Posted on Thursday 14th April 2022
A large bright orange ‘carbon bubble’ is popping up in Stafford town centre next Friday (April 22) as part of the international Earth Day 2022 celebrations.
The 10ft bubble installation aims to help people to visualise how their daily activities can impact carbon emissions and make them think about how to reduce their carbon footprint.
The giant bubble has previously been showcased in London’s Trafalgar Square. This is the first time that this eye-catching bubble is coming to the Midlands.
Staffordshire County Council has pledged to be net zero by 2050. It has already made strides, cutting its carbon emissions by 25 per cent through initiatives such as switching to run buildings on green energy and replacing streetlights with LED bulbs.
In addition, it has run an Air Aware campaign, encouraging schools and businesses to increase walking and cycling as greener transport methods and improve town centre air quality. The county council has also been planting thousands of trees on its business development sites and green spaces, which will also help mark the Queens’ Green Canopy jubilee programme.
The carbon bubble will be transported to Stafford’s Market Square using electric and will be blown up using generators which run on 100 per cent renewable materials.
Staffordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities and Culture Victoria Wilson said:
Staffordshire creates about 5.8 million tonnes of carbon each year and the average resident produces about 5.3 tonnes a year.
We all need to do our bit to make Staffordshire sustainable. A big part of that challenge is to help people to understand how their actions can really contribute to reducing our collective carbon footprint.
Small changes such as walking and cycling more, reducing energy use, cutting waste and recycling more can make a big difference if we all work together.
We hope the visual impact of the carbon bubble will help people to stop and think about climate change and our own personal responsibilities in tackling it.”
To help educate people about carbon reduction and climate change, Staffordshire University is running a free online lecture next Friday from midday to 1pm. People can sign up at: Why climate change matters in Staffordshire Tickets, Fri 22 Apr 2022 at 12:00 | Eventbrite
People can find out more about Earth Day 2022 at: www.earthday.org