A total of 84 members and 2 visitors attended our first meeting of the year.

Our guest speaker was Pete Crowther, who is himself a member of Saxilby u3a. Pete’s talk was about Climate Change, one of the many ways in which the planet is changing, and one that he feels a little more positive about now than might have been the case a couple of years ago, due to the measures currently being taken, worldwide. However Pete was the first to accept that unless the whole world gets onboard with ways to reduce greenhouse gasses, particularly nations such as China and the US, it will still be an uphill struggle. Pete explained that the level of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere is incredibly small – something like 0.044% of all atmospheric gasses, nevertheless since the Industrial Revolution this level has steadily risen by about 25% and is having a significant effect in trapping heat within our atmosphere. In addition, widespread deforestation has reduced the earth’s capacity to store carbon dioxide in forests.

Consequences of climate change can be seen in an increase in sea levels, a reduction in the level of permafrost and the effect of acid rain. Furthermore, it is now recognised that the medical condition of Eco-Anxiety, a chronic fear of environmental catastrophe, exists particularly amongst young people.

Most of us are aware of what might be done to check, and ultimately reduce the level of climate change, such as using renewable energy, reduction of deforestation and waste etc. and there are personal choices he reminded everyone, that we might all make to play our part.