To what extent do you think that it is your duty as a citizen to be 'informed'? Are you informed? How do you get to be informed about serious issues? To what extent do you think that you should leave the complicated decisions up to others?

I do believe that it is important as a citizen to be informed on how to be more sustainable as its important to preserve the environment for not only the people of today but for those of future generations too. I am to some extent informed on sustainable development but want to know more which is why I have chosen to study ‘Learning for Sustainable Development’. There are many people who say they feel they are informed on sustainable development but I believe people do not realise just how important a topic it is. It is my duty to be informed as it’s not just the responsibility of other people to try and preserve the earth, it is my responsibility too and I can’t emphasise enough on the fact we shouldn’t take every day living for granted.

Occasionally I’ll find myself flicking through a magazine or the newspaper but the main way in which I get informed about serious issues is by watching the news on the television, listening to the news on the radio and watching documentaries. I believe it is important to not only know about events and issues we are facing today but to also know what we are to expect in the future. If we are well educated on sustainable development so we know what impact we are having on earth and how we can reduce this impact in order to preserve the planet, I believe more people will ‘try’ and live more sustainable lifestyles. At the minute though, I do not feel enough is being done to get the message across. I feel that there are loads of worldwide debates on sustainable development, most of which many people don’t hear about. I feel that most of these debates never lead to any action being taken.

It is in my opinion that complicated decisions should be left to the Government to make because it is the Government who has the power to get people to listen and potentially do something about living more sustainably. It is the Government who has the knowledge of what is and isn’t affecting our planet, it is the Government which has the ability to find out more and make it known nationally and possibly even internationally. If the Government didn’t play a huge role in trying to combat and make people more aware of the matter, then I honestly don’t think we would take into account how unsustainable the planet currently is.

‘A sustainable society needs local and central government to lead the way by consuming differently, and by planning effectively and efficiently in order to integrate sustainable practices in the services it provides to citizens, and throughout its estates and workforce’ (Lidefjard, 2009).

Despite believing that the Government should be responsible for these big decisions, I feel it is our duty as citizens to listen and to try to do as much as we can to live our lives as sustainably as possible. It’s ok that we may all contribute to recycling and turning off electrical appliances when they’re not in use, but this is not living anywhere near as sustainably as we should be and we should be encouraged and be more informed of how to improve the sustainability of our lifestyles.

References:

Lidefjard, S. (2009) The Business Magazine for a Sustainable Government: Public Sector Sustainability Under Spotlight [online]. Martin Freedman. Available from: http://www.governmentsustainability.co.uk/content/view/141/28/

Al Gore (and the IPCC) won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 (BBC 2007) largely for the production of the film 'An Inconvenient Truth'
The committee cited "their efforts to build up and disseminate knowledge about man-made climate change".

To what extent do you think this was deserved? Having watched this film in class did you feel that your opinion (or perhaps the opinion of others) to the issue of climate change could be positively influenced? What did you think of this film? Was it effective?

I believe that Al Gore deserved to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 as he had created an extremely comprehensive film that not only outlined the dramatic impact climate change is having on Earth but showed the evidence of where this is happening in many countries located all over the world. Al Gore wanted to gain a better and deeper understanding of the problems we are facing, so visited many areas around the world that are known to be suffering from global warming to see just how seriously they are being impacted. He has used his findings in his film to help explain in depth just how severe the matter is and has aimed at creating a greater awareness of the problem we are facing. It is his remarkable efforts and his devotedness on the topic that has allowed him to explain in greater detail than ever before the major issues we are currently experiencing, giving the people of today a much greater perception of how seriously the planet is suffering. Therefore I believe that Al Gore was more than worthy of winning the Nobel Peace Prize as no one has ever studied and gone into as much depth as he has to make clear how our everyday on goings are affecting the Earth at such a shocking rate.

I do feel that after watching the film, my opinion on climate change has been greatly affected. I knew that the effects of climate change were bad but didn’t have any realisation of just how bad it has got compared to a hundred years ago. After watching ‘An Inconvenient Truth’, I was overwhelmed at how significantly the Earth is being affected and to the rate at which it is being affected at. I feel that the film has positively influenced me as I would now like to do more to try and help reduce the rate at which climate change is affecting our planet. When Al Gore explained that in years to come the sea level will rise by 20ft and showed just how dreadful the effects on many countries will be, it has made me feel extremely conscious on how we are going to deal with the matter as it will have a devastating impact on millions of people’s lives. Learning that it’s not only humans that are being and going to be significantly affected but animals too, of which some may soon become extinct such as the polar bear due to the extreme rate the ice caps are melting at, I feel that not enough is being done and it shouldn’t take just one person, Al Gore, to get this message across.

I feel that Al Gore has managed to put across some very powerful and striking points that I believe will have hit home to many people. I believe that people nowadays have no concept of just how badly the Earth and its environment are suffering. It is in my opinion that people are unaware of how greatly they are contributing to the rise in climate change as they are taking their day to day actions for granted. Al Gore’s film gives a very detailed insight into the catastrophic effects the world is starting to experience of which I feel is extremely effective as he has expressed and explained a lot of very important and valuable information of how our lives are and will be affected if we continue to live the same!