Reduce, reuse, recycle...rethink...rot (On climate change)
This might be the hell the religions speak about.
Anyone living in Europe, or with access to the internet, has probably heard about the heat waves across Europe this summer. It's burning up, sweltering, melting.
I'm sure it's hot in the US too, but they don't let us forget that they have air conditioning.
Yet what is so surprising is that there are still climate change deniers living amongst us. Jesus allegedly said, "There'll always be the poor amongst you", but what he should have warned his people about are the not-so-wise who walk amongst us.
The fish are dying, the bees are dying, you and I feel like dying, and yet some people are insistent on calling the clear and evident fact of climate change a "hoax", a leftist agenda, propaganda. I even saw them call it a cult, a religion, etc. I saw the so-called wise amongst us call the rest of us sheep, while they continue to reject the evidence of their own eyes and ears.
And you know what is upsetting?! They all have this one story of a heatwave that happened in 1911. They fail to realize that the story is so popular in their cliques because it was an anomaly. Meanwhile, this is becoming the new norm. We have seen a steady increase in heatwaves and natural disasters in the past few years. At levels that have rarely been seen before.
And you know what is most upsetting?!! The Global South suffers disproportionately, although it contributes the least.
Climate change is not imminent. It is here. We are living it. It is an uncomfortable fact that we have to reckon with. The solution to this is not denying it. It is also not living in constant anxiety about it.
As discouraging as it is to feel like your minor efforts do not count because the wealthy and huge corporations seem to be making more of a negative impact than all your years of effort could ever counter, the other solution could never be to just fold our hands and do nothing. Extremes are never helpful, no matter the direction in which they swing.
And while I deeply admire those who take on the cause so fiercely and who are able to cut out everything from meat, convenient transportation, fast fashion, non-organic food, etc, for most of us, that standard is rather unattainable. We cannot all be Greta Thunberg.
However, we all can contribute to the fight against climate change. The most important way we can do this is by driving policy changes.
Vote for parties in your country that seem to consider climate change a priority. That way, every party might start treating it like the priority that it should be.
Use your consumer power very wisely. Pressure businesses to incorporate environmentally friendly policies.
Buy less. Our consumer habits dictate and influence production. So while industrial players hold an enormous share of the blame. You and I play a part in what they do, by enabling them with our money, and with our habits. We keep playing this blame game with the key players, where we blame them (as we should) and where they also try to absolve themselves of responsibilities. But I can imagine that it might be uncomfortable for us to consider the way they make the profits that keep them afloat.
Employ moderation: reduce, reuse, recycle, rethink the way you currently live.
Make little changes where you can. It does not have to be all or nothing.
Adopt a flexitarian diet as much as possible. Eat meat if you like, but reduce how much you eat it. It is hard to do at first, but it does get easier. Incorporate one or two meatless days, or at least meatless meals.
Use less energy for your movement. Walk as much as possible. Climb the stairs if you can, instead of taking the elevator. Not only is it great for our bodies, but it's good for the environment.
When travelling, if it is reasonable or possible to take greener transportation, try to make that choice.
Go car-free if feasible. If not, go electric. If not, mix it up ( if this is possible for you, and depending on your circumstances): take public transportation from time to time, buy a bicycle, ride share.
Advocate for better public transportation, for bicycle lanes, for pedestrian lanes, for incentives that push people to take up more sustainable ways of living. We need laws that force industrial giants to do A LOT more, but we also need laws that force us as consumers to make more uncomfortable choices.
When you buy clothes, try to maintain them as well as you can and for as long as you can. Reduce how much you buy them, and how quickly you throw them away. I watched an Instagram video the other day where the influencer who was giving styling tips had said "Urgh, I know, I have to repeat an outfit, but I just have to show you guys this". As though that were a strange idea, to repeat one's clothes. I see comment sections where people share their excitement about how fast fashion allows them to buy and dispose of outfits after one wear, especially since they have the means. What have we become?!! That is part of the problem.
When the time comes to let go of clothes, rethink how you dispose of them too.
Do not change your technological devices simply because you can. Change them because you have to. Rethink how you dispose of them afterwards.
Reuse products, repurpose them. Recycle. It's confusing, and I'm not sure I always know if I'm doing the right thing. But the more people want to recycle, the more pertinent it'll be for governmental bodies to make it easier and more accessible.
If there's a bin for plastic when you are out in public, take a second to read the sign and drop the plastic in the bin for plastic, and the paper in the bin for paper. It's an extra few seconds of your day, but it counts too.
Every little action counts. You do not have to change all your actions, at least not at once, and you do not have to do these things all the time, but at least most times, or a lot of times. We can only do what we can do in our own little corners, while we push for political players to make laws that can help us preserve the earth.
The children of tomorrow will suffer for our deeds of today. But they are not the only ones. Everyone will.
So, it is important that we try to make changes, however negligible they may seem in the moment. Even something as small as turning off the light is a contribution to the fight against global warming.
Hopefully, we are all able to do more, but starting small counts too. Our small changes will amount to collective changes that will drive policies. It is those policies that will truly make and sustain the difference we so desperately need. But all we can do is keep trying. With our votes, and with our actions. We truly have no other choice but to try.
For the nay-sayers, I want to say I hope you rot in hell. But I suppose it's not a threat anymore. The way we are all going, you should all be well prepared and acclimatized by the time you get there.
Helpful resources
https://www.wri.org/insights/climate-impact-behavior-shifts
https://sdgs.un.org/partnerships/flexitarianism-flexible-or-part-time-vegetarianism
https://www.cspi.org/daily/what-to-eat/how-plant-heavy-diets-can-help-the-planets-health
https://www.wri.org/insights/4-charts-explain-greenhouse-gas-emissions-countries-and-sectors
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