Don’t march. Don’t protest. Don’t expect your government to do anything. They might do something…but they might not. Blah blah blah. Do it without them. Insulate your home to the extent that you are able. Turn your heating down 1 degree. Wear a cardigan. Repair your clothes. Buy secondhand. Don’t go vegan, but eat more vegan. Don’t recycle: re-use…or don’t buy in the first place – recycling is a very last resort. Drive electric…or use public transport..or walk. Buy unpackaged/refillable goods. Buy more local. You can do it. If you are too busy to take some steps to reduce your CO2 production because you live a stressful, busy life involving the school run in an SUV, disposable nappies, the sheer instantaneous of Amazon prime and 3 airborne holidays a year…stop. Stop it….your children will thank you when you…S..L..O..W….D..O..W..N…consume less, and leave them an inhabitable planet. Isn’t China lighting up coal-fired power stations so it can obligingly produce goods we are demanding? Guess who the buck stops with.
It has to be a relief to know that I am in control of what I do or don’t do. Yay!! I’m responsible for the amount of greenhouse gas I produce. I’m responsible for how much meat I eat!! And how much packaging I use, and how much reusable stuff I use. How much I buy. How much food I waste. Whether or not I use toothpaste tablets. Whether I take an 8 minute shower or a 20 minute shower, how many children I have, how many cars we have, whether I take a train or use my bike. Yes, me. My call.
Do I want to make these changes? No. No, I really don’t. But my home, this planet, is talking to me. It is saying that this beautiful delicate finely balanced goldilocks idyll I live on is in pain and out of kilter….and that I am in danger of making my home un-liveable….and therefore of destroying myself and/or my descendants…..so that I can fly to Disneyland. Our prime minister has been known to call climate protesters ‘crusties’. I don’t know why…I haven’t looked in to it. But my guess is that a lot of concerned and crusty old grannies, who have time and energy on their hands, are taking up the climate cause because they know it’s vital; that maybe their children don’t have time for it…but their grandchildren do. David Attenborough nailed it when he described developed societies as using linear instead of cyclical methods of using resources. Nature is entirely circular…the waste products of a cow goes straight into producing new crops. The (largely synthetic) waste we produce has nowhere to go….a mountainous full-stop at the end of a steaming, methane-filled line.
It’s not up to our children. It’s up to me. Do I have the energy or guts to turn the blah blah blah into real solid action? Please God, I do need a hand with my guts. I’m probably going to fail at doing some things I should be doing…but I can definitely do a few small things. I have enough faith in people to be ultimately sure of a good outcome…but one thing’s for sure…the politicians will be a hell of a lot slower than me….
jx
PS… I’ve learnt to bake delicious vegan shortbread!!
Ain't we got it made? 