The state of the environment in which we live is of the highest importance – without it we cannot live, and if it is not functioning normally our lives become increasingly difficult. The number of people on the planet and the accelerating rate of individual resource consumption are having negative or disruptive effects on the environment. Global warming and climate change are now global challenges attracting much media attention. Resources such as drinkable water, food and non-polluted environments are all becoming more dependent on technology and competition is growing for these resources. Thus the decisions that we need to make on our journey to becoming 'low carbon' should always be taken with environmental impacts in mind. - Description added by: David Lockie

Renewable and alternative energy sources are set to play an increasingly important role in providing the electricity, heat, cooling and fuels that society needs. There is a wide range of energy sources such as solar (both photovoltaic and solar thermal), wind, bio-fuels and biomass, hydro-electric, geothermal and heat pumps. - Description added by: David Lockie

Food is essential to human existence and it is an integral part of a low carbon economy. Food miles, artificial fertilizers, organic production, mono cultures, food vs. fuel and industrialization are all issues for consideration in the wider context of ‘low carbon food’. Growing food increasingly relies on agro-industry using machinery, pesticides, artificial fertilizers and even genetic modification.

Even simple food crops now have significant embedded carbon factor, and the carbon cost of agriculture is further increased by factors such as clearing of natural habitats to make room for farming (and the subsequent loss of biodiversity), the use of mono cultures that damage the land (and cause future reliance on technologically-driven agriculture) and transportation of the produce. On the other hand, agriculture can also provide bio-fuels and biomass which are sure to play a part in the future energy mix. - Description added by: David Lockie

Communities consist of homes, businesses and sometimes industrial concerns, with infrastructure like health care, transport, communications, government and utilities. Many decisions about low carbon need to be considered at the community level in order to ensure that ‘joined-up thinking’ is applied to the process. Click the picture to the right to explore our interactive community environment. - Description added by: David Lockie