprint
Ecological footprint
is a measure of
human demand on
the Earth's
resources
Amount of natural
resources required
to sustain our
consumption and
deal with our waste

7. Carbon Management
The process of
managing an
individual or
organisation’s
emissions of
greenhouse gases
CO2 reduction

8. Sustainable development
Development that
meets the needs of
the present without
compromising the
ability of future
generations to
meet their own
needs

9. Three Strands of
Sustainability
Economic,
Social
Environment

10. Group Exercises
Identify the following;
The key features of an ecological footprint
The key features of the science of climate
change
The major impacts of climate change and
global warming
GROUP TASK 2

11. Impacts of Environmental
change
Key features of an Ecological
Footprint
◦Average footprint
◦Developed world resource use
◦Developing world resource use
◦Need for food, transport, energy use,
agriculture, deforestation
◦Population growth
◦Speed in which it takes to regenerate
what we use in a year

12. Impacts of Environmental
change
Key features of the science of climate
change
Global temperature rise
Natural reasons (solar cycles, volcanoes etc…)
Man-made reasons (emissions, change in land use
etc…)
CO2 and other greenhouse gases
Reduced ice caps, sea temperatures,
release of greenhouse gases

13. C02 Emissions –latest stats
Between 1990 –2009.... 20% higher
Increase of 35% between 1995-2005
Decrease of 9% 2008-2009
Carbon footprint increased by 12%
over period

14. CO2 Emissions
Agriculture
Fluorinated gases (CFC’s, HFC’s)
Waste industry
Transport
Industry
Household

15. Impacts of Environmental
change
Major Impacts:
◦Global warming
◦Sea level rise
◦Ocean acidification
◦Health
◦Temperature rise
◦Extreme weather events
◦Deforestation
◦Ecosystem strain
◦Loss of biodiversity

16. Global Warming
The main cause of global warming is the
emission of ‘greenhouse gases’ such as
carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide.
Human activity over the past 250 years,
including the burning of fossil fuels, change
of land use and agriculture, has increased
the concentration of greenhouse gases in
the earth’s atmosphere.
As these gases build up in the atmosphere
they strengthen what is known as the
‘greenhouse effect’.

17. Global Warming
There has been a clear decreasing trend in Arctic
summer sea ice levels since records began in
1979.
Sea level around the Uk rose by 10cm during the
20
th
century.
The Earth’s surface has warmed by 0.4C on
average since the 1970s, 1C in last 100 years.
In 160 years of records the hottest years have
been since 1997.

18. Group Exercises
Identify the following;
Commonly used resources
How resource efficiency affects climate
change
Reasons why a business should be
resource efficient
GROUP TASK 3

19. Commonly used resources
Renewable
◦Can be replenished
through biological or
natural processes
◦Solar
◦Wind
◦Tides
◦Hydro power
◦Biomass (plants, trees etc,
when harvested
sustainably)
◦Food stuffs
Non-renewable
Cannot be grown,
replenished in the same
rate it is consumed
Fossil fuels
◦Coal
◦Gas
◦Oil (fuel, petrol etc)
Radioactive fuel
Metals

20. A few facts
We throw away more than7 million tonnes of
food and drinkevery year from our homes -
most of which could have been safely
consumed.
By pursuing opportunities for re-use, the UK
couldreduce its reliance on raw materials,
including rare earths, byas much as 20%by
2020.
Our research showsdoubling the number of
sofas re-used, couldsave 52,000 tonnes of
CO2equivalent.At the moment, 83% of
sofas are not re-used and are sent to landfill
or recycled.
Tip of the iceberg……

21. Links between resource
efficiency and climate change
Emissions of greenhouse gases
from manufacturing, agriculture,
transport, forestry, aviation,
shipping
Embodied energy
◦Total sum of energy to produce
Emissions from
◦waste
◦transport
◦energy use
Transfer of greenhouse gases
from one part of a cycle to
another e.g. hybrid cars reduce
fuel consumption but use
inefficient coal fired power
stations to charge batteries

22. Business Reasons for Resource
Efficiency
Regulation and
legislation
Reputation
Cost reduction
Staff retention
Profitability
Development of
industrial capability
Standard of living in
less developed
countries

23. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
In order to minimise the impact of
waste products on the environment
there are actions that we can take by
reducing what we use, reusing
products and recycling waste.
In groups complete the ‘waste
hierarchy’ activity and then feedback
your answers to the other groups

24. Waste Hierarchy Activity

25. Group Exercises
Identify the following;
Ways to reduce consumption of
commonly used resources
Ways to reuse commonly used
resources
Identify recyclable resources
GROUP TASK 4

26. Waste Types
Hazardous
Waste which may contain hazardous substances,
may cause harm to the environment or react with
other materials
Non-Hazardous
Soils, builder materials, sludge, inert materials
Clinical/Biological
Sharps, infected material, some hospital waste,
waste from surgeries hospitals and clinics,
infectious organisms, absorbent materials, human
and animal tissue
Inert and Active
Building waste such as rubble, bricks, stone (Inert)
and wood, old window frames, guttering, pipework,
downspouts and other building related matter
(Active)

27. Waste Classification Activity
Task 1… Split cards into:
Recyclable/reusable
Non-recyclable
Compostable
Energy recovery
Task 2 … the non-recyclable cards
split
Biological/Clinical
Non-hazardous
Hazardous
Inert/inactive

28. Ways to reduce….
Boil only water you need
Buy only what you need
Buy things with less packaging
Cook food for only those eating
Switch off lights, monitors, appliances
Print on both sides of paper
Flush toilet only when needed
Solar power
Insulation in homes
Service vehicles and equip regularly
Use public transport
Walk…

29. Ways to reuse….
New ways of using materials
Reuse wrapping, boxes, plastic
bags
‘Bag for life’
Repair rather than dispose
Composting (paper, wood, food)
Chip fat from local chip shop used
as diesel
Sell unwanted items
Re-use coffee cups
Print on both sides
Rechargeable batteries
Grey water harvesting
Rain water harvesting

30. Recyclable Resources
Plastics
Tins, aluminium, steel
Paper
Glass
Cardboard
Tetrapak
Clothing
Electronic equipment
Mobile phones
Spectacles
Tyres
Ink cartridges
Some building materials

31. Recycling materials into.....
Paper
More paper, depending on quality –7 times
Cardboard
Paper, jiffy bags, loft insulation, car bodies, packaging, animal bedding,
coffins
Cans
New cans, car and aviation , bike frames, train tracks, pipes. Never loses
quality
Plastics
new bottles, car parts, bins, home composters . It can also be used to make
clothing such as fleece jackets and hats or fibre filling for sleeping bags and
duvets. Plastic milk bottles are used in street and garden furniture
Glass
Reused where possible (brown, clear) or crushed and turned into fine sand to
be used as building sand, if processed further can be used as floor and wall
insulation and lightweight construction aggregate.
Tyres
Surfaces for playgrounds, shock absorption, car parts, retreads, fuel, mulch
for landscaping, 3G sports pitches

32. Complete your Workbook
Now that you have completed your
activities write the answers in your
work book.

33. Practice Questions
Complete the crossword and the
practice questions on your own.
We will then go through the answers as
a group to see how you all did.
This will prepare you for the on-line test.