Safe climate change
The posters go on display from today
Also In The News
|
Members of Sinn Fein have voted to support the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). |  |
Monday, 29, Jan 2007 12:01
A provocative advertising campaign aimed at raising climate change awareness among students has been launched today by Friends of the Earth (FoE).
Posters and table top adverts featuring condoms covering some of the worst offenders in terms of polluting will go on display in 30 English universities.
The campaign, which has received funding from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), comes as research from the charity shows that 18-to-22-year-olds are the least informed about the ways in which the effects of climate change can be reduced.
This is despite 95 per cent of student respondents saying that reversing the effects of climate change should be the government's biggest priority, above the war in Iraq and student finance.
Students at universities participating in the scheme, which include Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester, Nottingham and Southampton, will from today onwards see posters showing condoms covering a coal station chimney, an aeroplane engine and a car exhaust.
An accompanying website is also being launched by FoE to educate young people on what can be done to safeguard the planet.
The charity's director Tony Juniper today said: "Climate change is the biggest threat the planet faces. But the solutions to tackle it, such as alternative energy sources and energy efficient technologies, already exist, and there is still time to act."
He added: "It's encouraging that so many students recognise the importance of tackling climate change. Tomorrow's climate is today's challenge, and students have a crucial role to play in ensuring that we move towards a low-carbon economy."