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Hardly a day goes by without some headline about global warming, green issues or what we should or shouldn’t be doing to save the planet.
It’s hardly surprising that some of us just want to shut our eyes and ears and just get on with life, which is complicated enough as it is. Yet, are we not just running up an ever-increasing environmental debt which are children, grandchildren and great grandchildren will have to pay off to have any chance of surviving on this planet?
Why not take a few minutes to explore some of these key issues below and give us your views – a global crisis or a load of hot air?
If we were all to continue flying, driving, heating our homes and consuming as much as we are doing now, but we paid for someone to offset our carbon emissions, would it solve the problem of climate change?
Despite the hype surrounding offset schemes, in reality the link between your offset donation and emissions reduction is not clear. Offsetting your carbon is just slightly better than doing nothing.
Rob Holdway's Guide to Carbon Offsetting >
Kris Murrin is on a mission. She believes we have lost control of our towns and cities to the motorcar. Short journeys that could be made by cycle, public transport or by foot are commonly made by car, and this has left our streets, and our health, in poor condition.
Can Kris reverse the trend in three of Britain's congested urban areas? She travels to traffic blackspots Marlow, Boston and Durham in the hope of persuading the locals to go car-free for a day, and to see for themselves the benefits of greener travel.
Did Marlow, Boston and Durham rise to the challenge? >
We hear more and more talk about biofuels, but just what are they and why are some hailing them as one answer to tackling climate change, whilst others are warning that they may contribute to world poverty?
Find out not only what biofuels are and who is producing them but also explore the arguments about how green they really are and why environmental campaigners are arguing against them because of their effects on biodiversity and food production.
Read about biofuels >
Politicians from all sides seem to see green taxes as a key battleground for the next election. Yet, are taxes the best way to encourage us to recycle more, use our cars less, fly less or persuade industry to accelerate the adoption of more environmentally friendly policies?
Can taxation really change people's behaviour? Will there be a guarantee that any green taxes raised will be spent on tackling climate change and won't linking taxes raised to specific forms of government spending set a dangerous precedent?
Read about green taxes >
Long gone are the days when we could only eat what was in season. Now we seem to be able to eat anything at any time of year. Yet, at what cost to our environment and to the food producers?
Scientists warn that carbon emissions from aircraft that are air-freighting food all over the world are contributing to global warming. Does that mean we should stop buying green beans from Kenya or exotic fruit from Thailand? How can we as consumers do the right thing and help tackle climate change?
Read about food miles >
Global warming
Global warming is arguably the most pressing issue we face today. For the first time in our history the whole human species is under threat from the alarmingly powerful forces of climate change.
Will we be able to make the changes needed to save future generations from the ruinous chaos of a shifting climate? Or are we all in danger of unquestioningly following the voice that shouts the loudest? Are there reasons why climate change is happening?
Find out about the issues, such as nuclear power, green technology and the politics of carbon, and tell us what you think.
World water crisis
For much of the world atlases no longer tell the truth. Today, dozens of the planet's greatest rivers run dry long before they reach the sea. They include the Nile in Egypt, the Yellow River in China, the Indus in Pakistan, the Rio Grande and Colorado in the US, the ancient Oxus that once poured into the Aral Sea in Central Asia, the Murray in Australia and the Jordan in the Middle East, which is emptied before it can even reach the country that bears its name.
The dire state of such rivers is the most visible sign of a profound crisis in how the world uses its water - a crisis that reflects water's new place as one of the most important and threatened commodities. It's a situation that could herald a world in which wars are fought over water.
If water is our most precious resource how much do you know about it?
Wildlife under threat
In India there may only be 1300 tigers left in the wild. Over here, new housing, new roads, new gas pipelines and more new developments are putting ever more pressure on many of our native animals. But the animals don’t always need to lose out. With a bit of thought and effort we can all live together.
Take a look at some examples of how we can live in harmony with our native animals, from the Channel 4 Wild Thing series.
What’s happening to our weather?
Britain's climate is changing now, and Earth is expected to continue experiencing global warming in the future. But the pressing question is to what degree are we likely to feel the heat? What change in temperature might we expect and what are the potential consequences?
These are not easy questions to answer, and to the casual reader the answers may seem to constantly contradict themselves - global warming and global cooling or heatwaves ahead and the ice age is coming. It all sounds like a big guessing game. Well, it's not quite.
We look at some predictions of what the climate might be like in Weather 2080
What can we do?
Okay, so most scientists say global warming is causing the arctic ice to melt, the forests to die, sea levels to rise and the Gulf Stream to slow. You believe them when they say it's causing some mad weather across the globe, that hot is getting hotter and storms are getting stormier. But there's nothing you can do about it. It's not really your problem.
Besides, if you're honest, you don't really think it's anything to do with you anyway. The government is dealing with it. They've got their emissions targets, their Kyoto Protocols and their EU Landfill Directives, whatever they are. But they're nothing to do with you.
Except, they are.
They will have a direct effect on your life, whether you like it or not. Climate change is being addressed and greenhouse gas emissions need to be reduced, and that means we're all going to have to make some adjustments.
