Reduce the use of fossil fuels when getting around

The Fuel Deal

Everything that moves needs energy. Our bodies need energy to keep moving so we eat food to create energy; food is our fuel. Today, it’s not only people that need energy. We have created all sorts of machines like cars, factories, and buildings that need energy to function. We use the earth’s natural resources to make the energy they need. Some resources, like power from the sun, wind or water, can be used again and again without running out. These are called renewable energy sources. But for a long time, most energy has been produced by burning coal, oil and gas. These are called fossil fuels, as they were formed from natural materials such as animals and plants that were buried for millions of years and changed, through heat and pressure, into fossil fuels. We dig up the fossil fuels and burn them to create energy.

Relying on fossil fuels for energy is a problem for many reasons.

Extracting them from the earth is a destructive process. Once reserves are used up, we cannot create more. When we burn fossil fuels, we release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere causing the layer of greenhouse gases around the earth to get thicker and trap more heat from the sun, increasing the temperature of the Earth.

One of the biggest uses of fossil fuels is for transport; moving people and products from A to B. Try to get away from fossil fuels by completing any two activities from this section.

ACTIVITIES

Choose any two

1 Take a (fossil) free ride

Getting from A to B can take a lot of fossil fuels. Cut down your impact by using your feet or other low fossil fuel transport.

A

Younger

Organize a “walking bus” to school or to your Girl Guide/Girl Scout meeting. Invite your friends to join you. Spread the word by making a cardboard ‘bus’ from old boxes, decorated with messages about using less fossil fuels, that you can wear on your walk.

B

See how many low fossil fuel transport ideas you can think of. Whether walking, running, hopping or dancing your feet are your best friend, but there’s also bikes, rollerskates, surf boards, pedal carts, paragliding, wheelbarrows….can you think of more? Use them to draw attention to your message about reducing fossil fuel use.

C

Take it Further!

Older

Organize an event to raise awareness of how to travel more sustainably, such as a march or mass bike ride to demonstrate your commitment.

Speak out

Use your low fossil fuel transport ideas to deliver your demands! (see section four). Plan a march to your decision-makers using as many low fossil fuel transport methods as you can.

D

Fundraise!

Take part in a sponsored 5k run to raise money for World Thinking Day fund.

Take it Further! If there are no runs taking place in your area, why not organize your own?

2 Stay at home, see the world

Travelling by plane uses a lot more fossil fuels than other forms of transport, but that doesn’t mean you can’t explore the world. With Girl Guides and Girl Scouts in 145 countries, try one of these new ways to learn about their lives.

A

Pick one of the 145 countries where Girl Guiding/Girl Scouting goes on and put together an imagined travel diary of your perfect trip – one that doesn’t rely on fossil fuels.

B

Celebrate

Fundraise!

For World Thinking Day, organize a “world in a day” celebration. Research Girl Guide/Girl Scout activities from different countries around the world – perhaps one from each WAGGGS’ Region – and set up the activities around your meeting place. Invite other Girl Guide/Girl Scout groups to attend your celebration and give them a “passport” to record each activity they complete. Complete the event with celebratory activities and a collection for World Thinking Day.

3 Food Passport

It’s not just people who use lots of fossil fuels to get around. Lots of the food we eat has travelled a long way to end up on your plate; even something like an apple could have been grown in one country, washed in a second, packaged in a third then shipped to your local shop. Choosing locally produced foods with low “food miles” is a small action that can make a big difference to your impact on the environment.

A

Celebrate

Organize a local food picnic to celebrate World Thinking Day, where everyone brings a dish of locally sourced food to share.

B

Older

Fundraise!

Organize a meal for the local community using only local produce. Promote your event in the local community and sell tickets to cover your costs and raise money for the World Thinking Day fund.

C

On World Thinking Day, commit to only eating locally produced food. Of the products you try, identify which ones you can eat regularly in the future. Encourage your family and friends to join in!

4 The Cost of Meat

By eating less meat you can make a real difference to your environmental footprint. Rearing animals for meat takes a lot more energy than growing grains and vegetables. The amount of carbon dioxide released by producing one kilogram of beef is the same as an average car produces by driving 250 kilometres, and the energy it costs to produce that beef could light a 60 watt bulb for more than a month[i]. More than half of the crops grown in the world are fed to animals, most of which will be killed for meat. Cows are also one of the greatest emitters of methane, the second most significant greenhouse gas.

A

Research nutritious alternatives to meat. Could you realistically go without meat for a day?

Take it Further! Commit to one meat free day every week, using alternative sources of protein to keep your diet balanced.

B

Cook a healthy meat-free meal to share with your family and friends.

5 Break it Down

It’s very easy not to think about the impact that producing our favourite things has on the environment.

A

Take one product – a favourite food, item of clothing, gadget or toy, and try to map its life cycle, from getting the raw materials to manufacture, packaging and transportation. How do you think fossil fuels were used at each stage of production?

B

Take it Further!

Older

Work out the life cycle for some common products and develop a game to raise awareness of the topic amongst younger Girl Guides/Girl Scouts in your area.

6 Low fuel Flashmob

Working in groups, prepare a show (dance, sketch, song) that presents tips for reducing fossil fuel use in an entertaining way and perform it to a local Girl Guide/Girl Scout unit.

Take it Further!

Arrange to perform your act in your local community to mark World Thinking Day. This could be at your school or in a public space (ensure you have permission from your school/local council to do so). Adapt your act to make an effective flash mob* that surprises passers-by and attracts attention – you may need to involve more people in your group to do this effectively. Speak out Use your performance to attract attention and invite decision-makers, then finish your show by delivering your demands (see section four)

* A flashmob is when a group of people assemble suddenly in a public place, perform their act and then disperse.

7 Muscle Power

List the household and garden chores that you could undertake without using fossil fuels. For example, sweeping instead of a vacuum cleaner or raking up leaves instead of using a leaf blower.

Fundraise! Offer to do these chores for a small fee and use the money raised to support the World Thinking Day Fund.

8 Pedal Together

Organize a bike sharing scheme to encourage other Girl Guides/Girl Scouts and members of your local community to get pedalling. Learn how to maintain bikes and ask your family and friends to donate any old/unused bikes to the scheme.

Fundraise! Charge a small fee for bike hire and donate profits to World Thinking Day fund.

9 And the winner is…

Older

Organize a race along a common journey route at rush hour, such as from the outskirts of the city to the centre, using a range of different modes of transport. Involve your local media and use social media to track the race and use the event to raise awareness of the fastest way to beat the queues of traffic, and the environmental benefits of low-fossil fuel transport.

Don’t forget, you can log on to the World Thinking Day website to find out how you can donate, or to donate online, log onto www.wagggs.org/en/donatetowagggs.