Climate Change League
What do you think is the bigger cause of climate change?
Current league based on decisions made by league voters.
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Every vote makes a difference.
Fossil fuels
Power
Fossil fuels are made from dead plants over millions of years and include oil, gas and coal. They contain carbon in various forms which is released when they're burnt.
Challenged: 189
Won: 144 Lost: 45
Greenhouse gasses
Emissions
Greenhouse gases (GHGs) are a family of gases that contribute to climate change. They include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, water vapour and ozone.
Challenged: 181
Won: 121 Lost: 60
Consumer society
Consumer
Aspirations in the West tend to be characterised by owning more and better things - clothes, trainers, houses, cars. Making these things uses energy and natural resources
Challenged: 200
Won: 126 Lost: 74
Centralised power stations
Power
The UK has a few, big power stations. 66% of the electricity they generate is lost between the power station, the electricity grid, and our homes.
Challenged: 163
Won: 107 Lost: 56
Deforestation
Agriculture/food
Cutting down trees stops them absorbing CO2, if they are burnt the CO2 stored in the wood is released, and removal of trees may also release more CO2 from the soil.
Challenged: 167
Won: 109 Lost: 58
Development of 'transition economies'
Emissions
Carbon emissions from 'transition' economies like China, India, Brazil and Mexico are rising, but they are still much less per capita than in the USA or Europe.
Challenged: 170
Won: 110 Lost: 60
Rubbish
Consumer
Rubbish that isn't recycled goes to landfill, or is incinerated. Both of these release CO2.
Challenged: 168
Won: 106 Lost: 62
Packaging
Consumer
A lot of packaging is unnecessary. As a result energy is wasted in the production and disposal of unwanted packaging, and excessive natural resources are used.
Challenged: 156
Won: 98 Lost: 58
Carbon emissions
Emissions
Carbon is different to CO2. CO2 is a molecule made from one atom of carbon and two atoms of oxygen. In 10 tonnes of CO2, there are about 2.5 tonnes of carbon.
Challenged: 176
Won: 106 Lost: 70
Palm oil
Agriculture/food
Palm oil is 52% of oils eaten in Britain. It's in margarine, crisps and biscuits. Deforestation to grow oil palm releases about 20 million tonnes of CO2 a year.
Challenged: 194
Won: 114 Lost: 80
Carbon dioxide emissions
Emissions
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the main 'greenhouse gas'. The more CO2 we have in the earth's atmosphere, the more it traps the heat of the sun, like a greenhouse.
Challenged: 183
Won: 108 Lost: 75
World leaders
Power
Is George Bush and the policies he puts in place a cause of climate change?
Challenged: 181
Won: 107 Lost: 74
Methane emissions
Emissions
Methane (CH4) is a greenhouse gas produced by livestock farting, food rotting in rubbish dumps, and melting permafrost at high latitudes.
Challenged: 178
Won: 105 Lost: 73
Short-haul flights
House/transport
Going to Paris by train is 10 times more carbon efficient than flying. Planes use most fuel taking off and landing, so short-haul flights have higher per km CO2 emissions
Challenged: 187
Won: 109 Lost: 78
Cars
House/transport
Cars are responsible for a significant proportion of our green house gas emissions because most of them burn petrol and diesel which are fossil fuels.
Challenged: 137
Won: 83 Lost: 54
Industrial agriculture
Agriculture/food
Modern industrial agriculture is carbon intensive - up to 10 calories of oil energy is required to produce 1 calorie of food on our plates.
Challenged: 147
Won: 88 Lost: 59
Nitrous oxide
Emissions
Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a green house gas. It stays in the atmosphere much longer than CO2, so over a 100-year period, it may have many times more impact on global warming
Challenged: 169
Won: 99 Lost: 70
Supermarkets
Agriculture/food
Tesco emits about 4m tonnes of CO2 a year, not including its suppliers! Supermarkets transport food across the country and the 'cold shelves' are fridges without doors.
Challenged: 169
Won: 99 Lost: 70
'Brown' electricity
Power
Most of our electricity is 'brown' - made using gas, oil and coal. The rest is from nuclear which is neither renewable nor carbon neutral.
Challenged: 169
Won: 98 Lost: 71
Gas
Power
The average UK home emits about 4 tonnes of CO2 a year from using mains gas to heat space and water.
Challenged: 178
Won: 99 Lost: 79
War
Power
Aeroplanes, tanks, helicopters, flying thousands of troops back and forth, bombs, reconstruction... What do you think is the carbon footprint of the war in Iraq?
Challenged: 181
Won: 100 Lost: 81
Ignorance
Nature
Has this game taught you things you didn't know before? A lot of people don't know these things. As people become more aware, do you think this can make a difference?
Challenged: 204
Won: 111 Lost: 93
Oil exploration
Power
Rising oil prices and falling reserves mean oil companies are now exploiting 'dirty' sources like tar shales and sands that require lots of energy to refine for use.
Challenged: 166
Won: 91 Lost: 75
Standby buttons
Consumer
It is estimated that in the USA over $1 billion worth of energy is wasted every year by electrical goods left on 'standby' mode.
Challenged: 186
Won: 99 Lost: 87
Food miles
House/transport
Food miles' means the distance food has travelled. We're growing less and less food in the UK, and bringing in more food from abroad by lorry, ship, train and plane.
Challenged: 153
Won: 81 Lost: 72
4x4
House/transport
4x4 cars have larger engines and use much more fossil fuel than smaller cars, and so contribute more emissions.
Challenged: 170
Won: 89 Lost: 81
Buses and coaches
House/transport
Buses and coaches are more efficient than cars. But as they burn petrol or diesel, they still emit CO2 and contribute to climate change.
Challenged: 166
Won: 87 Lost: 79
Dairy products
Agriculture/food
As with meat, methane from farting dairy cows, deforestation for grazing and growing cattle feed, and fertiliser used in growing feed all contribute to climate change.
Challenged: 172
Won: 90 Lost: 82
Electrical goods
House/transport
Anything that uses electricity - from hairdryers to computers to playstations - will cause climate change to some degree.
Challenged: 186
Won: 97 Lost: 89
Air conditioning
House/transport
Electrical air conditioning systems add to climate change. It has been estimated that by 2020, air conditioning in the UK will produce 5 million tonnes of CO2 a year.
Challenged: 179
Won: 93 Lost: 86
Farming
Agriculture/food
Farming generates greenhouse gases through changes in land use, production of fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides and the fuel used by vehicles working the land.
Challenged: 187
Won: 96 Lost: 91
Long-haul flights
House/transport
Air density is greater at low altitudes, so planes have to work much harder at the start and end of a flight than when they're up high where the air is thinner.
Challenged: 171
Won: 88 Lost: 83
Cement
House/transport
Large quantities of CO2 are emitted during the production of lime, the key ingredient in cement. Cement production is about 5% of global CO2 emissions.
Challenged: 174
Won: 89 Lost: 85
Climate feedback
Nature
Climate change causes climate change. For example, snow reflects light and heat back up out of the atmosphere. With less snow, more heat is absorbed, so more melting.
Challenged: 182
Won: 93 Lost: 89
Heating
House/transport
The hotter your home in winter, the more gas you're using. Gas is a fossil fuel and burning it causes climate change. Turning your thermostat down a little helps.
Challenged: 160
Won: 82 Lost: 78
Economic growth
Consumer
The economic system is programmed to require constant economic growth. This means always trading and making more things, and so using more natural resources and energy.
Challenged: 189
Won: 96 Lost: 93
Processed food
Agriculture/food
Processed food is made in factories that use a lot of energy and produce CO2. Cooking food at home also produces CO2. A low-carbon diet has more raw food like salads.
Challenged: 179
Won: 89 Lost: 90
Ships
House/transport
Ships are more carbon efficient than planes. The 90,000 ships that travel the world's oceans currently produce about 1.2 billion tonnes of CO2 a year.
Challenged: 199
Won: 99 Lost: 100
Television
Consumer
TVs use about 5% of electricity in our homes. Because most homes have 'brown' electricity, this produces around 5 million tonnes of CO2 annually.
Challenged: 172
Won: 83 Lost: 89
Food
Agriculture/food
Food causes a significant proportion of UK green house gas emissions because of the way it's grown, transported, processed, packaged, refrigerated, cooked and wasted.
Challenged: 143
Won: 68 Lost: 75
Tumble dryers
House/transport
Tumble dryers use a lot of electricity. Hanging clothes to dry doesn't use electricity.
Challenged: 160
Won: 76 Lost: 84
Fridge freezers
Agriculture/food
Fridge freezers use about 10% of electricity in our homes.
Challenged: 149
Won: 70 Lost: 79
Urban planning
House/transport
Sometimes cities are designed so that you have to drive everywhere. Urban planning can be a key way to support lower carbon living.
Challenged: 167
Won: 78 Lost: 89
Volcanoes
Nature
Volcanic activity releases large amounts of greenhouse gases in unpredictable ways; conversely dust released reduces sunlight and helps cool the planet.
Challenged: 174
Won: 81 Lost: 93
Plasma screen television
Consumer
Plasma screen televisions use about four times more electricity than normal televisions.
Challenged: 151
Won: 69 Lost: 82
Hot water
House/transport
In the UK water is usually heated with mains gas, a fossil fuel. Some people now have solar thermal heaters on their rooftops; they heat water from the heat of the sun.
Challenged: 166
Won: 76 Lost: 90
Biofuel cars
House/transport
Some cars use biofuel made from organic matter like vegetable oil. These produce less CO2, but they do produce N20, a green house gas, and cause deforestation.
Challenged: 192
Won: 88 Lost: 104
Incandescent light bulbs
House/transport
About 8% of a home's electricity is used for lighting. Nationally, that produces 7.8 million tonnes of CO2 a year. Incandescent bulbs waste a lot of energy as heat.
Challenged: 158
Won: 71 Lost: 87
Meat
Agriculture/food
Meat produces more green house gases than transport, globally. It's because of animal farts & excreta, and deforestation to create land for grazing and growing their food
Challenged: 157
Won: 70 Lost: 87
Desalinating water
Agriculture/food
Desalinating water is energy intensive. It seems strange that climate change may reduce water supplies so we need desalination that uses energy and causes climate change!
Challenged: 185
Won: 81 Lost: 104
Aerosols
Emissions
Aerosols can reduce warming by blocking out the sun's rays (global dimming). It comes from many human sources and volcanoes. It's too small to counteract GHG emissions.
Challenged: 182
Won: 79 Lost: 103
Advertising
Consumer
We're surrounded by adverts made by clever people good at making us want to buy things. Would our behaviour change if the messages were different?
Challenged: 181
Won: 78 Lost: 103
CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons)
Emissions
CFCs have been dramatically reduced in recent years. They are green house gases and would have had a big impact on climate change if we had not acted to reduce emissions.
Challenged: 186
Won: 80 Lost: 106
Radiators
House/transport
Radiators are usually heated by burning fossil fuels like gas or oil. Some radiators are powered by ground source heat pumps, which hardly produce any CO2.
Challenged: 169
Won: 69 Lost: 100
Solar variation
Nature
Cycles of solar activity, flares and sunspots can affect the amount of solar radiation reaching the earth and cause minor changes in the earth's temperature.
Challenged: 189
Won: 79 Lost: 110
Washing machines
House/transport
Washing machines use electricity to run, and/or gas to heat the water. The hotter the water, the more gas it uses. Washing at lower temperatures uses less energy.
Challenged: 167
Won: 68 Lost: 99
Warming of the sun
Nature
The sun has been warming very slowly for millions of years. We probably have about 800,000,000 years before we need to seriously worry about this one.
Challenged: 182
Won: 75 Lost: 107
Afforestation
Agriculture/food
Trees planted in the wrong areas may increase carbon emissions, eg trees in bogs drain and dry the soil releasing previously trapped CO2.
Challenged: 158
Won: 62 Lost: 96
Natural variability
Nature
The climate has changed naturally in the past without human influence. It's currently changing faster than ever before.
Challenged: 160
Won: 63 Lost: 97
Recycling
Consumer
It takes energy to recycle things. Overall, reducing and reusing packaging is better than recycling.
Challenged: 164
Won: 65 Lost: 99
Decentralised energy
Power
Microgeneration' or 'decentralised energy' means having lots of little power stations closer to home - so less energy is lost in transit.
Challenged: 192
Won: 78 Lost: 114
Electric cars
House/transport
Electric cars contribute to climate change if you plug them into electricity generated from fossil fuels. But what if you power them with green electricity?
Challenged: 178
Won: 71 Lost: 107
Trains
House/transport
Trains run on diesel or electricity. Diesel-fuelled trains obviously produce CO2, but for electric trains the CO2 emissions depend on how the electricity is made.
Challenged: 161
Won: 61 Lost: 100
'Green' electricity
Power
About 5% of our electricity comes from 'green' or renewable sources like hydro-electric (HEP), wind and solar power.
Challenged: 157
Won: 57 Lost: 100
Processing water
Agriculture/food
Water is not carbon neutral. It takes energy to purify and pump our water. Recycling 'grey' water and reducing water use reduces the energy required.
Challenged: 165
Won: 60 Lost: 105
Motorbikes
House/transport
Motorbikes tend to use petrol. Petrol is a fossil fuel, so burning it produces CO2. Mopeds and small-engined motorbikes use less fuel.
Challenged: 172
Won: 59 Lost: 113
Organic food
Agriculture/food
Organic food has a better environmental impact because no fertilisers - which are CO2-heavy - are used. It needs a bit more land but it's still better overall.
Challenged: 169
Won: 48 Lost: 121
LED lighting
House/transport
Light Emitting Diode (LED) lighting systems use even less electricity than low energy fluorescent bulbs.
Challenged: 168
Won: 43 Lost: 125
Fluorescent (low energy) light bulbs
House/transport
Low energy light bulbs use considerably less electricity than conventional incandesecents as little of the energy is wasted as heat.
Challenged: 174
Won: 45 Lost: 129
