Tackling climate change through education, research and action
Tackling climate change through education, research and action
Watch Tim explain the effects of climate change and the work that is being carried out to help find solutions to the global crisis.
Tim Lane, geography and climate change lecturer at LJMU, researches ice sheet and ice cap behaviour in the Arctic and sub-Arctic. We talk to him about his research, studying climate change as a discipline and what people can do to help tackle the problem.
Can you tell us a bit about your research?
"My research focuses on reconstructing the size of ice sheets and glaciers in the past. Most of this takes place in the Arctic (e.g. Greenland, Norway, Iceland) or other formerly glaciated places. My research involves collection of rock and sediment samples in the field and processing them in laboratories in the UK and overseas. These data provide insights into when glaciers last grew and retreated, and what caused this behaviour. Better understanding glacier behaviour in the past allows us to better understand current behaviour and project their future behaviour."
What sort of activities and learning will students get involved in on the Climate Change course?
"Students will receive a huge range of knowledge and skills throughout the degree course, covering both the physical science and social science aspects of climate change. We strongly believe in applied and hands-on learning which means we deliver laboratory and computer-based practical sessions throughout the entire degree. Where appropriate we also encourage field-based learning, predominately in the North West of the UK. This necessitates an applied understanding of the skills learnt throughout the course. Much of the content is delivered through small group and workshop sessions, allowing student engagement and interaction."
What three everyday things can people do to help reduce their impact on the planet?
- Eat less meat, eat seasonally and eat locally. A quarter of all global emissions come from food and half of all food emissions come from animal products
- Reduce, reuse, recycle. Refuse to use single-use plastics. Instead, opt for reusable options
- Travel less by plane and car. Use public transport where possible and limit long-haul flights. Use online tools to calculate the best method of transport (e.g. EcoPassenger)
Did you know?
- 16 of the 17 warmest years on record have occurred since 2001 (2016 was the warmest)
- Greenland lost an average of 286 billion tons of ice per year between 1993 and 2016, while Antarctica lost about 127 billion tons of ice per year during the same time period
- Current levels of atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases are unprecedented in the last 800,000 years
- Global sea level rose about 8 inches in the last century. The rate in the last two decades is nearly double that of the last century and is accelerating slightly every year
- Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the acidity of surface ocean waters has increased by about 30%. This increase is the result of humans emitting more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and hence more being absorbed into the oceans
Source: NASA/WWF
Be part of the solution, study on our BSc Climate Change degree – the only course of its kind in the UK.
Find out some of the simple ways you can help save the environment while studying at uni.
