Fiona Tellier

Studying Regional and Urban Planning, I am constantly confronted with the 'wicked problem' of global warming within my studies.
Pre-University I was myself, totally unaware of how serious an issue this has become, making me realise how utterly selfish and egotistical the majority of people are in relation to resource usage.
Whilst I am certainly no expert on the issue I can confidently say that my knowledge on the topic is slowly building. This spiel is no attempt to solve all the world's problems, however, I do believe quite strongly that local awareness can help to create change. The paradox; think globally, act locally' is frequently cited in various science journals and to me, sums up adaptation and mitigation techniques as a whole.

'Global warming is an international climate change phenomenon with local concerns: emissions are local, and impacts, although driven globally by the extra energy trapped in the atmosphere, are ultimately local. Both mitigation and adaptation must be local. Local action will be central to possible success of any international legal regime or policy initiative' (Hodas 2003).

I'm not really sure why I am writing about this here, I suppose it's because each and everyday I am constantly thinking about ways to conserve energy and resources and it irritates me when I see people, including my friends, being wasteful, littering, driving hummers, leaving taps on and vouching for nuclear over renewable.

Harmful effects from previous generations actions are beginning to take place already and there is little we can do about it. However, I believe change can and will take place, even if it takes a global catastrophe (drying up of oil reserves, air quality depletion, huge price rises and massive biodiversity loss) for the general population, led by a large political shift, to ultimately change our current values and ways.

Alright alright, enough doom and gloom;