• Question: Do you protect our environment I you do how

    Asked by anon-190562 to Brendan, Dionne, Liam, Lyndsay, Maia, Matt on 6 Nov 2018. This question was also asked by anon-190397.
    • Photo: Brendan Marrinan

      Brendan Marrinan answered on 6 Nov 2018:

      I try to and I hope that what I do means that the land being developed for houses, schools, roads, railways, etc. is usable for generations to come. In my job when somebody wants to build something new the most sustainable option is to build it on Brownfield Land, which is land that has already been built on. This land is usually contaminated. In my job I tell builders what they need to do to make the land safe to use. If brownfield land can built on that means that the natural environment doesn’t need to be. That’s how I protect the environment.

    • Photo: Liam Taylor

      Liam Taylor answered on 12 Nov 2018:

      Certainly! My research is completely focussed on the way that climate change impacts the Earth, so I take action in my own life to reduce my own contribution to climate change. The biggest way is being a vegetarian – not eating meat actually cuts about one-third of a normal person’s greenhouse gas emissions. I also try not to fly, and use public transport rather than the car. My favourite way though is outreach activities like this where I can work with young people of all ages and we work together to find ways to make the world a better place.

    • Photo: Matt Bower

      Matt Bower answered on 12 Nov 2018:

      I’d like to think so, but probably not enough. In my job I try to make sure water (and other resources) are used wisely. On a personal level I try to minimise my impact on the world, for example I car share to work and cycle around my town rather than driving, but there’s certainly more I could be doing.

    • Photo: Dionne Turnbull

      Dionne Turnbull answered on 13 Nov 2018:

      My job isn’t directly protecting the environment, but I hope one day it will help – if we understand the plant immune system we can hopefully get better at keeping crops healthy without needing to spray chemicals on the fields.

      At home I try to do my bit – I reduce waste as much as I can by re-using and recycling, donating unwanted items to charity so someone else can use them, I buy used furniture for my house and do it up myself instead of buying new. I chose a car with the lowest emissions possible (hoping next time I can go electric!)

      But there is always more I could do… plastic use is something i’d like to cut down on next. I recycle it wherever possible, but it would be better if I could just use less of it in the first place! This is something we are trying to work on in my lab too.

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