Designs on a greener world

Schoolchildren from across the Bradford district took part in the Climate Change competition run by the Centre for Politics and Public Participation and supported by the Telegraph & Argus.

The competition invited young people from primary and secondary schools to submit essays explaining the problems climate change could create and exploring green ways in which we can soften man’s impact.

Primary school pupils also submitted their drawings and paintings to illustrate their ideas.

The winners joined organiser, Dayal Sharma, chief executive officer and founder of the CPPP, and competition judge, T&A editor Perry Austin-Clarke, to receive certificates for their winning entries.

Topping the picture category was Emily Lovett, ten, of Stocks Lane Primary School; second was Jardell Healey Hunter, 11, of Low Ash Primary; third was Sohaib Ramzan, seven, of Oldfield; and fourth was Connor Whelan, 11, of Stocks Lane.

Clinching top spots in the essay category was Molly Edmondson, ten, of Oldfield Primary; second was Denby Foster, 11, of Low Ash Primary; third was Solomon Wright, 11, of Oldfield Primary; and fourth Aimee Moses, 11, also of Oldfield.

Secondary school pupils also competed in the essay category which saw 14-year-old Asia Begum, of Carlton Bolling College, pick up first prize.

Winners received £75 each and those in second place were awarded £50 each, with goodie bags for the runners-up.

Asia wrote about what she would do if she was Prime Minister for the day.

She said: “I would make sure everyone is better educated about climate change and what the causes are.”

Junior winner Molly Edmondson said of her essay: “It was about a trades exchange where people can take things they don’t want and they can swap them for free. The environment is very important.”

Mr Sharma said: “I was amazed by the interest they have taken and the ideas they have taken on board.

“People in power should take notice of this, they have done a marvellous job. It was very difficult for the judges to pick a winner.

“I’m heartened that if this message keeps growing all over Bradford, then I’m sure that young people will make a big difference.

“They have said they haven’t had this platform before, and this is what the competition was all about.”

The CPPP was set up in October to improve opportunities for people from disadvantaged backgrounds in the UK to become actively engaged in political, civic and public life through various programmes and initiatives.

Competition entries were also judged by Professor Mark Cleary vice-chancellor of Bradford University. Sponsors included Maharaja Textiles, Bombay Stores and Empire Direct.

The winning essays:

Extracts from senior winner Asia Begum’s essay

If you were Prime Minister for the day, what would you do to reduce climate change?

Firstly, I would research and see what the main causes of climate change are, and where it occurs the most. I would then sit down with all the important people and discuss our ideas on how to reduce climate change.

The fossil fuels that are burned in power stations are non-renewable sources. This means that they are formed over billions and billions of years, and aren’t found everywhere. We should all be using renewable sources, which are quickly formed and are easy to find.

I think every human being should be educated about energy. They should know how electricity is produced and where it is produced. They should also know what happens when too much electricity is used, and when too much energy is wasted.

The next thing I would do is reduce the amount of transport used like cars, lorries, motorbikes. All vehicles produce a gas called carbon dioxide. This gas then gets mixed into the atmosphere, which then builds up slowly over time, and when it gets too thick, it traps all the Earth’s heat in the atmosphere causing the Earth to warm up, which then causes global warming, which then causes climate change.

Instead of using cars that produce quite a lot of carbon dioxide, I say you should use hydrogen/electric cars. These cars would not be producing a lot of carbon dioxide, so it would help the environment a lot. Hydrogen cars are just like normal cars, just that they are run by hydrogen or electricity instead of petrol/diesel.

Next on my list is to build energy-efficient homes. Energy-efficient homes are homes that don’t need to use too much electricity and waste energy. Energy-efficient homes are also known as insulated homes.

Basically this means that you put a layer of insulation in between the layers of the walls, and some in the loft (some houses don’t have lofts). This keeps the house warm. So this means that during the winter you won’t need to switch on your central heating too much because the insulation will help keep your home warm.

I think that we are all using too much electricity. Many people leave their computers and televisions on stand-by; this is not good because you are wasting a lot of electricity that can be used at other times. Not only does it add to your household bills, but it also produces a lot of carbon dioxide, It isn’t very hard to turn off your TV, all you have to do is switch off at the mains switch. This way you are helping sustain the environment.

A way of saving electricity and money is by using solar panels. I will make sure that each and every house has at least one solar panel.

Solar panels don’t necessarily need sunlight, they just need some light to be able to work. During the night you can use the electricity supplied.

Another way of saving electricity/energy is by using wind turbines. Although wind turbines are very expensive to build, they are very helpful to us.

To reduce the amount of carbon dioxide going into the atmosphere, we should plant more trees. This is because trees take in carbon dioxide. We deserve to be happy and live in a pleasant environment. Everyone deserves a life. Climate change is a bad thing. It can ruin people’s lives/homes.

By Molly Edmondson, winner of the junior essay competition

I know that climate change is changing our world. We don’t recycle enough, so factories use lots of electricity to make new things, which means the atmosphere is polluted with carbon dioxide.

Extreme weather, like the floods in India, is caused by climate change. We need to do something to stop this.

If I was Prime Minister for the day, I would firstly get people to recycle more; I will provide bins so families can recycle things themselves.

Once a week people on bikes will come and empty them into recycled bags. I will also provide bins at the sides of supermarkets to recycle old shoes, glass bottles, old clothes and more.

Re-using is a good thing as well. I will set up a trade centre that will be open seven days a week, it will be a great thing. People will go and swap something for something else for absolutely nothing.

I also have a good way to re-use as well; drinks should be in glass bottles instead of plastic, so they can be used again (unless they get broken).

I believe that this is a good thing because it stops factories using lots of electricity and making carbon dioxide.

By Denby Foster, runner-up in the junior essay competition

I would help towards stopping climate change by making it so that at least nine-tenths of electricity is from renewable sources, as burning fossil fuels contributes to polluting the atmosphere, therefore making holes in the ozone layer.

I would also reduce the amount of packaging on food and toys, as this is using fossil fuels and also creating more carbon dioxide.

I think that if we were to turn off all unused lights (and electrical appliances), we would save a lot of electricity, so I would therefore make people turn off all unused lights (and other electrical appliances). If we were all to reduce our carbon emissions by a tenth, the world would be a much nicer planet to live on.

I would also make sure every town and village have bins available for recycling and more recycling zones are opened, so that people who do not have room for lots of bins can recycle easier.