I’ve seen a lot of panic on the threads over the past few weeks about the state of the planet. The pending irreversibility of climate change and the discussions sparked by the documentary “Drowning in Plastic” in particular. What I cannot fathom is how often I see a defeatist response along the lines of until our government decides to do something about this, there’s nothing we can do but watch as things get steadily, irrevocably, worse.
AIBU to think what an utterly, utterly pathetic attitude to have? Are we not capable of individual action? Do we really need our GOVERNMENT to tell us to stop using so much plastic? To be mindful of our use of non-renewable fuels? Really?
Some things are out of our control. The general public cannot cap carbon emissions on large automotive companies or set targets for big industry brands to minimise waste and recycle. We CAN force ourselves to think twice before we buy something wrapped in plastic. We can choose to put loose apples in a paper bag at the supermarket and not buy the prepacked apples shrouded in plastic and polystyrene. We can make a pasta salad at home and bring it in a lunch box rather than buying a plastic pasta pot every day in a meal deal. We can choose to eat less meat, one of the worst industries for climate change contribution there is! We can use a beautifully scented soap rather than plastic tubes of shower gel and start buying long lasting, quality items of clothing rather than cheap, disposable clothes we wear once or twice and condemn to the bin. Skip the straw and drink from the glass. Take the bus or train to town at the weekend when we’re not in a rush. Be that little bit more careful with our recycling (it only takes a handful of small non-recyclable items to sneak into a big batch of recycling before the factory will deem it not worth sorting and simply bung the whole thing in landfill, unsorted).
We can start voting for change with our hard earned money by making ethical choices about the materials we buy or how the products we need are packaged and show the big brands that there is a real desire for change and a thriving market made up of people who desperately want to be given better options. If we committed to making consistently "good" choices...wow. What an incredible impact that would make.
None of the above is radical. But it is desperately, desperately urgent. What we are doing to this beautiful planet is nothing short of disgusting and if we want to be seen as any better than parasites we really need to start taking responsibility for the way we choose to live. As collective individuals we hold far more power than the government could ever do and we are completely capable of real, measurable change.
I can't be the only person eager to see individuals take more control of the issue?